Housing Minister: Tenants owe HDC over $241m

The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) will continue to evict errant tenants as it tries to recover over $241 million in arrears.

Housing and Urban Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis was responding to a question in the Senate on July 2 from opposition senator Wade Mark about "sudden" evictions earlier this year. "The HDC continues to extend its responsibility to taxpayers and must collect outstanding arrears. Failure to do so may lead to evictions in various housing developments nationwide and we will not resile from this. This measure is necessary to recover unpaid rent totalling $241.7 million to prevent the exploitation of state resources that have been allocated to provide affordable housing to those in greatest need."

At present, she said, the HDC is owed $2.1 million by rent-to-own tenants, $91.5 million by people licensed to occupy units, $76.7 million by renters, $67.7 million by beneficiaries of in-house mortgages and $3.7 million by commercial property owners. "In most instances, the HDC, because of its social responsibility, also tries to be as lenient as possible with tenants because we do recognise the cohort of citizens that we are dealing with. It takes a very long time before the HDC will submit to having someone evicted.

"But, Mr President, you do recognise and I am sure Senator Mark recognises that $241 million being owed to the state in circumstances where we are trying to provide housing for other people it makes it very difficult for the HDC as a state agency to operate, and consequently the decision was taken that we have to act and there are many people on the database who are willing to take these units and pay the requisite rent."

In April, 15 tenants were evicted from five HDC developments, which was the basis of Mark's questioning. In her response, Robinson-Regis said the move wasn't "sudden," but was part of an ongoing exercise. "The HDC has adhered to a structured and transparent process, ensuring that tenants receive ample notice and multiple opportunities to address their arrears before any eviction occurs.

"The HDC, in collaboration with its subsidiary the Asset Management Company Ltd, is continuing its collection drive throughout the country and since its inception in 2005, the HDC has primarily evicted illegal occupants of units because of illegal occupancy or arrears of rentals."

She said 394 people had been evicted from units since 2009, 376 of them for illegal occupancy.

She said 23 people had been evicted for the year to date: five for illegal occupancy, 17 for arrears and one for subletting. She said those evicted this year had failed to make monthly rental payments of $800, $1,200, $1,500 or $1,800. She said they also did not respond to the HDC's numerous attempts to have their bills settled, with letters sent out before the covid19 pandemic in some cases.

She said the tenants had owed between $22,000 and $128,000 for up to seven years, with eight owing between $81,000 and $100,000.

Since being evicted in April, Robinson-Regis said, three tenants had cleared their tabs and their units had been returned to them. Two tenants, she said, were in the process of fulfilling their debts. In the other cases, she said their units were being reallocated to others on the HDC's database, but the evicted tenants are still expected to settle their arrears.

Robinson-Regis said the government was not considering a new policy to write off some of the long-standing debts as irrecoverable, when Mark asked about this.