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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-06-17 Daily Xml
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Housing SA

Ms SANDERSON (Adelaide) (15:27): My question is to the Minister for Social Housing: what is the current total amount owed to Housing SA by public housing tenants or former tenants?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (15:28): I thank the member for her question, and I congratulate her on her elevation to the shadow ministry. As at 30 April, the total Housing SA client debt is $21.8 million. This is up from $20.3 million in April last year, largely due to increases in utility costs impacting on low-income families.

Some $12 million of this is owed by current Housing SA tenants and includes $1.3 million in overpaid benefit—tenants under-report their income or the number of persons living in a property—$4 million in water charges; and $1.1 million in unpaid rent from $260 million in rent collected each year, and that is less than 0.5 per cent collected.

There is $515,000 in bond assistance for private rent considered a short-term debt, and $4.8 million in maintenance and damage repairs. Much of the existing client debt is owed to private landlords and SA Water which Housing SA pays on behalf of its clients. In 2012-13 Housing SA provided almost 21,000 bonds and bond guarantees at $21.4 million and more than 23,000 rent grants totalling $8.2 million. Housing SA actively seeks to recover all debt from tenants—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Treasurer will not interrupt the Minister for Social Housing. He is on his final warning. If I see his lips move once more, for any reason—Minister for Social Housing.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I emphasise again that rent debt is less than 0.5 per cent of the $260 million collected annually by the agency. Housing SA actively seeks to recover all debt from tenants and non-tenants. Housing SA is actively chasing all money it is owed by past and present tenants. Eighty per cent of people with a Housing SA debt have a repayment arrangement with the agency. We are currently working with the federal government on establishing direct debits for Housing SA tenants up to the point of 30 per cent of their income. There must always be a balance between adversely affecting struggling families and sanctioning those who may be flouting the system.

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