lease stuff up

[froggy]

Hi all , just wondering if someone could give me some advice we have a house in another town and the real estate was suppose to put a 6 month lease but just recieved in the mail today they have signed the tenant to a 12 month lease ! is there anything i can do as i needed to have the 6 month lease as we where going to be transfering through work late august next year and needed to be able to move into our house.
I had stressed this to the real estate from the start.
the house is in vicotria and any info i see about breaking the lease is only about the tenant and the real estate hasnt rung me back yet...hmmmmm
any advice would be great
Thanks

 

[Dis]

Have you or the REA signed the leases? If not then they are not yet valid IMHO.

 

[wylie]

Do you have anything in writing, text or email, to prove your case that you asked for a six month lease.

If so, I would be pressuring the agent to fix up the error he/she has made and keep the pressure on.

Wylie

 

[BayView]

Hi all , just wondering if someone could give me some advice we have a house in another town and the real estate was suppose to put a 6 month lease but just recieved in the mail today they have signed the tenant to a 12 month lease ! is there anything i can do as i needed to have the 6 month lease as we where going to be transfering through work late august next year and needed to be able to move into our house.
I had stressed this to the real estate from the start.
the house is in vicotria and any info i see about breaking the lease is only about the tenant and the real estate hasnt rung me back yet...hmmmmm
any advice would be great
Thanks

If you are moving into the property as your PPoR you can give 90 days notice to the tenant to vacate.

You are supposed to include a clause on the lease contract stating that the property will be used for your PPoR in the future, but even without it you should be o.k.

Get a copy of the Tenancy Act from either the local agent, or the REIV, or maybe the local council will have a copy.

The rules covering this will be in it. (I was an agent in Vic for a short time a number of years ago, so it's a little vague now).

 

[asy]

LAA is right (from my also-vague memory)...

Firstly, if you gave the agent notice in writing that they could only sign a 6 month lease, then they were outside their purview to sign more, and it's invalid. You should be able to get it re-signed to a 6 month lease, but, as LAA said, there is provision to give 90 days notice to the tenant that you're breaking the lease to move into the house.

It's not ideal, and I'd be fair and let the tenant know what you're intending immediately, but that's the way it goes.

asy

 

[s_t]

Assuming the lease is signed by both parties, then;

I would doubt that a lease signed by the agent is invalid, even if they didn't follow your instructions. Having been on both sides of the fence (renting and IP), I would hope not!

Regarding the 90 days notice to move in, again, sound nonsense to me. You or your agent have signed to say that they can stay in there for x time, and as far as I am aware you can only get out of that if tenant breaches obligations.

Really, to be fair to the tenant, they have a 12 month lease. You have payed someone to act for you, and they have stuffed up big time. That is your problem not the tenants. You could politely tell the tenants about what has happenned, and ask if they would be willing renegotiate a 6 month lease, in return for a free week or something.

What does your agent agreement say on lease length? Did you advise them in writing regarding 6 months only? If you really wanted to follow it up, I imagine you could take action against the agent to recover extra moving costs etc.

 

[GoAnna!]

I would ask the PM to rectify the error.

I would send businesslike e-mail to them with read receipt and just state the facts.

I have authorised you to sign a 6 months lease on my behalf. As previously advised the property is not available for any longer than 6 months as I will be moving in. I have recently recieved a lease signed for 12 months, without my authorisation. Could you please arrnage for this 12 months lease to be replaced by a 6 month lease.

I do not think it is your responsibility to rectify the situation if you have been clear on your instructions all along.

 

[crest133]

Your PM has acted outside your authority if you can prove you limited that authority to 6 months.
Your PM has attracted and signed a 12 month tenant.
If you try to change it to 6 months, stating your intention to remove the tenant in 6 months time and move in yourself, you might lose the tenant.
Your PM might ease some costs for you and find you a temp residence in the area pending the 2 nd move.
Weigh up what you have and if you want to lose it for the sake of a double move in that local area.
cheers
crest133

 

[redsquash]

LAA is right (from my also-vague memory)...

Firstly, if you gave the agent notice in writing that they could only sign a 6 month lease, then they were outside their purview to sign more, and it's invalid. You should be able to get it re-signed to a 6 month lease, but, as LAA said, there is provision to give 90 days notice to the tenant that you're breaking the lease to move into the house.

It's not ideal, and I'd be fair and let the tenant know what you're intending immediately, but that's the way it goes.

asy

http://www.rta.qld.gov.au/form_18a.cfm
Here is a qld residential lease which does not say anything about a 90 day notice.
where are you getting this factual information?

 

[froggy]

Thanks all for the advice , as the property is in vic i have spoken to the tenant advice board there and they said basically i am tied , i can go to the tribunal and claim hardship to get the tenant out early but other than that my hands are tied , offering an offer to the tenant is another option but i am just so mad that i am the one who will have to wear the costs of the realestates stuff up.
So thanks again for everyones help and hopefully it will work out ok.

 

[GoAnna!]

Hi Froggy

What did the PM say when you told them that they had acted outside their authority? If feels like they stuffed up and you are running around researching what to do. Shouldn't they as PM be trying to sort the situation and advising you of your legal options after having a chat to the tenant. Have they even spoken to the tenant? Does the tenant actually want a 12 month lease or was that just what they were offered?

Sometimes it is easy to solve a problem that may or may not even exist.

 

[Tania]

Hi Froggy

I am assuming that your PM has used a standard General Tenancy Agreement provided by the RTA in Vic.

Like any agreement the Contract has both an offer and acceptance for consideration.

Whilst you may have given your PM authority to sign the Contract as acceptance the terms under which you offered this are extremely important.

If you had only authorised them to sign a 6 month agreement they are negligent in their duties and appropriate remedies would apply.

Make sure you keep a complete record of correspondance whether it be telephone notes, emails or written letters as these will be essential in proving the point.

I am sure a telephone call to the Principal of the Agency would get things fixed.

Let us all know how you go.

For now


Tania ph: 07 3262 4533
Mayfair Property Management Brisbane
[email protected]

 

[Xenia]

You cannot give any amount of notice on a fixed term lease (which this one is). The 90 days notice only applies to periodic leases!!!!

The only way you can break a fixed term lease is by mutual agreement on both sides. This is what I would suggest:

1. Talk to the tenants and see if they are willing to break the lease
2. Offer them a compensation ie paying for their next bond if they are out in the 6 months.
3. Send the bill to the pm, they are the ones that stuffed up!

They should be trying to rectify the problem any way they can and if they had any decency as business people they would offer the tenants some compensation money to move out even before you bill them!