Hi All,
Let me tell you a little story about the Tenant from HELL...
Daffodil was a married woman, but a disagreement with her husband left her a woman scorned --- she left the settlement with custody of her 8 year old daughter.
About 15 months ago, she found a place to rent - in a nice little suburb close to the city and a short walk to public transport. She knew she would have trouble keeping up with the rent, but she liked the place, so she negotiated with the landlord for a price more to her liking (in truth, the landlord wasn't all that concerned with the rental amount - he just wanted a good tenant that would pay on time, look after the property, etc).
So he agreed.
About 7 months ago, Daffodil fell behind on her rental. At first it was just a little, but then the gap grew, and instead of paying the "agreed" and contracted amount, she would only pay 1/2 to a 1/3 of her rent - and sometimes nothing at all.
Eventually, it got to the point where the PM had the earnest landlord take legal action through the tribunal. The agent appeared several times before the tribunal (on behalf of the landlord - the landlord did have a business to run, food to put on the table, and bills to pay!)
The tenant was given several months to get her things together.
"What a relief!!!" thought the landlord. "I can finally get someone in who will pay the rent!"
Several notices were sent to Daffodil, informing her of the upcoming arrangements to have her "ejected" from the property.
And then, finally... after weeks upon weeks of wait, the final notice came to have Daffodil removed from the property. She was given 2 weeks (or thereabouts) to move her things, and vacate the premises!
So, the packing began. Since her tenure at this particular property, (which, was perhaps a little too large for their needs...) Daffodil had actually acquired a great many things -- just little nicnacs to fill up the home, mind you!
The agent came around several times to inspect the property, (during the eviction period) and he reported finding it... dirty!
Several weeks after the eviction notice had been issued, (and Daffodil had no right to be on the property anymore) the landlord arrived and personally gave the place a quick once over. This is what he noticed...
... his first assessment was that the place looked like a 'darn' pig sty! The grass outside had grown to about waist level... weeds covered the pathways, walkways, around the pool, garden - in fact, everywhere (it just looked like one 'giant' weed!)... the carpets were dirty (brand new carpets were put in only 18 months ago, at a cost of $11K)... the 'granite' bathroom basin was 'broken'... an upstairs window was 'cracked'... on of the sliding doors was found 'broken'... the toilet was the dirtiest little cesspool that anyone had ever laid eyes on - leaving the poor landlord forever scarred, (with that image forever etched into his soul) but worst of all...
... was all the crap they left behind in plastic bags! Littered all the way up the stairway... in the living room... in the foyer... in the garage... and outside on the side walk - all to be picked up later!
Over the next 3 weeks, the poor landlord would come and inspect the property (on a Sunday - his 'only' day off) only to find that agonizingly little had been done with the 'excess' proliferating the insides and outsides of the house.
Just recently, the agent called in the Sherriff, and Daffodil removed the rest of her things from the place she had called home. But not without dropping a little suprise for the 'unsuspecting' landlord...
A little suprise from the "Residential Tenancy Tribunal".
Daffodil wanted all her bond money back, plus a little bit extra... OR $10,000. Whichever was fine with her!
Apparently, during the before mentioned 3 week period, the agent would allow her (Daffodil) into the property several times to remove her things. Then, because she didn't have anywhere to put them, (the place she is currently renting is significantly smaller, and more in line with her 'budget' - also the PM declined her request for a reference) she dumped them around the outside of the property.
But mother nature called.
The resultant storms, and rainy weather 'water logged' some of her furniture (which had been sitting outside for at least a week or two)... also, some items that were left outside were reported to be stolen - Oh my, what a BIG suprise!
The landlord thought that particularly strange. He had thought that the items contained in the plastic bags were rubbish that needed to be thrown away (they certainly didn't look very valuable) - and isn't it 'unspoken' custom in Australia, that by leaving things outside on the public footpath, you're vitually giving them away?
But that isn't his ONLY problem. There's the bill for damages that's going to be anywhere from $5,000 to $7,000... There's lost rent of about $8,000, including the month of 'no rent' that it's going to take to fix everything up, before it's in a good state to rent to another tenant.
In short, this tenant is sueing for $10,000. Will her claim be successful? Who knows. The landlord and his family can hope for the best, but the Tribunal has been known to hand out ridiculous verdicts, entirely in favour of the tenants -- regardless of whose fault it is.
End of story: A happy ending, I hope!
Let me tell you a little story about the Tenant from HELL...
Daffodil was a married woman, but a disagreement with her husband left her a woman scorned --- she left the settlement with custody of her 8 year old daughter.
About 15 months ago, she found a place to rent - in a nice little suburb close to the city and a short walk to public transport. She knew she would have trouble keeping up with the rent, but she liked the place, so she negotiated with the landlord for a price more to her liking (in truth, the landlord wasn't all that concerned with the rental amount - he just wanted a good tenant that would pay on time, look after the property, etc).
So he agreed.
About 7 months ago, Daffodil fell behind on her rental. At first it was just a little, but then the gap grew, and instead of paying the "agreed" and contracted amount, she would only pay 1/2 to a 1/3 of her rent - and sometimes nothing at all.
Eventually, it got to the point where the PM had the earnest landlord take legal action through the tribunal. The agent appeared several times before the tribunal (on behalf of the landlord - the landlord did have a business to run, food to put on the table, and bills to pay!)
The tenant was given several months to get her things together.
"What a relief!!!" thought the landlord. "I can finally get someone in who will pay the rent!"
Several notices were sent to Daffodil, informing her of the upcoming arrangements to have her "ejected" from the property.
And then, finally... after weeks upon weeks of wait, the final notice came to have Daffodil removed from the property. She was given 2 weeks (or thereabouts) to move her things, and vacate the premises!
So, the packing began. Since her tenure at this particular property, (which, was perhaps a little too large for their needs...) Daffodil had actually acquired a great many things -- just little nicnacs to fill up the home, mind you!
The agent came around several times to inspect the property, (during the eviction period) and he reported finding it... dirty!
Several weeks after the eviction notice had been issued, (and Daffodil had no right to be on the property anymore) the landlord arrived and personally gave the place a quick once over. This is what he noticed...
... his first assessment was that the place looked like a 'darn' pig sty! The grass outside had grown to about waist level... weeds covered the pathways, walkways, around the pool, garden - in fact, everywhere (it just looked like one 'giant' weed!)... the carpets were dirty (brand new carpets were put in only 18 months ago, at a cost of $11K)... the 'granite' bathroom basin was 'broken'... an upstairs window was 'cracked'... on of the sliding doors was found 'broken'... the toilet was the dirtiest little cesspool that anyone had ever laid eyes on - leaving the poor landlord forever scarred, (with that image forever etched into his soul) but worst of all...
... was all the crap they left behind in plastic bags! Littered all the way up the stairway... in the living room... in the foyer... in the garage... and outside on the side walk - all to be picked up later!
Over the next 3 weeks, the poor landlord would come and inspect the property (on a Sunday - his 'only' day off) only to find that agonizingly little had been done with the 'excess' proliferating the insides and outsides of the house.
Just recently, the agent called in the Sherriff, and Daffodil removed the rest of her things from the place she had called home. But not without dropping a little suprise for the 'unsuspecting' landlord...
A little suprise from the "Residential Tenancy Tribunal".
Daffodil wanted all her bond money back, plus a little bit extra... OR $10,000. Whichever was fine with her!
Apparently, during the before mentioned 3 week period, the agent would allow her (Daffodil) into the property several times to remove her things. Then, because she didn't have anywhere to put them, (the place she is currently renting is significantly smaller, and more in line with her 'budget' - also the PM declined her request for a reference) she dumped them around the outside of the property.
But mother nature called.
The resultant storms, and rainy weather 'water logged' some of her furniture (which had been sitting outside for at least a week or two)... also, some items that were left outside were reported to be stolen - Oh my, what a BIG suprise!
The landlord thought that particularly strange. He had thought that the items contained in the plastic bags were rubbish that needed to be thrown away (they certainly didn't look very valuable) - and isn't it 'unspoken' custom in Australia, that by leaving things outside on the public footpath, you're vitually giving them away?
But that isn't his ONLY problem. There's the bill for damages that's going to be anywhere from $5,000 to $7,000... There's lost rent of about $8,000, including the month of 'no rent' that it's going to take to fix everything up, before it's in a good state to rent to another tenant.
In short, this tenant is sueing for $10,000. Will her claim be successful? Who knows. The landlord and his family can hope for the best, but the Tribunal has been known to hand out ridiculous verdicts, entirely in favour of the tenants -- regardless of whose fault it is.
End of story: A happy ending, I hope!
