Rental rights question for Queensland. Does anyone know what my friend's rights are? They viewed a room on x date and said they would move in on y date. Head tenant said yes. Does the rent include the period between x and y date? And can the head tenant then stipulate after they moved in that the rent now no longer includes Internet and electricity? And can the head tenant then freely enter the room while my friend isn't there? And can the head tenant then rent out their room on Airbnb without informing my friend? There is not written agreement. My friend has paid 5 weeks rent in advance. My friend is now very frustrated by the hostility and wishes to move out. Can they get their money back? Thanks!
Shady Head Tenant
kikoprincess on 05/03/2016 - 14:07
Last edited 05/03/2016 - 14:33 by 1 other user
Last edited 05/03/2016 - 14:33 by 1 other user
Comments
Does the rent include the period between x and y date.
Rent period does not start until "your friend" moves in.
There is not written agreement.
There must be a written agreement. It's the only way to protect
yourselfyour friend.My friend has paid 5 weeks rent in advance.
Hope -he/she/friend- got a receipt.
Thanks everyone I'll let them know
You would think in this day and age, with information widely accessible and available everywhere, people would have basic common sense such as protecting yourself via written agreements.
I agree. My guess is that it was one of the low rental accommodations and the renter is a very young person. There are many illegal/informal rental accommodations out there eg. partitioned off lounge rooms, garages, converted patio/veranda, shipping containers, etc. For dwellings that do not meet council regulations its not legal/possible to register residential tenancy + bond forms.
The Airbnb thing freaks me out. I wouldn't want a bunch of strangers rummaging through my unmentionables or pocketing my jewellery. What sort of recourse would you have with the head tenant? They could just claim it was an Airbnb customer and to take the customer to court. The customer can claim, no proof as there was no list of contents, that they found the place as is, take the previous customer to court… etc.
join a tenants union who know these issues day in and day out.
Hope your friend has the "agreement" on SMS or email at least.
But then again who is he going to complain to? Try ring up RTA and if the first person answering is not helpful, ring again.
If you know the Owner/Rent Agent, dob in the Head Tenant.I doubt they will view this kindly (sub-letting & air-bnb)
The good thing about being young is you can afford to make mistake, learn from the lesson and move on. All the best.
Been there before.. Used to rent a room at gumtree..
Pretty much no to every question, as I'm sure they were aware, it's all pretty dodgy.
As to getting money back, you'd need to go through court.
And as for the next arrangement, make sure stuff is in writing. Seems like everyone should realise that, but apparently some are naive.