13 Sep 2024
Words John Miller Informer

The Priority Project

For landlords who want to be part of the housing solution for domestic violence victims, The Priority Project provides a pathway.

Women escaping domestic violence often have trouble finding rental accommodation. Even if in a refuge, many find moving from crisis accommodation to permanent accommodation impossible. If you don’t qualify for social housing, what are you to do? Where are you to go?

This is where Mission Australia’s The Priority Project comes in. The project was designed to fill a gap for women affected by domestic and family violence who need accommodation for themselves and their children but can’t get social housing either due to ineligibility or lack of options available.

“Some women are simply not eligible for social housing for various reasons,” explains Janet Maher, Area Manager, Mission Australia. “They may be working, have an asset with their former partner or lack additional vulnerability that the criteria requires.”

“All the women we have assisted are still in private rentals. Part of the project is to ask landlords to prioritise their properties for our participants. It’s giving women on the project a chance to jump the private rental market queue to assist them find safe housing for themselves and their families.”

The Priority Project exists outside government funding. Mission Australia, a national not-for-profit organisation, heads the project in collaboration with The Salvation Army and other housing and domestic violence services. Launched in October 2023, the project initially serviced South East Queensland, focusing on Brisbane, Redlands, Moreton Bay and Logan. The project is now being piloted in New South Wales’ Nepean and Western Sydney region, with future plans to expand.

Women helped by the project pay rent, usually at full market rate, direct to the landlord or their letting agent. As per a normal tenancy, the landlord has full approval rights regarding the applicant tenant — they can accept or refuse applications as per usual. Landlords or their letting agents still collect rents, conduct inspections, write exit reports and other requirements. There are no mandatory tasks for landlords who put their properties on the register.

“We’re not asking landlords to reduce their rents,” says Nicole Peterman, Project Lead, Mission Australia.“We’re simply asking landlords and property managers to prioritise applications from women in our project. It’s often incredibly difficult to secure a private rental as a single woman, especially following experiences of domestic and family violence.”

Since its launch, over 60 landlords across South East Queensland have offered their properties to the project.

“The support has been amazing,” says Ms Maher. “Seventy-five percent of landlords told us they were interested in prioritising rental for our target women.”

“Generally, landlords want to help,” adds Elizabeth Lowe, Partnership Broker, Mission Australia. “They want to support their community and the women in it who need a leg up. One agent told us a landlord of theirs had personally experienced domestic violence, so they were quite compassionate in wanting to support other women in a way they could.”

Industry, too, has gotten behind the initiative. The Real Estate Institute of Queensland, the industry’s peak body, is on the project’s steering committee and has been a founding member of the initiative. “They are very supportive and instrumental to the success of the project and like to be kept in the loop as to what’s happening,” says Ms Lowe.

So how does the project work? Say a landlord has an apartment that is becoming vacant in the next two months. The landlord could register the apartment with Mission Australia to offer it to a DV-affected tenant. Mission Australia would then identify a candidate who would then bring forward an application. The landlord would then consider the application and decide if they are happy to rent to her. If they are, the apartment is then leased to the candidate who has avoided the difficulty of trying to find a rental on the open market. 

“It’s giving these women an opportunity before a property is advertised,” says Ms Lowe. “In most cases, landlords are only looking at a single application to decide whether to give the person a chance. In some cases, landlords are being asked to overlook a blemish that has happened in the candidate’s past that they’ve been able to demonstrate they’ve now overcome and deserve a second chance.”

“We’ve definitely seen references in the past where the candidate had some rental arrears or other things that were a direct result of the domestic violence they were experiencing. Things like controlling partners who were taking money from them but weren’t making rental payments, or the candidate wasn’t allowed on the lease or to communicate with the agent.”

“We explained that when the candidate was in that rental she was in an active domestic violence relationship. But now the candidate had been out of that bad situation for two years. Once the agent learned the context of the bad reference they understood it was outside the woman’s control.”

“Most agents are onboard with that and realise the candidate is likely to be a far better tenant now on their own. They’re really quite understanding. In this particular case, the agent approved the application and the family moved in. As far as we’re aware, they’re all now doing wonderfully.” END

HOW CAN I HELP?

Landlords can add their properties to The Priority Project register at any time or have their letting agent do it. Just email thepriorityproject@missionaustralia.com.au. END.