Residents lose NT housing rent rise appeal

Remote community housing tenants have lost an appeal over rent rises with the Northern Territory government, which they claim saw rents rise by 200 per cent.

Gunbalanya residents Asher Badari, Ricane Galaminda and Lofty Nadjamerrek and Laramba woman Carmelena Tilmouth sued the government after it moved away from a standard income-based model for calculating rents, a move that affected more than 5,000 residents.

The new system, rolled out by the former Territory Labor government saw rents based on the number of bedrooms in a dwelling.

The group argued that then urban housing minister Kate Worden had no lawful authority to implement the change and had not consulted affected communities.

Other claims included individual remoteness of dwellings and the conditions of individual homes.

The Court of Appeal found there was “nothing arbitrary or capricious” about the policy, which it said was designed to offset the government’s cost of providing remote public housing.

The group’s lawyers told the ABC they would consult with the tenants, but “the fight for better housing and a fair rent system in the Northern Territory is not over”.