Tenant Claiming Compensation for Item Loss in Apartment

mikenazz on 21/10/2018 - 19:02

Hi all,

Trying to see if anyone has been in a similar situation or has any advice on this recent issue in my Strata managed Apartment that I rented out.

keeping it short:
*I am the Landlord(self managed) and the tenant is moving elsewhere in 1 week.
*The tenant complained of mould growth on 2 of the bedroom walls bottom corners, after returning from a holiday 3 weeks ago in which I recommended them to clean with a specialized mould cleaner. They notified me they noticed it and tried to clean it with bleach before they left in which I told them that bleach can feed mould on drywalls due to its water content(all over google).
*Tenant is now claiming compensation for mould spreading to their beds, clothing in the wardrobes, even the bottom of the sofa in the living room.
*I offered $1000 for replacing one of the beds that I could see mould had grown into which they rejected and took offence and threatened me with legal action.

I don't mind paying for issues that are my fault but I also do not want to fuel peoples greed of seeing opportunity to seek more compensation than necessary.

Some important facts:
Years ago the below unit had mould growth due to failed outdoor plumbing which strata sent a plumber to fix.The tenant claimed loss of rent for 2 months successfully.
I'm assuming the wet weather recently has caused dampness issues in the bedroom walls feeding the mould maybe from another defect that strata needs to look at.

Home & Garden

Comments

  • o53djz7qTPY4der on 21/10/2018 - 19:06
    +15

    I'd say you've been quite generous thus far. $1000 for a bit of mould, I'd have taken it.

    • mikenazz on 22/10/2018 - 15:37
      +1

      The wife is okay with it, just the husband is extremely rude about the situation. You can't have an intelligent/reasonable conversation with him. If it does escalate to a tribunal the messages he has sent will not be helping his case. Kind of shows what kind of person he is and his intentions..

      • o53djz7qTPY4der on 23/10/2018 - 05:37
        +1

        I'd probably just call their bluff at this point. The tribunal will be able to see if either side is being reasonable and judge accordingly. Given you've offered $1000 - that seems fair.

        Retract the offer and tell them to seek mediation through VCAT. I bet they change their mind and accept the money.

        • HighAndDry on 23/10/2018 - 11:16

          Seconded. Seeing $1,000 in cold hard cash go slowly out of reach will change a lot of minds. Seriously, claiming "G-Star" clothes as part of the damages?

  • mbck on 21/10/2018 - 19:12

    Is the mould from the previous issue or the bleach they used?

    Have you tried to get it professionally cleaned?

    • mikenazz on 21/10/2018 - 19:19

      The mould started growing from wet weather just a few weeks ago and when they cleaned it with bleach it aggravated the growth.
      Haven't sent anyone to clean it professionally that may of helped temporary but the issue is likely deep in the outside of the units bricks.

  • EightImmortals on 21/10/2018 - 19:32
    +4

    Tell their contents insurance company to sort it out with your landlords insurance company.

    • 87percent on 21/10/2018 - 19:52
      +10

      Ops next thread "what's the best landlord insurance that I can claim with straight away?"

  • subywagon on 21/10/2018 - 19:57

    Keep the bond and send a bill through for the cost of cleaning up their mold mess that they didn't take care of.

    • qwerty on 21/10/2018 - 20:04
      -1

      Yeah and they take him to civil court and show the texts of him offering $1000 for damaged goods = bond + 1 grand or more back .

      • jsb on 21/10/2018 - 20:20
        +3

        No, he made the offer but they rejected it which made the offer null and void. After that the OP realised that it wasn't his fault in the first place.

        • qwerty on 21/10/2018 - 20:44
          +1

          The person running the tribunal will most likely see the payment as admitting fault.

  • Imhereforcomments on 21/10/2018 - 20:11

    What are they actually expecting for compensation?

    • mikenazz on 21/10/2018 - 21:06

      I'm guessing 3-4k . clothes , corner of 1 sofa, 2 x beds, mattress, pillows.

  • chumlee on 21/10/2018 - 20:30
    +4

    If you knew there was mold why didn't you get it professionally treated?

    A specialised mould cleaner will not eliminate the mold so you shouldn't have outsourced your responsibility

    • mikenazz on 21/10/2018 - 21:18

      yes I probably should have 2 weeks ago, but it didnt look that bad from the picture on the wall. didn't know it had spread to the wardrobes and bedding..

      • KaraZorEl on 22/10/2018 - 10:03
        -1

        The tenant is definitely being greedy and 3-4k is a bit too much! Also, as a landlord if you had got the professionals in at least you wouldn't have been blamed of inaction. And I'm assuming that's why you were offering the 1K.

  • [Deactivated] on 21/10/2018 - 20:42
    +2

    Sounds you tenants have very expensive furniture and high expectations. Must be aristocrats renting your penthouse eh?

    Withdraw your offer for compensation. Get them to prove it is your negligence that caused the damage. Anyone can grow mould and claim damages.

    • mikenazz on 21/10/2018 - 21:22

      not too expensive , ebay bedding from what I saw. Although the clothing brand G-star was emphasized a couple times in damages to bring up the $$ I believe.

      • [Deactivated] on 21/10/2018 - 21:24
        +3

        Stinges on bed but buys overpriced garbage.

        Call their bluff.

  • [Deactivated] on 21/10/2018 - 20:52

    Well, if the bed has any other stains, you shouldn't be paying new for old.

    Also, given the tenant is moving, they probably only noticed it much later than it started.

  • mikenazz on 21/10/2018 - 21:39
    +4

    I do feel bad for the tenant and we have always been in good terms before. Lowering rent 100$pw months ago because they complained about the carpark being flooded which was fixed. Promptly repairing any faulty items. We even gave them a perfect reference when their new realestate called us for a reference check. It does surprise me when it comes to opportunity for $'s how some people can change :/

    • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2018 - 09:27
      +3

      That's because everything you mentioned prior to their cash grab was not a "relationship". It wasn't mutual - you lowered rent, you fixed things, you gave a good reference.

      They were nice because they wanted more. There's nothing left for you to give but cash.

    • Pables on 22/10/2018 - 10:15
      +4

      Our hot water system broke in the middle of winter and after four days of deliberating the real estate sent out a plumber who had to argue with the owner on the phone that he was going to fix it regardless of what he said, because he couldn't leave a family without hot water in this weather. It was an $80 fix.

      Your tenants have gotten plenty out of you.

  • [Deactivated] on 21/10/2018 - 21:41
    +1

    You probably need to get some proper legal advice on this one.

    • lovepub on 22/10/2018 - 08:49

      This cost lots of money

  • Some Guy on 21/10/2018 - 22:51
    +4

    Had you used a professional cleaner at the first sign of trouble, you would have been off the hook. If your tenant takes you to small claims or whatever it is in your state, you have evidence of doing all that's reasonable. Any subsequent mould issues would have been a matter for you and the cleaning company.

    I know this because I had water leaking from the ceiling on my bed. I told the agent who said he'd fix it. The next time it rained, the leaking occurred again and was much worse than the first time. I complained and wanted a replacement and was offered $200. I rejected that and went to VCAT. I lost because the agent produced a receipt dated between the leak events to indicate that the handyman had been to inspect and fix the roof.

    I suspect the receipt was falsified as no-one was informed of the handyman's visit, accessing the roof would have been difficult and I didn't tell them which of the 3 bedrooms in our share apartment was mine.

    I would withdraw the compo, ask to inspect the items, get an opinion on the likelihood of the mould spreading to and affecting the items, get those ones professionally cleaned along with the property.

    • HighAndDry on 22/10/2018 - 13:26

      Had you used a professional cleaner at the first sign of trouble, you would have been off the hook.

      I'm actually fairly sure OP is off the hook because the tenants didn't notify him as soon as they noticed the issue.

      • Some Guy on 24/10/2018 - 12:18

        The OP hasn't done much other than provide google advice and offer compo since being notified. The fact that the tenants did something would suggest they're living up to their obligations. You're scenario requires the OP to provide evidence that the tenants were negligent in not notifying, that the OP would have done something (not a great track record there) and whatever he would have done would have prevented the damage. That will require quite a legal defense - far more than the cost of the items.

        IME, the judge will look at who did what and apportion judgement accordingly.

        • HighAndDry on 24/10/2018 - 12:20

          The fact that the tenants did something would suggest they're living up to their obligations.

          Their obligations are to notify the landlord basically as soon as is practicable. Mould spreads quickly, their obligation to notify is correspondingly more urgent.

          You're scenario requires the OP to provide evidence that the tenants were negligent in not notifying

          From the OP: "The tenant complained of mould growth on 2 of the bedroom walls bottom corners, after returning from a holiday" and "They notified me they noticed it and tried to clean it with bleach before they left."

          OP has more than enough evidence, especially given the tenants knew it was serious enough to try and clean themselves.

          An analogy would be if I noticed my sink hose leaking heavily in the morning, I try to plug it with paper towels, and it floods the apartment by the afternoon when I get back from work. I'd be negligent in not notifying the landlord that morning. The tenants here are negligent in not notifying the landlord of the issue before they left for holidays.

          That will require quite a legal defense - far more than the cost of the items.

          Not really - it's just facts. This will most likely go to NCAT if it's not resolved privately, it costs only time and effort, and the tenants being the complaining party, would incur that first anyway.

  • bobbified on 22/10/2018 - 08:39

    If it gets too much, let your insurance company deal with it. That's what they're there for.

    You so have landlord insurance, right?

    • mikenazz on 22/10/2018 - 09:03

      Wish I did now. However I've looked at the pds of some major ones and they don't cover mould damage…

      • bobbified on 22/10/2018 - 10:30

        I guess you could try speaking to the body corporate. They took responsibility before and they may do so now.

        How long was it between when the tenant first notified you and the damage claim?

        • mikenazz on 22/10/2018 - 12:46
          +1

          About 2 weeks. Initially the tenant cleaned the walls themselves then after 2 weeks began complaining about damaged beds, clothing ect.

          I am in communication with strata now and they are communicating with me/ asking for more information/pictures.

  • HighAndDry on 22/10/2018 - 13:25
    +3

    They notified me they noticed it and tried to clean it with bleach before they left

    If they noticed this before they went on holidays, but only actually notified you after they returned, this is almost entirely on them. You have a duty as a landlord, but they have a duty to advise you of any issues with the property, especially issues which they later want you to rectify. They failed to do that, and the resulting damage is basically 100% their own responsibility because if you had been notified earlier, you could have fixed the issue before the damage was actually incurred.

  • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2018 - 22:01

    Mould is tenant's responsibility not landlords.. Thats what my agent always tells me.. I rent..

    • HighAndDry on 23/10/2018 - 11:16
      +2

      As always, it depends. Mould from water leaking from outside due to structural issues? Landlord's responsibility (to rectify the root cause). Mould because of internal moisture and/or lack of ventilation? Tenant's issue.

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