[VIC] Housemate 'stole' by Not Passing on Rent Discount

Lomerta on 18/08/2020 - 15:32
Last edited 18/08/2020 - 21:04

My partner recently moved into a 3 bdr apartment near the city with housemate (A) . Monthly rent was agreed upon and everything appeared above board with housemate (A) who'd already signed/coordinated everything with the real estate agent, and offered to furnish the shared areas of the apartment (kitchen, dining room & lounge). Thinking nothing of it, my partner accepted & was added to the lease via email (due to covid).

Fast forward a few weeks and another housemate (B) was added (subletting), so all bedrooms were now occupied. We first started to suspect something was up when housemate (A) really splurged when furnishing the place, only buying high end expensive items. Not wanting to pry or question another persons' financial situation we left it.

By accident we started noticing similar apartments in the complex listed for discounted rates and questioned it with housemate (A). She casually mentioned that they had, in fact, received a discount of 50% for one month - news to both my partner and housemate (B). Irate that they'd payed full rent housemate (A) was confronted who defended herself by stating that it had gone towards the nice furniture.

This had never been discussed or agreed on.

We decided to check with the real estate agent who stated the discount was actually for 3 months, equivalent to ~$5,000. What are our options? Ideally my partner + housemate (B) would be repaid and housemate (A) made to vacate the apartment (who wants to live with a thief?) but understand its unlikely given Vic tenancy laws.

Other options I could think of

1 - Refuse to pay more than 50% for the next 3 months

2 - Break lease and GTFO (cut losses). Easier for housemate (B) who is subletting

3 - Report to real estate agent/police, lawyer involved, etc

TL;DR:

  • 50% rent discount was applied for 3 months

  • Housemate (A) never passed it on, effectively stealing upward of $5k

UPDATE

After going through rental agreement, it has both my partner & housemate (A) listed as paying equal amounts to the real estate agent. My opinion is that the real estate agent messed up by only sharing the details of rent reduction with one of the two listed tenants.
This provided housemate (A) with the option of disclosing the information with my partner. By not doing so housemate (A) is obviously a terrible person however I don't think they should have had the opportunity in the first place.
We'll be speaking to the real estate agent tomorrow - really hope we have some legal standing here.

Home & Garden

Comments

  • spackbace on 18/08/2020 - 15:36
    +11

    2 - Break lease and GTFO (cut losses).

    Bingo

  • ozhunter on 18/08/2020 - 15:43
    +4

    my partner accepted & was added to the lease via email (due to covid).

    VCAT housemate A

    As house B was subletting(and not on the lease?) I don't think they are entitled to the discount, though it would be the fair thing to do.

  • k-rokfm on 18/08/2020 - 15:45
    +4

    1 - Refuse Ask to pay more than 50% for the next 3 months
    and if not then)
    2 - Break lease and GTFO (cut losses). Easier for housemate (B) who is subletting
    or)
    4 - Deal with it and move on

    Thats all you can do

    3 - Report to real estate agent/police, lawyer involved, etc

    LOL no chance! You agreed to the price for subletting. You have no reason to be able to claim back any money or anything. It sucks and is a D*** move but nothing you can realistically do

    • dizzle on 18/08/2020 - 17:07
      +3

      You agreed to the price for subletting. You have no reason to be able to claim back any money or anything. It sucks and is a D*** move but nothing you can realistically do

      This. As far as I'm aware they could be charging you twice the price they pay, and there is nothing illegal about it.

      They have an agreement with the Real estate. Your partner has an agreement with the subletter.

      • omerta on 18/08/2020 - 17:27

        i might not have explained it well;
        my partner went to additional effort (and expense, it costs ~$100-200) to be listed on the lease as a tenant. Also re-lodged bond to ensure my partner & housemate (A) were individually listed.

        I presumed this would come with some legal entitlement when it came to things like coordinating with real estate agent, rental discounts, hardship applications (if relevant) however could be mistaken.

        • dizzle on 18/08/2020 - 18:24

          Break lease and GTFO (cut losses). Easier for housemate (B) who is subletting

          Kinda says they are subletting :).

          Saying that, if he's a co-tennant and lease is a fixed period, you can't just pay 4 weeks to break your part of the lease. It would have to be both tenants breaking the lease otherwise you're still on the line for any penalties (eg bond, damages etc).

          • jjjaar on 18/08/2020 - 18:45
            +2

            @dizzle:

            Kinda says they are subletting :).

            Housemate B is subletting

            Partner is on lease (partner is not housemate A or housemate B)

  • AdosHouse on 18/08/2020 - 16:04
    +17

    I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that a 3 bedroom apartment is about $833/week rent.

    • ykwon10 on 18/08/2020 - 16:17

      penthouse with swimming pool and 360 degree view~~

    • JimmyF on 18/08/2020 - 16:24
      +2

      Oh good, I'm not the only one that went WTF $10k rent for 3 months, thats $40k/yr

      • netjock on 18/08/2020 - 16:53
        +1

        $250pw per person is not unreasonable depending on how big the rooms are and what facilities are available.

        Obviously a bit better to do, not doing 20hr a week minimum wage.

        • JimmyF on 18/08/2020 - 16:54

          $250pw per person is not unreasonable

          errr $833/wk by 3 people is more like $278 per person + bills.

          • netjock on 18/08/2020 - 16:57

            @JimmyF: $27 plus bills is neither here nor there. I doubt you'd find any city apartments for less than $250 - $300 per (real) room excluding those sharing bunk beds and lounge rooms converted into bedrooms too.

          • swimmingtoad on 18/08/2020 - 20:26

            @JimmyF: So effectively Tenant A 'stole' about $2,500, not the $5,000 noted by the OP because the 50% reduction savings would be split.
            If the Tenant A 'stole' $5,000 that means the 50% reduction was $10,000 over the 3 months period meaning the rent is $1,667 week?

    • Seraphin7 on 18/08/2020 - 17:10

      Depends where the apartment is, facilities, etc.

      Even without being ridiculous in terms of quality, etc., I'm aware of 2 bedroom places within sight of my place that would go for that money, many 3 bedders would be at the $1k, $1.2k mark.

    • omerta on 18/08/2020 - 17:32

      same here im happy paying half that for a townhouse out in the 'burbs

  • dasher86 on 18/08/2020 - 16:14

    Don't pay rent to Housemate A for 1 month.

  • 0FoxGiven on 18/08/2020 - 16:22
    +2

    Sooo you were ok with letting the housemate furnish the house at her expense with nice stuff which you also use, but not ok with her paying for it out of the rent at your expense.

    Hmm… I'm not in support of what your housemate did but don't feel for you either.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 18/08/2020 - 16:37
    1. Get a copy of the Lease.
    2. Make sure your partner IS on the Lease.
    3. Pay the RE/PM directly in future.
    4. Tell Housemate A your partner is $xxx in advance on rent and won't be paying more until it is due.
  • JimmyF on 18/08/2020 - 16:45

    We decided to check with the real estate agent who stated the discount was actually for 3 months, equivalent to ~$5,000. What are our options?

    Depends on what your agreement was, are you renting a room/furnish apartment space for a fixed price or are you on the lease as equal shares or the rent + bills etc?

    • omerta on 18/08/2020 - 17:38
      +1

      agreement was for equal shares of rent + bills with the apartment unfurnished. My partner actually moved in before housemate (A), the only difference was she didn't get to meet real estate agent due to covid & made the mistake of trusting (A)'s relayed communication.
      In my experience it's not unusual for a single person out of a share house to be nominated as the point of contact for a real estate agent, which (A) was.

      • SydStrand on 18/08/2020 - 20:52

        agreement was for equal shares of rent + bills with the apartment unfurnished

        Does it actually say 'equal share' in writing in any sort of contract? If not, then your partner signed to pay a fixed rate, in which case it falls under the 'dog move' (but technically not theft) clause. But because housemate B is subletting, they're screwed.

  • [Deactivated] on 18/08/2020 - 17:06
    +1

    If your agreement states you will pay $x, you are not entitled to the discount. What your housemate did shows the type of character you shouldn't do business with but they are 100% within their right to do what they did.

    If you agreement states that you will pay a share and/or a fixed amount that is revised should the LL change the rent, then your housemate is 100% wrong.

    In the second scenario, I would demand the difference be refunded in a timely manner (a week?) or your rent be decreased by at least the difference over the next few weeks. I'd break lease at first opportunity.

    • omerta on 18/08/2020 - 21:15

      Re-checked the lease agreement thanks to your advice & updated.

  • [Deactivated] on 18/08/2020 - 17:50
    -1

    🤦‍♂️🤣

  • Hardlyworkin on 18/08/2020 - 19:05
    +4

    Sounds like your partner has inadvertently purchased some nice furniture that they should take with them when they leave :)

  • whooah1979 on 19/08/2020 - 00:12
    +1

    Housemate (A) never passed it on, effectively stealing upward of $5k

    Who pays the rent to the REA? A, the partner or both?

  • Hardlyworkin on 19/08/2020 - 07:20

    Was the discount offered no strings attached because of falling prices or did the housemate claim they were suffering financial difficulty and get the discount?

    Perhaps it is the landlord who has lost out the most here and have been taken advantage of. If that's the case then the ball is in your partner's court as to what they do with this information.

  • Whisper Quiet on 19/08/2020 - 08:03
    -1

    Sounds like you're over at the house too much. I'd be charging extra for your partner since it seems there's basically another person living there. So all sounds fair now.

  • HeWhoKnows on 19/08/2020 - 08:30
    -2

    There is the primary lease holder and the others (house mates) who sub-let from the lease holder.

    What rent the primary lease holder pays to the agent and what they charge to the house mates are 2 separate things !

    So the rental discount was given to the lease holder who is NOT obliged to pass on the discount to the house mates.
    The sub-let agreement (house mates) is a separate agreement.

    Equally so if one of the house mates leave, then primary lease holder is still responsible for paying the entire rent.

    My advise to OP

    Its NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!
    Dont try and run someone else's house mate!

  • OzHunterNSW on 19/08/2020 - 09:50

    Been there… done that….

    It is a Civil Matter.

    He has stolen from YOU.

    You need to gather all your proof then seek legal advice.

    You may be able to do this via Tribunal (minimal fee).

    It is clear that you have been ripped off… so they have to explain as to why they have chosen to steal from you.

    • bobbified on 19/08/2020 - 20:57
      +2

      Been there… done that….

      What… you stole from your housemate too? 😜

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