Not Getting My Bond Back

Landykroll89 on 23/02/2016 - 14:36
Last edited 23/02/2016 - 15:45 by 1 other user

I have been renting for the past 3 years and for the first few months the property was managed by a real estate agent. I received an email from the agent saying that the property will no longer be managed by them and the owner will manage it directly. All payment were made directly to the owner after that. I had no agreement with the owner and was just paying monthly. No inspections were made in the 2 and a bit years that they were managing the property.

Once I decided to move out I notified the owner and his reply was that I need to give him 1 month notice (not sure if this is correct) I paid the extra month and moved out on the date that we agreed. During the last month that I had paid for he requested that he get people to come and see the property and I agreed to this to help him out.

Once we fully moved out he came and did a final inspection going of the report that the real estate agent did at the start and said the floor boards in the lounge room were damaged and he will get getting a report done on it. I told him the place is over 4 years old and normal were and tear conditions apply. He had someone come in and they had drilled into the floor boards for some odd reason. He came back to me saying that the damage is due to moist. There was no real damage on the floor boards. few floor boards had lifted a little bit in the corners that all that was wrong. You couldn't really see anything unless you rally looked into it.

He now wants to keep half the bond to have this fixed which I did not agree to and he wants to take it to vcat now.

What should I do and what are my options.

• 

  CyberMurning on 23/02/2016 - 14:41

  +1

  two parties disagree. we dont know which one are correct eventhough you are ozb member, need to hear both sides of story to be fair, so two options: just agree and move along and sad, or go to court (spend time and more money but -MAYBE- happy)

  • 

    good grape on 23/02/2016 - 15:27

    +2

    do you have an idea of what the cost would be for going to court?
    I'll move out of my apartment soon and I'm pretty sure I will put up a fight with the agents (they are known for ripping tenants off) since I have lived there for a couple years and wear and tear would definitely come up as an argument.

    • 

      CyberMurning on 23/02/2016 - 15:31

      yeah i was just suggesting two options, im sure normal people will just argue and then move along… i clearly said spend more money tho.. and there is MAYBE word means there is a chance court will side with landlord…

      • 

        good grape on 23/02/2016 - 15:46

        yeah i understand going to court would cost more money- just trying to get an idea of what I'll need. ie lawyers for the courtcase or just paperwork sort of thing?

      • 

        CyberMurning on 23/02/2016 - 15:46

        @frugalcheapskate: sorry i have no idea tbh…

      • 

        kima on 23/02/2016 - 18:21

        +1

        @frugalcheapskate: you dont use lawyers in vcat. the costs are minimal - really the only thing you need to pay for is the paper for your document. Its your time that might not be worth it, but you can always write a letter telling the member that you disagree and why, and not bother showing up and see how it goes. Its up to yourself to decide what your time and stress are worth.

      • 

        good grape on 04/03/2016 - 09:35

        @kima: Thanks for the heads up. I'm not stressed about taking them to court-although I have heard stories that the agents back off when you say court. Just need to be ready to fight.

      • 

        kima on 04/03/2016 - 10:10

        @frugalcheapskate: the first step is to say to the landlord, look i don't agree with this. If your landlord and you still can't work it out tell them you would like to go through tribunal because the first step in that process is mediation and you can try to work it out there. - it only gets to a hearing if the mediation fails

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  ramb9 on 23/02/2016 - 15:05

  +2

  Sounds like normal wear and tear, I'd say just take it to court. There is moisture in the air.

  And what type of floorboards is it? He probably just wants to scare you off so you agree to pay with half your bond.

  • 

    andykroll89 on 23/02/2016 - 15:13

    +1

    There just really cheap floating floors.

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  QuickToThePointless on 23/02/2016 - 15:37

  +5

  Unless you lefft spilled liquid on the floor, or have been skateboarding in the house, tell him to get fugged, you'll see him in court.

  Keep your poker face on and call his bluff

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  shannonn54 on 23/02/2016 - 15:57

  Sounds like you never got an exit report from R/E when it changed over or had a new inspection by owner at that time. Leaving you with no paper based record of any damage or extreme wear & tear since the original report he's going on.

  I had my day in court re stains on carpet after I'd moved out 6 weeks prior, I had the R/E representing the owner show the court a colour canon printer printed reproduction of these stains. I had digital photos of the flat after cleaning but before final inspection, however court decided since my images were digital and not date stamped on image they could be tampered with, even with former neighbours signed statement that owner had short term leased flat for 4 weeks after I left to ppl who skipped town (bypassed R/E)so at end I got "taxed" 50 % bond .

  Given the above result. at the end of the day I'd suck it up agree to 50 % bond return and chalk it up to experience and NEVER rent unless you have a R/E or management company to deal with complete with entry inspection forms, and regular inspection histories.

  • 

    andykroll89 on 23/02/2016 - 16:05

    Never got a exit report from the R/E. Never got a new report or agreement from the owner. Owner NEVER inspected the place in over 3 years.

    • 

      shannonn54 on 23/02/2016 - 16:11

      +1

      Yeah I got that from your original post. It does seem strange that you accepted this changeover apparently via email with no written confirmation. Seems illegal if R/E didn't confirm the email in writing.

      Were you too busy, uninformed etc to request the owner inspect or negotiate a new lease under his name or just couldn't be bothered and just went month to mth based on the terms of existing lease?

      • 

        andykroll89 on 23/02/2016 - 16:22

        To be honest didn't know I should ask for a exit report from the R/A. Just got an email that the owner will take over and manage the property. Spoke to the owner, he gave me his bank details and Just made bank transfers once a month. Next had a agreement with him over anything. When decided to move out I called him and told him about it and later that night he sent me an sms that I need to give him 1 month notice as required by the RTA which I found wired as I was on a month to month basis (so had to pay for 1 more month)

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  miss arrow on 23/02/2016 - 15:58

  Is there a tribunal you can ask for help? No routine inspections in 2 years is a worry - check your lease to see if these were supposed to be regularly done :)

  • 

    andykroll89 on 23/02/2016 - 16:04

    Not sure if I can contact them and ask- but will try.

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  toniyellow on 23/02/2016 - 17:29

  +1

  Try https://www.tuv.org.au/tenants-help-line/ for help

  Let him take it to VCAT, and just attend, present as much evidence as you can you've always been a good tenant - rent paid on time etc. Let them know he never did inspections, and you think it is wear and tear.

  • 

    kima on 23/02/2016 - 18:28

    +1

    I haven't seen the damage but if it is as op described I would think the landlord would have a tough time proving its not wear and tear. I also question the needing to pay another whole month maybe prorate for the amount that you failed to notify but he also has an obligation to attempt to minimize the damage (put new tenants in) and if he did get new tenants especially when you were lenient to him to do so then he shouldn't be double dipping so you can counter on this and see if he wants to continue. seems a bit greedy, should be happy that you were a good tenant for so long. also consider if you need the reference at the end of the day

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  GreatWhiteHunter on 23/02/2016 - 18:47

  +2

  I would take him to court and self represent yourself.

  VCAT is cheap and if you put up a good case chances are you will win.

  Decent chance he won't turn up too in which case you win

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  danyboy on 23/02/2016 - 19:26

  +1

  Having gone to court a couple of times myself, in QLD albeit, the best advice I can give you is present as MUCH evidence as possible, i.e. correspondence from real estate, correspondence from owner, pictures (printed), ledgers, etc. etc. The more prepared you are to prove your point, the higher the chances are that you will win if there is an issue of contention. Also, the owner often needs to prove with, much less of a doubt, that there was indeed damage. Often, having one contractor "say" there is damage is insufficient.
  I would go to court, it may not even cost you anything (except time spent preparing paperwork and time to attend). Court really isn't that scary (for small claims such as this), it is almost a discussion rather than formal hearing like Judge Judy :)
  Often the person making a claim needs to pay the court fees, but in case you DO need to pay some court fees, you can apply to claim them back from the owner (check with your State courts how this plays out).

  • 

    andykroll89 on 24/02/2016 - 08:36

    Great thanks for the info.

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  sly on 23/02/2016 - 21:32

  +5

  Hi andykroll89,

  Sorry to hear about the issue you are having. I used to be an interpreter for CTTT in NSW. I assume VCAT is similar to CTTT.

  Going to tribunal doesn't cost you anything except your travelling cost there and your time.

  Most of the time (actually all the time), the member (judge) does not allow lawyer to represent any party. Before the session starts, you would be ask if you want to make a "deal" with other party. If both of you can agree on something before the actual "hearing", the order will be made according to your agreement. If an agreement cannot be reach, the session will proceed.

  Advises:

  1 - Make sure that you present all the evidence (photos, rental agreement, inspection reports before moving in and moving out, etc)

  2 - The tribunal allow reasonable wear and tear. You have been living there for 3 years, it is expected that there's reasonable wear and tear

  3 - Ask for a quotation, the landlord / agent if they want to claim your bond for repair, there must be a quotation of fixing it up. If you can get a quotation, please do so. Just in case the landlord / agent work with some contractor to provide an expensive quotation

  4 - If the landlord ask for something stupid (e.g. he/she needs to replace all the all the floorboard to keep the colour the same, etc). Ask the member (judge) "IF you pay for the cost, would you get the old, replaced floorboard?". Once a tenant damaged the carpet and the landlord asked for the bond, however the landlord has no intention to replace the carpet. The tenant asked for the old carpet to be given to him and the landlord wasn't prepare to replace the carpet. The case ended with the tenant only paying a very small amount.

  • 

    varunynr on 24/02/2016 - 08:29

    Spot on. Beautiful answer

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    andykroll89 on 24/02/2016 - 08:38

    Thanks for the info. I have asked if I can have someone come and have a look at the floors and if it was me that damaged them and he has not got back to me.

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  try2bhelpful on 24/02/2016 - 17:12

  Look at something like these guys in whatever state you are in.

  https://www.rta.qld.gov.au/

  If you stand up to this guy he will probably back down.

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  tj101 on 03/03/2016 - 11:04

  IF it was your fault, vcat say, how long should floating floorboards last. Say 10 years. They cost $2000. They were 9 years old, so has a final value of $200. That would be how much you would have to pay. However, if it is normal wear and tear, you pay nothing. VCAT normal hauls owners over the coals for claiming things that are normal wear and tear and have outlived their life expectancy so are worth very little or nothing. Remember the owner has likely been claiming depreciation on those floorboards. I would not make a deal, go to VCAT and get all your money back. After 3 years, there are bound to be maintenance issues and who's to say the floorboards were not like that when you moved in. Does he have a report saying they were new or in perfect condition? You would likely win at VCAT.