Hunter tenants could still be forced out of their homes despite the federal government's assurance of a moratorium on evictions because the NSW government is yet to legislate the protections.
The Newcastle Herald has heard of multiple reports of landlords issuing non-payment termination notices after a tenant has failed to pay rent following the loss of work in recent weeks.
With the country about to enter a fourth week of restrictions on non-essential services, which has put thousands out of work across the region, Hunter Tenants' Advice and Advocacy Service is expecting to see a rise in the number of people seeking help as they fall into rent arrears and face eviction.
HTAAS coordinator Nicole Grgas said there had been a 50 per cent increase in the number of inquiries related to terminations in the past three weeks compared to the same period a month prior.
"This week, I myself have probably spoken to five people who've got notices because they've lost work and are not able to pay rent, and I've spoken to people who have been trying to negotiate rent reductions and not been successful," she said.
"Obviously as a tenancy advice service, we tend to hear the bad stories - not the good stories ... [but] a lot of people are under the impression that there is a moratorium on evictions at the moment and there's not.
"We're still waiting for an announcement from the state government."
Hamilton's Jo Dormer managed to obtain a two-month deferment from her landlord but she was already three weeks in rent arrears.
She lost all her income last month when her luxury camping business, Glamp Inn The Hunter, was impacted. The 59-year-old, who operates the business from home where she lives with her 19-year-old son, was surprised to learn there was not a moratorium on evictions.
"I'm in a really tight-bind as I [had already] lost three months worth of business with the fires," she said.
She has sought the JobSeeker payment but said she was worried about being able to pay the her $450 weekly rent over coming months as well as the deferred amount.
Landlords and tenants have been urged to "work it out between themselves", but Cessnock MP Clayton Barr said both parties were "left hanging out on a limb" by the state government.
"Just as tenants are looking for some certainty, so too the mums and dads lucky enough to have a second mortgage and investment property are wondering how they might pay the bills with no rent coming in and repair the damage if they have a bad tenant that cannot be removed," he said.
The Prime Minister announced on March 29 that states and territories had agreed to a six-month moratorium on some evictions.
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