Signed Rental Lease - Actions Possible

bargainbargain on 05/03/2017 - 16:43

Hi there - I signed rental lease in Sydney yesterday on Saturday afternoon. We were living in our place so this is the first time I am doing it in over 10yrs. The agent told me that it is standard lease agreement based on residential tenancies act when I questioned him about it and why I am being made to sign on every page. He showed me some deletion on pages which were in relation to swimming pool and strata as they were not applicable. I read the document last night and noted that there were some additional terms which as per the document have to be negotiated between owner and tenant. The agent never pointed out those to me when making me sign the agreement. In particular I am not happy about the term which says that I have to pay 6 weeks payment if breaking lease before 6 months and 4 weeks rent if breaking after 6 months.

What can I do now as the agent purposely didn't disclose the additional terms to me? Thanks

Home & Garden

Comments

  • supnigs super skids on 05/03/2017 - 16:52
    +3

    Do you plan on breaking the lease?

    • bargainbargain on 05/03/2017 - 18:27

      Don't intend to but there is a possibility I may have to depending on what happens at work.

      • supnigs super skids on 05/03/2017 - 19:05

        these things are hard to backtrack out of, however there should be a cooling off period for you to try. It gets less worthwhile pursuing if breaking the lease is an unlikely event. either way, the land lord will be compensated by you

      • backpaqer on 06/03/2017 - 08:26
        +1

        If work forces you to move, then make sure they factor in your moving costs (unless you suspect you're headed for redundancy) and it's all tax deductible as well. I've seen these terms before and 1 year is not a long period of time.

        I signed a lease agreement with an agent and then backed out a day later because I was unhappy with the contract as there seemed to be a lot of onerous conditions in it - which I guess have been built up over time due to poor tenants who push the boundaries a bit.

        But if you're uncomfortable, take the agreement to another agent near the agent you dealt with (their competition) and ask them if they would be happy to do a quick review for you to help keep their competition honest. If the price is good and you're happy with the place, you should be fine…just remember to take a bucketload of photos of the place before you move in (the agent will too if they're any good), but good to have your own. I found out later that one of the spa jets was missing and was thinking that maybe I'd have to repair it, but the photos I took clearly showed the missing jet…so my mind was eased, though it never came up in conversation when I moved out.

  • Slippery Fish on 05/03/2017 - 16:52
    +4

    Nothing beyond legal action, dont sign before you read. The time to check is before not after, you have 0 power to renegotiate now.

    Move on budget and let the lease run out,

  • MrHyde on 05/03/2017 - 16:54
    +2

    Why did you sign without reading it first? First rule of any contract - never sign without reading.

    Now, the standard clause is usually that you have to pay for advertising costs (a few hundred dollars) and new lease costs (~1.5 weeks rent) plus ongoing rent till new tenants are found. This could be either very little or a lot depending on how long it takes to find new tenants.

    Most contracts also have a cooling off period. Unfortunately, rental leases do not have cooling off periods - atleast in Victoria.

    • MrHyde on 05/03/2017 - 16:56
      +3

      Also, I would say that the agent is under no obligation to read all or any of the terms to you. You have the lease in front of you - you should read it yourself.

    • bargainbargain on 05/03/2017 - 18:30
      -1

      that was my understanding that to break the lease - you pay for reletting cost (apportioned for the time left on lease) and cover for loss of rent (if any) so that it is seamless for landlord.

      The agency is a big name agency and he said it is standard lease agreement inline with residential tenancies act (think he said 2010) so I didn't doubt it.

  • CyberMurning on 05/03/2017 - 16:54

    "I have to pay 6 weeks payment if breaking lease before 6 months and 4 weeks rent if breaking after 6 months."
    sound alright to me. actually i would ask my agent to put
    "I have to pay 8 weeks payment if breaking lease before 6 months and 4 weeks rent if breaking after 6 months."

    • Slippery Fish on 05/03/2017 - 17:03

      Lol if you said I dont want to pay for break lease to me as the landlord id tell you to jog on cos you know what he is planning.

  • Ughhh on 05/03/2017 - 17:16
    +5

    why I am being made to sign on every page

    Your signature/initials is to confirm you have read and understood that page!

    • CyberMurning on 05/03/2017 - 19:56
      +1

      Arggghh I think OP is noob to signing legal documents..

    • ozbjunkie on 06/03/2017 - 11:24

      I have to read it AND sign it! Oh the humanity.

      Lel signing every page without reading…

  • spackbace on 05/03/2017 - 17:23
    +3

    Home owner for more than 10 years = at least 30yo… Yet doesn't read what he's signing…

    Alright then!

    (oh and the break lease part is pretty normal… You're signing a contract for 12 months rent. Of course if you want to break that and get out early they will charge you for it)

  • [Deactivated] on 05/03/2017 - 17:30
    -7

    You can't sign your rights away.

    You are responsible for putting the owner back into the same position as he was if you had honored the contract.

    The owner/agency is not allowed to profit beyond the sum gained if you had honored the contract.

    The owner is also not allowed to maliciously and unreasonably deny replacement tenants if you want to break lease.

    So you're responsible for all re-listing costs etc and for rent as long as there is no replacement.

    Any tribunal would be reasonable enough to see it that way.

    So the 8/6/2/1 week penalty doesn't really mean anything if you take it further.

    If the agency doesn't spend a dime on finding a new tenant. You don't have to reimburse them.

  • eqv on 05/03/2017 - 21:04
    +1

    There is no cooling off period for lease agreement in NSW. It's your responsibility to read the term and conditions properly before signing it.

    From Fair trading NSW:
    "Before you sign the lease, make sure you read it thoroughly. If there is anything in the lease that you do not understand, ask questions.
    Remember, you are committing to a legally binding contract with no cooling-off period. You want to be certain you understand and agree to what you are signing."

  • mbck on 05/03/2017 - 23:28

    Always always read the contract/pds any legal documents first. If you don't understand, get a lawyer. You want to safe time/money, well…here we are…

  • Seraphin7 on 06/03/2017 - 08:49

    Did you sign the lease? Did you sign every page of the lease? What recourse do you think you will have if you allege certain terms weren't disclosed to you?

  • Camembert on 06/03/2017 - 19:24

    Apart from the break free (which is quite common), what were the other additional terms included in the tenancy agreement that you weren't happy with?

  • Pumpkin_rrr on 06/03/2017 - 21:44

    6 weeks payment if breaking lease before 6 months, and 4 weeks rent if breaking after 6 months? I wonder whether the Owner agrees to this. To me break-lease means you should pay the unexpired portion. Looks like you've got a sweet deal. Are you sure this is the case?

    • bargainbargain on 06/03/2017 - 23:20

      Are you really serious? Think about the commercial implications for tenants in the scenario that appears to you to be fair.

  • bargainbargain on 06/03/2017 - 23:29

    For everyone benefit - i spoke to another Agent and it seems this is fairly common terms in most agreements as per his words "tenants never pushed back on it so became standard"

    If you don't have the above additional term, the default under the nsw tenancy laws is rent until the place is re-let, share of agency fees pro-rata to time left on lease and obligation of Agent to demonstrate reasonable efforts I.e. They cannot just sit tight knowing that the tenant is covering the rent. This appears fair to me as it makes the landlord whole.

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