Getting Screwed by Landlord on Final Inspection/Bond

• 

  AustriaBargain on 09/12/2017 - 04:56

  Do you have photos of the carpet and stained bathroom for us to consider?

  • 

    Azrael169 on 09/12/2017 - 07:01

    +2

    https://imgur.com/a/DJ0T1

    Pics are pretty self explanatory - though will add the damage to the carpet looks worse in the pic then it did in real life before we handed back the keys

    • 

      BertieBrown on 09/12/2017 - 08:07

      I think a lot of newer carpet is absolutely crap. We bought some ‘expensive’ carpet from Bunnings when we reno’d and it’s shit; wears easily, fraying, discolouration, squashed down in areas of average trafffic and it’s not even four years old. So the carpet, IMO, is likely due to it being crappier quality, but as whoa1979 said the protector would have helped but depending on the pile there could still be some degree of wear if it’s been sitting there for a few years.

      As for the seal, yeah I’d imagine that you should be able to get a new seal installed without having to replace the whole door. Now it could be that the owner just rang one store and asked about it and they said the whole panel needs replacing, but more likely they’re just trying it on to get the door replaced.

      I think it’s one of those vinyl seals as oppose to silicon, and FWIW getting a decent finish on silicon sealant if you’re not familiar with it can be a real PITA.

      • 

        Slippery Fish on 09/12/2017 - 08:36

        Spit on finger, run finger over sealant…

        Having looked at your photos you should have had carpet steamed. I'd tell them to wear the carpet as you have (pun intended) and you will replace the door seal. Honestly why didn't you replace it, it's obviously something they will have heart failure about…

      • 

        original15 on 09/12/2017 - 10:04

        +1

        Expensive carpet from bunnings? Not surprised it ended up shit
        Try expensive carpet from a carpet place

      • 

        whooah1979 on 09/12/2017 - 13:37

        +1

        @original15:

        Try expensive carpet from a carpet place

        Bunnings have the habit of sourcing items from the same manufacturers and using their own codes. The "carpet place" items could come from the same factory.

      • 

        CheapSticks on 09/12/2017 - 14:19

        @Slippery Fish:

        Agree with Slippery - you cud hv done bit of work and presented it better so that it wudnt hv escalated to this level.

    • 

      Daniel Plainview on 09/12/2017 - 11:22

      Hmmmm well the real challenge you've got for yourself is that you've allowed the property manager to hone in on a couple of problem areas - so now unless they're remedied very well they're going to poo-poo anything you do.

      I still contend the carpet isn't an issue - I reckon if the carpet there was moistened several times and dried - then vacuum cleaned it'd get back to being much more normal.

      The carpet isn't in anyway damaged or worn - it appears just to be pushed down/squished from the chair rolling all over it. I mean I've heard property managers try and claim as a piece of furniture left in the one spot for several years understandably left a press down mark on carpet that it was 'damaged' - what BS. Thats completely normal and anyone with a vague clue understands this.

      Plus as stated the quality of carpet they put in most rentals is absolute junk - so hardly surprising it's more likely to show marks. But thats a BIG difference from neglect or abuse.

      Again as stated yeah thats a vinyl or similar seal - so you can't just caulk it. Should be able to buy a length of it from Bunnings or speciality store and you'll pull the old one out and pop a precut length of the new one in.

      The lesson to be learnt from all this is BEFORE you do the actual exit inspection - go around yourself a week or so in advance and nitpick anythiing they MIGHT target as an issue and fix/rectify it in advance.

      • 

        Slippery Fish on 09/12/2017 - 15:15

        +1

        Wet towel and a iron is how you uncompress carpet btw.

      • 

        HighAndDry on 11/12/2017 - 16:23

        @Slippery Fish: Careful with the iron though - can't unburn carpet and I've burnt carpet even with a hairdryer, much less an iron.

      • 

        Slippery Fish on 11/12/2017 - 21:15

        +1

        @0blivion: yes I suppose your right to warn, to me it was obvious to go slow and careful.

• 

  chumbucket on 09/12/2017 - 05:31

  Caulk gun and sealant from bunnings, fix the seal yourself (or use airtasker etc). Carpet may be an issue seeing as the apartment is only 4 years old, but depends on your state. Maybe talk to your state rental/tenancy body? for NSW its NCAT

  • 

    chumbucket on 09/12/2017 - 05:31

    but you do not need to replace the whole door if its only a seal. The real estate agent is just being lazy.

    • 

      Azrael169 on 09/12/2017 - 07:03

      Yeah thats my thought

  • 

    Azrael169 on 09/12/2017 - 07:03

    In WA for what its worth.

• 

  whooah1979 on 09/12/2017 - 06:01

  +5

  Now time for final inspection and they are saying that the chair has caused undue damage to the carpet.

  A $30 carpet chair mat could've prevented this. Something to keep in mind for your next rental office.

  • 

    Azrael169 on 09/12/2017 - 07:04

    yeah, will never be renting again. Special circumstances meant renting was a better choice at the time. Now back to owner-occupied

• 

  Daniel Plainview on 09/12/2017 - 06:38

  +10

  Just to respond to your questions:
  1) I'm pretty certain your assertion that the chair is 'normal wear and tear' is more than reasonable. It's not like you made marks in the carpet by using a trailbike in there, carpet gets marks its normal - and expecting that simply as you had the 'audacity' to sit on a chair at a desk and subsequently caused marks on their no doubt entry level carpet & therefore must replace it is nonsense. Stick to your guns on that one.

  2) As stated by earlier post, get a caulking gun, sanitary area silicon to match whatever's been used (clear, white or whatever), stanley knife - cut the section of discoloured sealant out/off - going no deeper than needed. Replace, smoothing with a finger dipper in mild soap solution. Should be as good as new.

  ---

  In general I think a LOT of property managers ACTIVELY and CONSCIOUSLY try and get themselves and the owners another revenue stream by targeting injust & bogus 'damage' charges - I'm absolutely certain of it.

  All you need to know about property managers is how well known it is that renters DON'T have to steam/dry clean carpet on leaving (unless it's dirty BEYOND normal wear and tear) but every single agent we ever used in ~20yrs renting tried and generally succeeded in getting us to pay for this. Which is just dishonest and BS behaviour.

  Thankfully we own our own property now but I'd strongly urge every single OzB renter to do the following:
  1) On entry report to property dispute & challenge every single thing the agent states unless it's 100% correct - if they say carpet is clean you MUST note every single stain, rip, worn patch - the wall is undamaged, you must say has some marks and a bump in it down low etc.

  2) Take high resolution photos and video of the entire property that you're responsible for - give or atleast offer a copy of this to the agent.

  3) Get to know your state/territory tenancy body & read up on the guidelines in place for different problem areas of leases e.g damage, pets etc.

  4) If you do any damage etc repair it yourself DO NOT leave and allow agent to assess costs - you'll be grossly overcharged.

  5) When the agent does the exit inspection BE THERE IN PERSON.

  WE rented for almost 20yrs before having enough $$$ and desire to buy - but in all those years I never lost a single dollar from our bond BUT the agents nearly always tried to stuff us over but couldn't as we had them covered from very thorough records etc.

• 

  jason101 on 09/12/2017 - 08:21

  +8

  I'm bracing myself for a flaming here as somewhat of a professional landlord. If carpet has an anticipated life of 7-10 years and you have demolished it in 3 years, I think you should mentally prepare to perhaps fund around 50-60% of the replacement cost (perhaps the carpet, not the underlay which may still be ok). If you knowingly left all that pink mess and calcification on the shower frame, at the very least you are up for the cleaning expense of that immediate area (say $100-150) which is probably about the same as the cost to get a mobile glass repair guy to come out and replace the seal which is probably a more practical outcome - and I suggest you should have considered doing this before vacating.

  Also sometimes remember that landlords are caught out due to their property managers behaviours, I had a fly screen of a property with a 40x40cm hole in it. The tenant argued it was fair wear and tear, I suggested a small rip or 2cm x 2cm hole may be fair wear and tear but someone had obviously ripped this hole for the purpose of sticking their arm through and unlocking the door when they had forgotten or lost a key. Anyway the agent replaced the mesh using one of their suggested trades and I instructed the agent to take the costs from the bond. I attended the property while the work was done, a general handyman attended and 10 minutes later the issue was fixed. He then invoiced the agent something like $270 which the agent took from the bond. Needless to say the tenant was angry with ME for the excessive charge. I felt genuinely sorry for the tenant and asked the agent to challenge the handyman on his fee, he stood his ground complaining he lived 50km from the site (with the site being within 2km of the CBD and him living 52km away) and in the end the tenant had to wear the costs. Unfortunately as landlord I became extremely unpopular with the tenant received a few letters etc and I felt a little like a marked man for a few months. My hands as landlord were tied and I found myself in an unenviable situation where a tenant had been ripped off and I was an unwitting party.

  The moral of the story is that the tenant could have replaced the mesh themselves for around $20 with parts from Bunnings, but wanted to argue the case and ended up somewhat unfairly being charged 10X this amount with basically everyones hands tied on the matter.

  • 

    Slippery Fish on 09/12/2017 - 08:29

    +2

    What a (profanity) or a repair guy, hope you black listed him from ever working for you again…

    • 

      bobbified on 09/12/2017 - 09:31

      +4

      Anyway the agent replaced the mesh using one of their suggested trades

      Agents tend to manage properties around their local areas and should have tradies from that area too.

      I'd be blaming the agent for even calling this tradie if he really lived 50km away. As an agent, they should also have an idea of what price is reasonable and what isn't - $270 is definitely not!

      But I think this was a case of having a profit sharing arrangement between the tradie and agent.

  • 

    lgacb08 on 09/12/2017 - 20:32

    you obviously never have tenants brave enough to put your case through VCAT or the other states' equivalent because what you said about the carpet is bullcrap. VCAT took very strict mathematical calculation upon such issue and as a landlord you'd be considered yourself lucky to get a quarter of tenant bond for that.

    To the OP I said tell agent and landlord to flap it and go to court, unless landlord have solid proof they can't charge you for the replacement cost, even in that case you only have to pay pro-rata for the total cost, anything other than that they'll have to suck it up. The court always takes your side if landlord cannot prove otherwise.

  • 

    ihbh on 13/12/2017 - 11:41

    Why didn't you change property managers?

• 

  thatonethere on 09/12/2017 - 08:29

  Always a problem renting a brand new or near brand new property as the owner still sees it in their minds eye as a pristine shrine.

  With the carpet - I would say it was fair wear and tear unless your chair was actively damaging it (eg tearing it). Although if you were eating KFC and doritos each night sitting at that chair and stained the carpet (due to not cleaning it regularly). If it was a helpful PM they would have told you to put a carpet protector down in year 1. From being a renter and now landlord - it is amazing that people think they don't need to regularly clean their carpet (ie vacuum regularly and steam clean every few years).

  The pink I think you will need to cop it sweet as it means the shower was not being cleaned effectively.

• 

  minniethemoocher on 09/12/2017 - 12:32

  Before you redo the sealant try some bleach gel like domestos if you haven't already. It may remove the dye. I would argue the carpet looks like reasonable wear and tear.

  • 

    whooah1979 on 09/12/2017 - 13:39

    +1

    The image looks like a crop circle.

• 

  try2bhelpful on 09/12/2017 - 15:45

  +2

  As students we rented places and never lost our bond, but then we cleaned everything to within an inch of it's life before we left. We even got complimented by one agent on how good the place looked. Leaving the pink stuff on the shower was a real rookie mistake, you might have go away with the carpet if it was on its own, but you've now got a "list".

  From the "handing back the keys" comment, I assume you don't have access to the house anymore, which will make it harder for you to "make it right". I would suggest you offer to rectify the issues yourself, or pay for a professional clean of the place including steam cleaning the carpets.

  This is a good warning to people to use protectors in high usage areas, clean really thoroughly before handing back the keys and be present during the final inspection so the agent can highlight any issues whilst you are still in a position to rectify them.

  You could always go talk to the tenants union and see what they say.

• 

  lainey13 on 10/12/2017 - 00:44

  +1

  Call their bluff and see if they really take it to VCAT to get part of the bond to pay for it. It isn't too bad going to VCAT if it comes to that (or your state equivalent) and they will try and settle before then. The agent will have to prove to the board that what you have described is beyond fair wear and tear which I think it is in your case.

• 

  Iamnotcheap on 10/12/2017 - 12:54

  Being both a landlord and tenant (we rent where we want to live, but have a rental investment). I/we have Been shafted as a landlord and knowing that; when I had a shitty agent doing a similar situation to the OP with my recent rental I told them to take me to the tribunal.

  Any damage is commonly deemed as wear and tear, accidental or malicious in the eyes of a tribunal. If deemed wear and tear the agent cannot claim a dime back from you as long as the property has been cleaned to satisfactory level that a new tenant can take over. If the damage is malicious, the agent has to prove you did it while there. Other damage such as accidental damage is often at the price of the landlord as well. Commonly you can offer to assist on the accidental front if you know you accidentally broke something (moral/ethical right thing to do).

  As above tell them take you to the tribunal and let them (the tribunal) decide an appropriate cost. They cannot also claim any part of the bond without your authority - so don’t sign anything!

• 

  Azrael169 on 28/12/2017 - 22:42

  Settled on $200 compensation for the carpets. Got a quote myself to get the seals and had them fixed for around $200 as well.

  All settled now and time to move on