Can landlords seek proof of hardship when a tenant can’t pay the rent?

Yes. Landlords can ask for evidence of hardship if a tenant says they are temporarily struggling and requesting rent relief of some form. But there are limits on what the landlord can reasonably request.

The landlord should collect the minimum amount of information necessary to confirm that a tenant is in a situation of hardship. If a landlord is going to offer a rent reduction, they should make sure they are only collecting what’s necessary to make that decision and not more than that.

Evidence of hardship could be in the form of a letter from an employer showing reduced hours or redundancy, or other proof of reduced income, such as an insolvency document.

It might be unfair and unreasonably intrusive for the landlord to ask for an extensive declaration of the tenant’s assets and investments It could also be unfair to ask to see bank statements detailing the tenant’s expenditure. Checking how a tenant spends their money might well be unreasonably intrusive.

While under no legal obligation to offer a rent reduction, landlords might be motivated to try and keep a reliable tenant, and to consider helping the tenant through a temporary situation of difficulty with the objective of keeping the tenant in the longer term.

Whatever you are asking for, make sure it is relevant. Can you explain how you are going to use it? What factors you are going to take into account in offering a reduction, what weighting you will give to those? If not, perhaps look to simplify what you are seeking. For more information about how the Privacy Act applies to landlords and tenants, see our guidance here.