I was Tenant in 2020 & Landlord Raised VCAT Dispute for Leaving Contract Early

LSeekD on 28/03/2021 - 06:10

Hi Guys,

First Post so apologies for any misses.

Need suggestion or any guidance how to proceed On VCAT Hearing.

I was Tenant in property and vacated the property 3 weeks prior to original signed lease contract date. I did clean house as well as paid my rent till date I stayed. There was some personal issue for we had to leave early, I did communicate to my Agent one month prior that I will be vacating on so date. I didn't paid last month rent so that they can adjust from my bond for which when they asked I did release the bond to landlord.

At the time of Bond releasing, Agent promised that he will ask Landlord to charge me rent till the date I stayed, however now they have raise VCAT disputes.

I know, I should have stayed or paid till my contract dates, however was not in position to pay so I just vacated and moved in to my own house which was vacated by my tenant prior to lease.(This was the reason I had to leave early).

Now I am after whether I should pay remaining days of rent and request to cancel the dispute as its only for 20 days rent, or I should go t hearing and wait for VCAT decision, Any pro & cons ?

Or anyone in such situation can advise the right path to follow as I don't want much stress.

Financial

Comments

  • tomleonhart on 28/03/2021 - 06:47
    +14

    So you left before the fixed contract ends. Did the landlord say he agreed to you leaving early in writing? I suspect the landlord didn't agree and that's why you're here.

    Just pay the rent as I doubt VCAT will stay on your side since you are the one who broke the contract.

    Lesson is don't trust anything the letting agent says, they're literally scum of the earth.

    • garetz on 28/03/2021 - 12:15

      The landlord doesnt have to agree, its not like he owns your person. As long as they were paid till the end of the lease, thats what mostly matters. However op should of also given notice.

      You can leave whenever you want, as long as you have paid the contracted length of the lease in full.

  • elgrande on 28/03/2021 - 07:06

    Agent promised that he will ask Landlord to charge me rent till the date I stayed

    Guess you now know what that answer was.

    So your bond didn't cover the difference?

  • thatonethere on 28/03/2021 - 08:33
    +4

    Technically the bond can't be used to pay outstanding rent. Hopefully you have the arrangement in writing - eg emails, text msgs, witnesses etc

    If you have a signed condition report from the REA which is earlier that would indicate the REA was accepting of an earlier termination date too.

    So probably ok to go to VCAT (it's not court so just tidy yourself up, bring a support person and talk to the local tenant support group for your state first).

  • ozhunter on 28/03/2021 - 09:05
    +8

    however now they have raise VCAT disputes.

    Good.

    Or anyone in such situation can advise the right path to follow as I don't want much stress.

    Pay what you owe. You don't just decide when you want to stop paying your rent.

  • bobbified on 28/03/2021 - 09:24
    +12

    ….so I just vacated and moved in to my own house which was vacated by my tenant prior to lease.(This was the reason I had to leave early).

    So your own tenant decided to leave early - instead of dealing with that yourself, you tried to pass the problem to your own landlord.

    Pay the landlord what you owe!

  • Quantumcat on 28/03/2021 - 09:38
    +5

    You aren't allowed to use your bond for paying rent that is due. You probably owed a break lease fee as well as rent until a new tenant was found (unlikely within 3 weeks). Would have been cheaper to keep paying rent and use the time to move slowly and have lots of time for cleaning (better chance of keeping your bond that way too).

    • jjjaar on 28/03/2021 - 10:25
      +2

      This. It’s highly likely that going to VCAT is the only option the owner actually has to get the unpaid rent, as they can’t take it from the bond.

      Just pay what you owe and save both of yourselves the hassle of VCAT.

  • brendanm on 28/03/2021 - 10:01
    +12

    Should I pay the agreed amount, in a legally binding contract that I signed and agreed to?

    Hmmm, it's a hard one.

  • tsunamisurfer on 28/03/2021 - 10:24
    +12

    The OP himself is a landlord and doesn't know what a bond is for.

    The OP himself is a landlord and sees fit to treat other landlords in such a manner.

    If there is a God, please give OP the same tenant in the future.

    • holdenmg on 28/03/2021 - 10:30

      Yin Yang or Karma or something.

      • Hardlyworkin on 28/03/2021 - 13:36
        +13

        Welcome to Ozbargain; a place where random people on the internet pass judgements whether you like it or not.

        Tip- provide the full story from the start next time.

      • brendanm on 28/03/2021 - 15:10
        +9

        This still has absolutely nothing to do with your landlord.

        "Waaaahh something bad happened to me so I'll pass it onto someone else" isn't a valid argument.

      • deme on 28/03/2021 - 22:40
        -1

        My brain hurt reading your post, is English not your first language?

      • brad1-8tsi on 29/03/2021 - 10:28

        When you dunno the whole situation, ask or keep your mouth shut.

        Wait a minute. If you have to ask here, then who doesn't know?

        I've got to hand it to you, you are a lousy tenant, a lousy landlord (due to not knowing how the rules work) and a fairly crap OzBargain question asker.

        • SeekD on 29/03/2021 - 12:30

          Go get some life mate.

          I know who I am and no use of speaking crap.

          Appreciate your time, so please don’t waste here which is not only helpful but disgraceful too.

          Won’t be able to answer you more ..coz don’t have time for unnecessary shit.

  • holdenmg on 28/03/2021 - 10:28
    +4

    I saw the Movie "Pay it Forward" but this thread is like watching the same Movie but in reverse…
    There isn't really a plot and the cast are Meh…

    "Pay it Backward" gets 1 Star from me.

  • raptormesh on 28/03/2021 - 10:35
    -4

    Sell your own house, then you will be in the position to pay? My goodness, imagine property owners whinging like this.

  • Porker on 28/03/2021 - 10:37
    +5

    If you don't want much stress, paying the outstanding balance will be the quickest means to address it.

    The landlord won't be the one to attend VCAT - it'll be you and the agent.

    You'll lose more time preparing and attending hearing too in addition to paying what's owed as you broke contract.

    • SeekD on 28/03/2021 - 13:21

      Thanks that’s what I am thinking

    • xuqi on 28/03/2021 - 13:48

      Good advice.

  • garetz on 28/03/2021 - 12:26
    +4

    It looks like you are in the wrong, however the real estate agent has no right to take your bond and use it for the remaining rent owing.

    Goto the Vcat hearing, explain what happened, if anything the real estate agent is at fault for misleading you.

    The hearing will probably lead to you getting a refund of your bond, then being told you need to pay for the remainder of the lease.

    If you do pay and the vcat hearing is cancelled, there is no guarantee you will get your bond back, the real estate agent may come up with some reason that they need to keep it then you will have to take them to a vcat hearing anyway.

    So either way considering what the real estate agent did, they are not trustworthy.

  • try2bhelpful on 28/03/2021 - 12:54

    Get the bond back and pay out the rent you owe. Have they tried to contact you prior to the VCAT meeting?

    • SeekD on 28/03/2021 - 14:33

      Nope they didn’t contacted me.

      • try2bhelpful on 28/03/2021 - 15:51
        +1

        It might work in your favour. It could show they didn’t try to resolve this before taking you to VCAT. It might be worth talking to the Tenants Union, in your State, to see if you have any case.

  • BuyoTheCat on 28/03/2021 - 15:21
    +2

    Bonds are held by a third party (bond authority) not the landlord or the REA.

    Lets use a case to illustrate how breaking a lease plays out.

    I sign lease for 12 months. I break it 6 months in. I am still liable for the remaining 6 months.

    Case #1
    The REA advertised and after 8 weeks they get someone. I am liable for 8 week's rent and whatever fees the REA incurred.

    Case #2
    Before I broke the lease I found someone to take over my lease. I have to do a bond transfer. She/he gives me $1000 and I sign over the bond held by the bond authority to her. Condition reports has to be all sorted and noted. She signs a new lease with the REA. (If she is approved by the landlord). There might be some fees charged by the REA for this. Now you are off the hook/lease and she is on the lease.
    You have nothing further to do with the property. The REA cannot come and hold you responsible for damages 12 months later (the condition that you handed the property has been noted when you left)

    You are liable for the rent till the date of the lease expiry. Unless the REA explicitly indicated that you are not. Most people find a new place to move out before their lease expires, they cannot just move out a week earlier and note expect to pay the rent.

    Some poster are have been little discourteous about the fact that as a landlord, you should know have an understanding of how this works.

  • SF3 on 28/03/2021 - 15:49
    +2

    Were you this landlord’s tenant?

    • SeekD on 29/03/2021 - 12:22

      Nope I wasn’t.

  • deme on 28/03/2021 - 22:41
    +1

    I haven't laughed so hard in a while, thanks OP.

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