Hi all,
Hoping to get some advice by my OzBargain family about issues I’m having in a rental I live in.
TLDR:
Various issues including mould have arose due to water entering the property. Early signs first arose a year ago, routine inspections have been done, but the owner hasn’t made any repairs. The communication with the property manager has been very poor and I have serious concerns about the mould. What shall I do?
Detailed story - sorry in advance for the length!
I’m 28 and live with my partner, and when we first applied the agent said the landlord was in no financial position to lease out the house. She also noted he had concerns about my age and asked questions about my lifestyle and if we planned on getting any pets, as he wanted to make sure he had the right tenants. I thought fair enough and answered any questions he had.
Within the first couple of months of moving in, the owner of the property has claimed to ‘accidentally’ send parcels to the house, arranged a property inspection, assessment for tax depreciation and insisted on coming over during the first week of us living there to install a rubber stopper on the mirror cabinet. Again I just accepted it and didn’t look much into it.
In early 2019 I did ask for the installation of a trellis for the climbers as they have nothing to climb on and installation of a security door as there is no passive cooling and with a flat roof, it relies heavily on the split system. The property manager at the time acknowledged the request and I never heard back from them again about it. Again, I thought no worries and worked around it.
In October 2019, we renewed the lease for another 12 months and the rent increased to $670 a week with a new property manager.
In November, we started to notice a few defects in different areas. These included paint starting to split, architraves cracking, bathroom cabinets starting to warp, moisture coming in from the sliding door and cracks in the ceiling. The maintenance team passed on the owners Thank You for letting him know and he would raise it with the builder.
In December I noticed a small water patch in the ceiling downstairs in the study. I let the landlord know straightaway but never heard back from the owner. Living in Melbourne, this small leak quickly grew with the amount of rain.
I then contacted the property manager again in February when the other issues mentioned above started to get worse. I had another routine inspection and didn’t hear anything from it. I followed up about the issue a few days later and didn’t hear back. I followed up again in April and didn’t get a response until May, but instead by a maintenance person wanting to arrange a quote.
The maintenance person came out and was surprised by the amount of damage as he was only sent a photo from last year. Within a week, I had 2 other maintenance people come out to provide a quote. Again, each only knew part of the issue.
A month later I receive a call by the landlords insurance as the owner has made a claim for the damage to the property. They sent out builders and again, they only knew some of the issues.
During the water tests by the insurance company, they noticed water is entering the property from a large crack on the side of the house and it’s spreading. They also discovered potential water leaks in 2 other areas due to cracks on the exterior. During the testing, the damage was worse than first thought and they peeled off a lot of paint in different areas, removed silicone around the sliding door and ripped up some of the carpet to check how far the water had spread. After their assessment, I immediately took photos and sent it to the agent just to let them know so there was a record as the damage was significant.
I sent another email 3 weeks ago to follow up where the claim has got to, and the only email I have ever received by my current property manager was “we’ll let the owner know.”
As of last week, the mixer tap in the kitchen has started to leak and the leaks from the shower in the en-suite has got worse due to gaps in the silicon.
I recognise that these issues would be a lot of stress for any home owner and COVID has been a difficult time for everyone. I feel I have been very patient, and it’s one issue after another, without getting anywhere. The company managing the property has a very good reputation, so it could be challenges with the owner.
I genuinely take great care of the property, do the gardening every fortnight and always pay the rent on time. The current lease runs out in November and most likely plan on moving somewhere else.
What shall I do?
I did vote VCAT although you may find it will take longer than the rest of your lease to get there. Looking at what you've discovered and noted it's time to look elsewhere unless you have a compelling reason for staying.