Renting

[Bow]

I’m one of the many unfortunate people that will never achieve the great Aussie dream of owning a home. ( Unless I win the lotto…. Anyone got any tips???)

Renting can be a nightmare. Even getting a rental in the current market is hard. Landlords are greedy. They just want your money and won’t put money back into their investments. 

Just wanted to perhaps open a space for renters to get some tips and tricks, ask for some advice and to share our combined knowledge. 

We’ve been in our current rental for 4 years. We are lucky in that they have never done a routine inspection, I think that’s probably because their office is in the city over an hour away. But hey we aren’t complaining about that. 

But that dreaded email from the real estate (other than our fortnightly rental receipt) gives me just as much anxiety as the ‘new mygov email’!! (Can anyone relate??)

Well we got that email yesterday. Rent increase. Was it a coincidence that I had just paid our water bill moments before??

Anyways, our real estate tried to increase our rent earlier in the year. I emailed them an updated list- A4 size, of all the maintenance that needed to be done. This list was provided to them twice last year, to which they ignored and also ignored our rent increase as a result. But earlier in the year the real estate came out and took hundreds of photos of all the things that need fixing and don’t work. And then we never heard from them again. 
So I will again send them this list, updating it again because there is more to add. 

In saying all this, it’s ok to try and negotiate rental increases with your real estate. Happy to provide a template of what to say if anyone wants it. 

And read and become familiar with your rights as a renter. I know it can be a bit difficult to find the right legislation and stuff, but we can work together. 

[ArraDreaming]

Hey @Bow I can relate, I don’t think we will ever own, even though we know long term it is better to be paying for an asset we just can’t afford to save anything at all.
We have had an interesting run of rentals including one that was old but beautiful house with a massive garden, it was perfect small but really nice but we were all getting sick and having respiratory symptoms pretty much ongoing and I found a pretty signicant mold problem which I think would be the culprit, we legged it out of there pretty fast as we we found out we were expecting another child and it wasnt a risk we were willing to take, I found mold all through blankets that were stored, clothes, jackets and things hanging up a wardrobe one day.
So we moved into a private rental which was awesome but I felt like they pretty well had free range to put the rent up a fair bit on us and then it was just getting so unaffordable… we love our little house and acerage now, affordability is still very tough though
I feel safer having the back of an agent and their laws/obligations as opposed to private who were very weird about maintence and put up the rent so much

[8ppleTree]

Hi @Bow 

Great idea for a thread! Anything that improves communication and reduces long term rental issues is good!  Yes, would love to see a template 🙂👍

That's a bit rough asking for repairs and then having your rent increased with no response from them! 

Over the years, I've had a few dodgy landlords and learnt that most states have a Consumer/Fair Trading Office and Tenant's Union/Advocacy centres which can also be really helpful in explaining rights, legislation, providing correct notices and how advising how to draft formal requests for repairs, reviews, etc. Some will even attempt to negotiate some disputes for you, to avoid the necessity of heading to civil tribunals. 

Tip: Put everything in writing! 

[8ppleTree]

Hi @ArraDreaming 

Mould is just awful. Renting really is hit and miss. Glad you're somewhere healthier and nicer now! 

[Bow]

Oh yes @8ppleTree  everything in writing! Even if you have a phone call with your real estate follow it up with an email afterwards confirming everything that was discussed and agreed upon. 

I think you are giving yourself very valuable information if you take the time to read up on any legislation and rules in your state. I know sometimes it can be confusing and they use big words, but hopefully you can underStand enough. 
For instance, we have had issues with large rodents in our roof for a long time. The real estate told us that we are responsible for rodent and pest control. However upon doing some research recently, as there is a huge gap between the existing brick building and the added room which is my room, this makes the landlords responsible for it. 
Just make sure you find the relative information for your state. 

@8ppleTree  many years ago we had a bad issue with mold. Our landlord said to just paint over it!! Ummm no. 

what bugs me a lot is moving into a new rental to find that the previous tenants did not clean. You would assume that the real estate would probably with hold some bond to have the property cleaned. But no. Every house I have moved into has been pretty gross. And then the expectation is that you clean when you leave. (My mum is very pedantic about this and will clean and scrub for days). But most leases will state that you need to vacate the property in the condition that you found it in. SO… make sure you take lots of photos when you move in! And go over that condition report with a fine tooth comb. If it says that room is clean with no damage and that’s no correct, write it down. You are usually give a few days to return that report and it might be a bit of an inconvenience cause you get the keys and just want to move in straight away. But if you do the work first thing, you can save yourself a lot of stress and potential money at the end. 

I’ll find that letter template

[8ppleTree]

Hi @Bow 

That's fantastic information! Yes, it can take a bit of time, it's worth trying to understand the relevant responsibilities. I agree that it can be so annoying to move into a new place and find it dirty. I think sometimes what happens here is that tenants leave after not having had repairs done, or possibly they moved into it in the same condition, so they didn't bother to clean it to a higher standard when they left. Absolutely taking photos is the best protection. 

I lost clothing and property to mould damage years back in a rental. It was a nightmare and I also became quite ill. Not nice at all. 

Hope everyone is having a great day today! 🙂👍

[Bow]

Yep @8ppleTree  oh the joys of renting eh?!

there is a house over the road from us. They moved in the same day that we moved in. Very strange couple. They had over 10 security cameras out the front of their place alone, including attaching one to the street sign and one on a tree on our property. The council came and removed both of them. But very unsettling for us. Why did they need all those cameras???

But they were very meticulous with their lawn. Mowed very regularly, watered a lot and always nice and green. Then suddenly one day they were gone. And then the lovely green grass was dead. Absolutely dead! Was such an eyesore! We can only speculate what happened. 

Our landlord contactedus last week to put our rent up. I emailed back with a counter offer and the long list of repairs. They emailed back and said the landlord did t agree with our offer and made no mention of all the repairs. I emailed back again with another offer and mentioned the repairs, some of which were a matter of safety, and not just our safety but those of visitors and that we would take things to the tribunal to have everything fixed and I’ve heard nothing since. Zero contact. That was a week ago! 
again. Wants our money but refuses to do any repairs and maintenance. 

[8ppleTree]

@Bow 

That is so strange! It would make a great start of a plot for a novel 🙂 Who were they? Why did they care about their lawn so much?! Why the cameras? Why did they think they could put cameras up on public or other people's private property, but be so responsible with their own property..bizarre lol I want to know now.. 

Typical landlord and real estate shenanigans. Good on you for sticking to your guns, hopefully you'll get some traction with them soon 👍