Dealing with Unreasonable Tenant

MiaSanMia on 28/11/2019 - 18:52
Last edited 02/12/2019 - 21:53

UPDATE - Thank you all for your comments here, they all have a point & I appreciate in great deal for your contribution of opinions into my case

I sent her a quote for bond cleaning as the carpet wasn't steam cleaned & disinfected, however she refused to take it off the bond & lodged a claim for full bond. Now I have 2 days to respond to this before it goes to the next level. Given the frustration & troubles she brings, I may agree for her full bond back & hopefully the RTA will consider the fact that I lodged the bond and allow her to get a full bond back when they look at her complaint.

UPDATE
She has now moved out, but did not have a proper bond cleaning done before moving out. The property was left reasonably clean though (Thank God!). There are few issues that she refuses to fix such as glide sliding security door off rail, crack on glass, wall paint srcatches etc. Should I just give her the full bond back on stay insistent on asking for a bond cleaning & other small issues to be addressed? Very likely she has now lodged a complaint to the RTA.

Hi there, we have a tenant renting our adjacent to our main house, a single mom with a 3yo. When she moved in 9 months ago, she did not have enough money to pay for the bond upfront so I allow her to pay over 4 instalments together with the regular rent payments. Now somehow she thinks her bond is the total first four payments. Since this was dragging on over an 8 week period, I forgot to lodge the bond with the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA). Fast forward, in the last couple of weeks, she turned to be very demanding and pushy type. For example I said I would spray the pesticide around the flat as she has complained about cockroaches, in fact she left the kitchen and the property in very messy state. As I was busy at that time, I asked her to wait or she can do it herself with my supplies of the chemicals, and this is from my courtesy but not bound by the rent contract. She then replied saying I'm being rude and threaten to leave. I said ok, I just need 4 weeks notice as her rent is now in periodic term. She threatened to make a complaint to the RTA about me late in lodging the bond, but I have already lodged before she lodged her complaint. All I want now is for her to move asap & leave the property in its pre-rental condition. The bond is now in hand of the RTA. I'm worried about being penalised by the RTA for late lodging the bond, which will definitely be after she moves out & potentially get her bond back as her complaint would not be looked at until the new year. This is my first time renting out so I have no idea how to deal with RTA investigation. "Hope you are prepared for what coming for you" she said. Hopefully someone with similar experience can give advice or helpful comment on this! Many thanks in advance!

Poll Options expired

  • 28
    Leave it as is, give her full bond back.
  • 17
    Stay insistent to claim as much as possible from the bond.
Financial

Comments

      • Trying2SaveABuck on 01/12/2019 - 17:10
        +1

        Essentially it is the way the law/government treats anyone who tries to work hard and get ahead

        However if you are dishonest crook and unethical the system lets you get away with anything

    • Roman Sandstorm on 02/12/2019 - 14:02
      -1

      @Ontheshread

      you will find the court usually rules unfavourably generally unfavourably against landlords

      If this is true, and I do not know if there is any evidence to support your assertion, but, if it is indeed true, then I, for one, am quite happy to live in a country where (independent) courts 'generally' rule in favour of the more underprivileged, and the lesser wealthy, over the better resourced and wealthier land and property owners.

      the system hates landlords

      The various systems (Renting and tenancy acts, tribunals, etc) in the various states have evolved over many years. One of their objectives is to provide equality and opportunity to those who rent, and may face a significant disparity in wealth and capability compared to those who own property. The 'system' also imposes obligations on renters, plus fair mechanisms for both landlords and renters to seek redress of disputes.

      As many (including you) have pointed out, being a landlord is a business. As such there are responsibilities, social and legal, beyond simply an unlimited ability to earn endless money, just by virtue of property ownership.

      • Trying2SaveABuck on 02/12/2019 - 14:44

        You can also lose endless money too system seems to forget that….

      • HighAndDry on 02/12/2019 - 22:10

        where (independent) courts 'generally' rule in favour of the more underprivileged, and the lesser wealthy…

        How about a country where the justice system, get this, rules justly?

        • Roman Sandstorm on 04/12/2019 - 10:09
          +1

          Agree entirely H & D.

          My use of 'generally' was ironic comment on @Ontheshread's unironic use of it.

  • edwardcr on 01/12/2019 - 00:39
    +2

    Wow - this makes even better reading than the never-ending traffic violations and accidents!

    People just never cease to amaze me.

  • El cheepo on 01/12/2019 - 00:40
    +1

    Side note, maybe ask a neighbor to keep an eye on your place if it’s vacant…
    Our neighbor just evicted someone and cleaned up the whole place (the previous tenants were junkies and trashed it)
    Problem solved?

    Nope…

    They came back and smashed up the place, cops got there 2 mins after they ran off. Shame we didn’t get a look at them to describe to the police.
    Everyone knows who did it but powerless to prove it…

    Lesson? People can be petty and get away with it.
    Be civil and hope for the best, might be worth cutting your losses.

  • simonjb on 01/12/2019 - 06:20
    +5

    Don't rent to people without bond.

    Don't "forget' to lodge bond.

  • Mosher on 01/12/2019 - 07:28
    +5

    First rule of landlord club is not to rent out to single mum's who cannot afford the bond

    Second rule of landlord club is not to rent out to single mum's who cannot afford the bond

    Etc

    • TerryJustTerry on 02/12/2019 - 09:08

      Third rule of the landlord club is to check references before letting them move in!

  • dono2 on 01/12/2019 - 09:06
    +1

    Live and learn op

    Always bond up front, no pets no single mums.

    If you have a bad feeling about them don't let them rent the place!

    • TEER3X on 02/12/2019 - 09:13

      Is it legal to say no pets anymore?

    • Blitz001 on 02/12/2019 - 09:15
      +4

      Yeah and no alcohol on the premise, and definitely no sexual relations allowed. Christians preferred since they put cleanliness next to godliness.

  • Bills22 on 01/12/2019 - 09:33
    +1

    Yes, that is too bad. Can't blame the unreasonable tenant because you didn't set any reasonable boundaries in the first place.

    Don't forget to lodge that bond.

    • HighAndDry on 02/12/2019 - 22:15

      Useful list of bad tenant blacklist operators at the bottom of the article.

  • plastic spoon on 01/12/2019 - 13:31
    +2

    You need to get her out as soon as possible because your insurance is void. We had a tenant fall behind on rent last Christmas and we didn't want to be arseholes and evict at Christmas time so we let it slide. They trashed the place and insurance wouldn't pay a cent because we let them stay even when behind on rent. It was a very expensive lesson (~$50k) for us. Also, eviction is a very slow process, it can take months.

  • locknuts on 01/12/2019 - 16:58

    Treat her well. Keep everything documented. Then simply do not renew the lease. You will take a loss but tenants have phenomenal power to take you to court.

  • abb on 02/12/2019 - 08:41
    +1

    sliding security door off rail, crack on glass, wall paint srcatches etc

    Door off rail is a sign of defective design, not really her fault. Paint scratches & cracked glass - you can probably claim repair costs.

    Maybe your goal should be "claim a reasonable amount", not "claim as much as possible"? You're sounding about as bad as her…

    • HighAndDry on 02/12/2019 - 22:15

      Door off rail could also be a sign of slamming it.

      • abb on 03/12/2019 - 09:12
        +1

        A door that cannot handle being slammed is not fit for purpose ;)

  • chillwok on 02/12/2019 - 08:58
    +10

    if you want her to bond clean. can you show her a receipt that it was bond clean before she moved in ?

    "glide sliding security door off rail" - sounds like wear an tear on the rollers. i had this issue at my house so i swapped the top rollers and put them on the bottom. was almost as good as new again.

    "crack on glass" - did she admit to this? do you have photos of this door before she moved in as evidence? no evidence no claim.

    "wall paint scratches"- again do you have evidence of the walls without scratches? will you re-paint the walls if she pays up or is this a cash grab.

    you already thank god that she left the house reasonably clean so maybe it's time to let the bond go and move on.

  • darkchoc on 02/12/2019 - 09:09
    +2

    Lodge a claim before she does!

    The bond dispute is not stopping you from moving on and getting a new tenant in.

    Get the place cleaned, keep receipts. So you can show it needed Channing for you to lease it. Start advertising asap to avoid rental voids over Christmas.

    You need to have evidence of before and after. Otherwise it's just fairer to give the whole bond back I suppose

  • Zondor on 02/12/2019 - 11:47

    glide sliding security door off rail = If this isnt just hooking it back over, legit, take from bond.
    crack on glass = legit
    wall paint srcatches etc = Depends if over normal "Wear and tear" if it looks like it was done by negligence, then legit.

  • Hangryuman on 02/12/2019 - 13:02
    +1

    whoa - reminds me of the world of pain you get from a$$hole tenants who know how to play the system - seen regularly on Channel 9 Current Affair TV - 'trashed my house', etc.

    sounds like you've got a houso trash who's gonna screw you sideways

    if you've got the guts, go to tribunal - pretty unlikely the tribunal would support the bond being $1200 when it was agreed to be $400 - hope you did discuss this?

    AFAIK you don't have to go to the tribunal first - you simply fill out the condition report on their leaving, reporting all dirt/damage - then you can get reasonable cleaning done by a professional - could be a few hundred bucks, then you lodge the bond refund form for the balance after your cleaning costs, unpaid rent, etc.

    After that they might object and take you to the tribunal, where you bring all the paperwork you can muster, and be prepared from them to show up with sickly baby and claims you treated them cruelly, and if there's any debt they owe you, they 'need more time to pay'- in other words, will plan to never pay you.

    Take the money out of the bond - and lodge that after they've gone and you've changed the locks. ONLY after all their stuff is gone - you don't want to be paying to remove tons of their garbage.

    But be very careful of when they agree to leave and when you accept the keys. I got screwed by some (profanity) tenants who gave notice they'd leave in two weeks after some disagreement, I came by a week later and found the place empty and keys on the table, and when we went to tribunal they said I had accepted their departure by collecting the keys - so I had to refund them the second week’s rent as well as the full bond - not happy Jan.

  • roy125 on 02/12/2019 - 14:35

    I'd be getting the repairs done, providing her with the final account (bond minus repairs) and then negotiating from there.

    Ultimately you need to get the repairs done either way. If you haven't done anything wrong why are you afraid of following through with what is you think is fair.

  • Murdrum on 02/12/2019 - 16:44

    It seems pretty easy for a landlord to make a claim against bond. You should claim what is reasonable (cracked window ✔ carpets not cleaned ✔ damage beyond reasonable wear ✔). Photograph everything immediately. Hopefully you also have photos from before they moved in. Document your expenses and go through the process if your claim is disputed. It shouldn't be too hard if you're ready for it.

  • herecomestheoost on 02/12/2019 - 18:34
    +1

    Just let the (profanity) go

  • Seraphin7 on 03/12/2019 - 09:26

    she did not have enough money to pay for the bond upfront

    At this point, it should have been, "too bad, so sad, bye bye".

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