Landlord who owns multiple rentals complains that property-owners are ‘demonised’ by renters
A landlord who owns several rental properties has complained on live television about the way property owners are being ‘demonised’.
Ann-Maree Eastman, who owns several properties with her husband Phillip, appeared on ABC’s Q+A on Monday night to speak out against the Green Party’s campaign to limit negative gearing and capital gains taxes.
“Why do politicians feel they should continue to tax or change the rules for reporting our legitimate business expenses?” Mrs. Eastman asked.
‘Owning property is a business and it takes time and effort to ensure everything runs smoothly.
“I’m just so angry that as a landlord I don’t have to feel guilty about owning real estate – or real estate in our case. Why does it seem that all landlords are being demonized and pigeonholed?”
Her question was answered by Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather, who explained why his party is lobbying to phase out these tax breaks.
Max Chandler-Mather (pictured), the Greens’ housing spokesman, received the loudest applause of the evening when he dismantled a landlord’s complaint that they had been ‘demonised’.
“We have had a tax system that has encouraged people to buy up real estate investments and then write off any losses they make on those investments against their taxes,” Mr Chandler-Mather said.
“I’m sorry, I just don’t think that’s fair.”
The MP for Queensland The seat of Griffith called for caps on rent increases, with Ms Eastman shaking her head in disagreement.
Q&A host Patricia Karvelas stepped in to point out that interest rate increases have hurt many landlords struggling with hefty mortgage payments.
But Mr Chandler-Mather rejected the argument, claiming the worst consequence for landlords was ‘selling an investment property and making huge capital gains’, to loud applause from the audience.
‘If tenants lose, they sleep in their cars on the street. “If a property investor has to sell his house, it may be bad, but he will get a huge sale price for that house,” Mr Chandler-Mather added.
Mrs. Eastman claimed that she and her husband were “self-funded retirees” who had not taken anything from the government.
The amateur theater enthusiast from Melbourne said she was only raising rents “based on market value”.
‘I compared last year’s tax return with the previous year’s tax return: our gross rent was three percent higher.
Mrs Eastman claimed she and her husband (pictured) were ‘self-sufficient retirees’ who took nothing from the government
‘Our interest payments were double the year before.
‘We are also having a hard time. We have to find the money to pay that interest, so we’re in just the same trouble.”
But her comments did not sit well with many viewers.
“Sorry, but retirees are dependent on renters’ income – you’re not ‘self-funded’, you’re renter-funded,” Sydney Inner West councilor Dylan Griffiths wrote on X.
Another X user said: ‘Owning a home should not be a business, it is a human right.’
“If you’re worried about your business while children are growing up in tents, that’s disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourself.”
This is not the first time Ms. Eastman has spoken out about issues she cares about.
In 2013, she appeared to blame the obesity epidemic partly on sportswear manufacturers.
“Walking past a sportswear store with a large sign in the window stating that 57 percent of adults do not participate in formal exercise,” M Eastman wrote on Facebook.
“So I walked into the store and very politely told the saleswoman that this is because 55 percent of adults can’t fit into your clothes.
‘I’m getting a little sick of hearing about the obesity epidemic in Australia and other countries, but retailers aren’t making it easy to find things to actually exercise in.’