DHA end of lease - Bit Heavy handed

Hi,
Calling on those who have had experience with DHA end of lease....

My wife and I have an IP through Defence Housing and the lease expires in 2 months.
Yesterday we inspected the property and were asked by the rep if we would be replacing the carpet/paint or taking a cash payment (The carpet/paint was replaced by them 2 years ago due to a rouge tenant).
I replied that this was the first I had ever heard of a cash payment. She then rang her boss and passed the phone on to me. I asked for info about the cash payment and was told an amount. I then asked when a decision needed to be made......Here's the crunch....."Right Now"!

I couldn't believe my ears. After a bit of chat the boss said I could have till COB Monday. (Question about this below).
Secondly....We then went through the property and there was disagreement about what would be fixed....e.g. the rep knocked back a cracked toilet bowl (not the seat, the porcelain bowl had an obvious crack in it that she said was insignificant, but not to my way of thinking). There were dents to nearly every panel of the colourbond fence (and made by their tenants as the dents came from our side, not the other). Some were a single dents others much more noticeable.
Lastly on a colorbond gate, I saw, after the rep left, had a noticeable dent in it, but she was not around to see that by then.

So Questions:
1. Can they do the heavy and tell me "it's take the money or get a full re-carpet/paint job done by a certain date" only 2 working days from inspection??
(I have a feeling that the payment being offered amounts to the rent till lease end anyway.....in other words they are not giving anything).

2. From others experience, if carpet/paint was done two years ago, do they still have to honour the contract to replace it all now (that's what the contract says) or is there some way for them to not honour that?

3. Do they have to fix every noticeable dent/damage on the property, even if it was not noticed by the rep at the time?...again from your experience.

Thx very much,
John Bradshaw
 
2. From others experience, if carpet/paint was done two years ago, do they still have to honour the contract to replace it all now (that's what the contract says) or is there some way for them to not honour that?
I would say 'yes' since that is what the contract states. Also that is what they use in their marketing.
 
I would be claiming that a cracked porcelain bowl is a safety issue and require a new replacement before hand over.

They can be extremely sharp if they give way and do serious damage to anyone sitting on it.

ACA may like a story knocking DHA especially on such safe grounds as personal safety.

A few bumps in the fence may be considered fair wear and tear but not really bad ones IMO.

I would have it all redone rather than the cash
 
Thx guys. Yeah I will definitely push them on the toilet and the fences.
Cheers,
JB

do - think of worst case scenario - next tennant sitting on the toilet, it collapses, they slice their ..... and decide to sue for all the emotional and physical damages caused. I wouldnt want to be in court talking about who is responsible for that.

Put the requests in writing so you have a record of your concerns.
 
I'm a landlord, and usually on the landlord's side, but... DHA are notoriously good tenants and very fussy about the property's condition, which causes me to wonder how significant this "crack" is. Is it a crack right through the porcelain, or a surface blemish in the glazing? The latter is definitely not a safety issue, nor grounds for replacement.

With regards to the fence, it depends how significant these "dents" are. Some small amount of damage - eg from "touches" - would be considered "fair wear and tear", but a multi-panel dent wouldn't. I would normally say this is reasonable to be expected to fix, but... just knowing DHA I'm wondering whether your expectations are reasonable.

Perhaps some pics would be helpful.
 
Check the agreement that you have with DHA - does it say that they have to replace the carpet, repaint, make good any damage.....etc prior to expiry of the lease or during the lease? That is, is there still a requirement to replace the carpet if they have done it a couple of years ago?
 
I've had a builder friend look at the contract and the house, and he said they will replace the carpet/paint if I wish, but he said the money was the better deal since the carpet/paint is in pretty good shape.

To him the toilet was a no brainer...It definitely needed replacing. Some of the dented panels on the fence he wasn't so sure about. He did say that they were not "fair wear and tear" though. They were definitely damage. But weather a whole panel would be replaced was a gray area.
Watch this space...
JB
 
I took the money at the end of lease, as the carpet was still in good nick- and I had mate's rates for painting.
 
I've had a builder friend look at the contract and the house ...
To him the toilet was a no brainer...It definitely needed replacing. Some of the dented panels on the fence he wasn't so sure about. He did say that they were not "fair wear and tear" though. They were definitely damage. But weather a whole panel would be replaced was a gray area.
I'd take his opinion on technical matters - so if he says the toilet's buggered, it's probably buggered - but unless he's an experienced landlord/PM (or a property lawyer), I wouldn't necessarily rely on him for an interpretation of "fair wear and tear".
 
Ended up taking the money for the fence panels and carpet/painting.
They did replace the toilet.
Overall a pretty good ending for both parties.
JB
 
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