Have been having some major issues with the landlords and property managers of our currently rented house. Having not been tenants for a very long time I'm after some perspective. I know as a landlord that I would have not accepted this from our property managers.
We have been renting here for 7 months. We signed the lease on the understanding that we had definite work up here for 6 months – needing to sign a month to month lease after that. There have been ongoing issues and in the interest of being concise I'll use dot points:
*There were problems with just about every door in the house from the very start, back sliding door won't open, all the bedroom doors won't close (except one which locks if it does close) and the bathroom door handle was missing (again locking people – not good in a house with 4 children aged under 10).
*There was a bad smell coming from the wood fire heater every time it rained – to the point where you couldn't actually be in the room with it (this is a problem as it is in the only living room in the house).
*There are only three windows in the house with flywire which is a concern seeing as they gave us a huge document outlining anti-mould suggestions the main one of which was to keep the house well ventilated.
*The house came with an outdoor spa. The bubbles have never worked.
*The underneath storage area was meant to be cleaned out but is still full of all the owners stuff.
The agent was approached several times (in writing and on the phone) and the owner was sent around once to fix things. Nothing got fixed. A chimney sweep was sent out, he broke the fire so now when it rains, it leaks into the living room.
I'm usually not that fussy but this has been annoying. What has made it worse though is the way we have been treated. We have had 3 monthly inspections and have been written up for the most ridiculous things. Things like dust on the ceiling fans, a dirty dishwasher (on the inside of it!) dirt in the door frame (of the door that doesn't work) and fingerprints on the walls. After each inspection, we get an A4 sheet listing these sorts of things. First time it happened I spoke to the agent and they said it was overzealous owners, second time it was worse and the owners weren't even there!
They then bullied (for want of a better word) us into a 3 month contract – which we did eventually refuse. We are now moving out and gave them 6 weeks notice. They want to hold weekly open homes. I've told them no and the email correspondence is something you would have to read to believe. So much passive aggressive bull.
So, wondering what you would do in my position? I really don't want them to continue treating tenants this way. Tribunal time?
It sounds as though the owners almost have it in for you. If you're getting no joy from the agent (and it sounds as though you're not), I'd suggest having a word to the tribunal via their help line to see where you stand. If these defects weren't acknowledged in your original lease…
It sounds like the agents are just jerks. They probaly didn't even pass it on to the owner. I had the same thing happen when I changed managing agents. As soon as i switched over they asked for a oven because the one in the property hadn't been working for 7 months. The tenant said they had emailed and posted letters to the agents but i had never being notified. As Jeff has posted their are numerous help lines you can call but it sounds like you have a good case. Did you have photos of when you first moved in?
Tony Fleming | Triumphant Property Group
http://www.triumphantpropertygroup.com.au
Email MeNSW Buyer's Agent specialising in Western Sydney-Blue Mountains-Orange-Albury
Nothing too unreasonable on your part Mosaic. As for weekly opens, depending upon the state you are in, the agent can only arrange opens in the last X weeks. Are you on holdover/expired lease now? If so, then the agent has to give a greater period of notice to terminate (60/90 days), you only need 21 days.
Inaction/BS answers from the PM that the owners don't want to do work, just doesn't wash – more like agent can't be bothered/too busy/doesn't want to disturb owner/hasn't got balls to ask owner etc.
Good to know this doesn't seem normal! Feel like I'm loosing my mind a little. I've spoken to NSW fair trading and have pulled them up on the open houses (they can't show the house till there is 14 days left of the lease. We are on month to month now and have given them the date we will be moving out. Seriously don't know if I have the time/energy etc to deal with tribunal stuff.
Main thing I'm pissed about is the heater. Would like some compensation for that.
Hi do you mean you had 3 inspections? You are only allowed 4 a year. Sounds like overkill to me.
Sounds like a terrible property with landlords and an agent that don't care. Did you not notice the problems before you moved in? I'm a bit wary when people make promises to fix things after you've signed. If they intended to fix them they would have before being offered for rent.
I hate to say it but be prepared to fight tooth and nail for your bond back. Hope you have documented everything. Take photos to back your case. And when you do go to court turn the tables on them and ask for compensation.
SO annoying. Unfortunately there are bad landlords and tenants. Luckily this is not the norm. I consider myself very lucky to only have had exceptional tenants. But then I give them a clean, tidy house and fix any issues promptly.
Hope everything works out for you and you have better luck next time.
I hope there will never be a next time! I have not enjoyed being a tenant again and am really looking forward to moving back to the PPOR.
The thing is, it feels like the agent and the owner care FAR too much and have completely unrealistic views and expectations of this property. The doors are really nt that big a deal, annoying but not huge stuff you know? The heater is what I'm upset about because we have had to run the split system so much (lots of $$$ seeing as hubby is an arborist by trade so wood is no problem).
The latest installment in this drama is that the agent has just written an email saying the lease we signed was for max 5 people to live in the house (we have 6). There were only spaces for 3 of the children and I rang twice to sort it out but never heard back. Thinking this could be a deal breaker re tribunal.
At the very least I think I will talk to whoever the girls boss is. They need to be made aware of the shoddy service.
I wouldn't worry about the 3rd child. That's easily explained. Just write everything down in case you need to present it at court. If you are moving out why are they worried about that (unless they are just trying to scare you out of complaining.
Tribunals tend to side with the tenant so if you have everything detailed and show how reasonable they are (all the inspections, not fixing thing etc) you will not have any problems.
I've never heard of an agent like it. Yes there are some newby landlords that are over the top but usually agents put them in their place.
You have been VERY unlucky indeed.
When you move out and do the final clean, take A LOT of photos to verify condition, cleanliness standards, etc. Because once you move out and back to your PPOR, photos will be your only evidence of the standard you went to to clean the pretty on exit. Unfortunately, there are some landlords and PA's out there who make it their business to terrorise decent tenants and keep as much of the bond as possible. So do your due diligence, take your photos, and document everything. And good luck.
Document all the problems before they advertise for new tenants. No doubt the owner will do all they can to make the place immaculate for inspection. It sounds as though you are just dealing with a horrible person. Maybe fight fire with fire before you leave. Best of luck!
Hi MosicLandscapes.
I suggest you contact the Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service or its Vic equivalent. Ask Fair Trading if you can't locate them. They are experts at handling bad landlords in NSW, don't know about Vic. Sounds like you have extremely overbearing underperforming agents and landlord. If you're moving out, compensation is all you can get. If you're staying, you could get Tribunal orders against the landlord for compensation, reduced rent, and even get orders that your rent is paid to the Tribunal and held by them until repairs are completed. Read all the orders that you can ask for and discuss the situation with TAAS and Fair Trading.
Good luck
Cheers
thecrest
thecrest | Tony Neale - Statewide Motel Brokers
http://www.statewidemotelbrokers.com.au
Email Me | Phone Meselling motels in NSW
I havre been an investor for mant years. I have also owned a real estate offfice where we managed around 200 properties. It used to amaze me how many landlords did not want to pay for things when they went wrong.
Here is the thing
Its your property, rather than loose a tenant fix the problem. You can often turn a negative into a positive.
I remember around 3 years ago a hot water system stopped working. Now there happened to be a family renting there. So what I did was to put in an endless hot watr system. First it added to the value of my property and the tennants were really happpy.
Nigel Kibel | Property Know How
http://propertyknowhow.com.au
Email Me | Phone MeWe have just launched a new website join our membership today
Just thought I would update. Things have gotten really ugly. I was served with a 3 page outgoing letter in which things like dust in the vent of the (broken and unusable) fireplace and money for the "prolonged non use of the spa" were included (the owner had taken the pump for the spa away about 2 months into the tenancy).
It is just awful. The biggest thing is we just didn't document like we should have. The agent is being really dodgy (demanding $1700 more than what was owed, not having pictures of things that I know they have etc etc). And now they are claiming that the chimney sweep who broke the fire (who is also a friend of the owner) is saying that there was nothing wrong with the fire. I'm pretty sure they have had it fixed since we moved out and we have no photos of the flooding or rusted out flue. I'm such an idiot
Huge learning curve for me. Would love to name and shame these a***holes but not sure it's allowed?
We are going to release the bond money they have requested because to fight it would need more evidence then we were going to go for compensation of our $800 electricity bill but now they have fixed the wood heater there is no evidence it was broken
feeling like a real rookie right now.With the advent of Ipads and the like, it's such an easy thing to walk through a rental, if you are the tenant, and shoot a video with all of the issues or damages. This should be second nature for renters…..as soon as you rent the place, walk through and video EVERYTHING. A picture or video is worth a 1,000 words. You seem pretty bright mosaid, so I'm not sure why you didn't document everything especially when you first realized that you had a problem. Hate it for you but hopefully you're back in your own home now!
Hi Mosiclandscapes.
If it's any compensation, (and likely the only compensation you'll get from this situation, ) – you're not a rookie anymore.
If there's nothing else of benefit or value there for you, then quickly move onward and upward with your new found hard won extensive knowledge
from the street school of real estate.
Cheers
thecrest
thecrest | Tony Neale - Statewide Motel Brokers
http://www.statewidemotelbrokers.com.au
Email Me | Phone Meselling motels in NSW
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