"Legal" rent increases??

Bandita

Bandita

Hi all,

Looking for your advice again.........we were renting a property in Melbourne - at $410 per week on a 9 month lease, we are moving to Gosford due to a work transfer in Feb, and found very suitable tenants to sublease the property from us for the rest of our lease. The landlord has decided to increase the rent to $460 per week at the end of the lease (a 12% increase after 9 months)....the new tenants are not very impressed.

I'm wondering.........what is legal, what is a fair rental increase? I can't seem to find an exact number on any consumer affairs website. I thought it was over 10% is too much, but can't seem to find that documented anywhere??

The other thing I would like some advise on - there is a split system aircon/heater in the master bedroom of the property, which stopped working about a month after we moved in (so about 6 months ago) - it was reported to the agent - and we took it on board with Fujitsu, who are "still waiting for a part" (month after month phone call later - "still waiting" is all we get - they have been waiting this part for over 3 months. What rights do we have that this has never worked, and I would consider that a higher rent was paid as there was aircon/heating in the master bedroom? There's been no compensation, and the rental increase makes it even worse.

If anyone can help explain our rights on 1) rental increases and 2) non-working "features?? (i.e. split-system)" within a house over an extended period of time.....that would be greatly appreciated!!

Cheers,
Jen
 
If a new lease will be written then the rent can be anything.
it will be market forces that decide if the rent is too high or not.

Ask a few other agents how much extra air con goes for in your area.
You should have been on this much earlier.
Since you are moving what leverage do you have if the L/L is stubborn?

How much more do you think its worth is what you have to guess.$5 or $20, or somewhere in between I would imagine.Definitely do something and dont let the L/L know the subtenants are unhappy with the price increase , as they also need air con and will have some leverage
 
Thanks,

Yes, it's defiintly legal for the subletting - as we asked the agent many times before when we notified we were moving for work relocation reasons and advised we had tenants to take over the lease - she initially said no and wanted them to take over a new lease (so we would have to pay the re-letting fee) however when the landlord notified that the rent would increase to $460 per week at the end of the lease (2 months), she backed down and said we could sublet. We've done a bond transfer form, notified the agent, the landlord has come out and inspected the new tenants and given them the "Ok", etc, etc......

The "new" tenants will likely just move out and not take up the new lease at $460 per week (currently $410 per week and all other 3 x bedroom in the area are renting between $380-$450 per week).

I suppose I have 4 x questions:

1. What is the legal maximum rental increase (if any) after nine months (or 12 months+)?

2. If a tenant is subleting a property, do they have any legal rights to the law of Question #1 (i.e. is there a maximum rental increase for them?)?

3. Can "subleters" go to the Tribunal with an "unfair" rental increase claim at the point in time where the subletting ends and it becomes there own lease and the rent has increased to an amount over an above any other similar property in the area?

3. What are the laws if a "device" (which you're obviously paying a premium for) stops working and isn't fixed in a reasonable amount of time (i.e. 2 weeks?) - such as Split-System Aircon/heating which has been broken for 6 months??

Thanks,
Jen
 
Jen, I had a friend livign in Bris get a 37% rent rise in one go recently.

We looked into the legality of it and found nothing against. We sort of expected a massive hit at some stage because she was paying way below what we knew the place could get.....maybe you need to review what the markett rent iss for the place....

If the rent being asked is market value, then the PM is within their rights to charge that. In fact, they could charge whatever they wanted.


Here's the blurb from Qld RTA

Rent increases

The rent can't be increased during a fixed term agreement unless a special term of the tenancy agreement states that the rent can be increased.

If the fixed term agreement allows for rent increases, the lessor/agent must give the tenant at least 1 month's notice in writing before increasing the rent.

Sometimes, lessors will offer a tenant a rent discount if they pay the rent before the due date. This is OK. However, lessors can't have an agreement with the tenant where they'll get a discount if they don't damage the place or don't break the tenancy agreement. Also, a tenant cannot be charged a fee if the rent is late.

The rent can be increased at the end of a fixed term agreement, or at any time during a periodic agreement. If the rent is being increased during a periodic agreement, the lessor/agent must give the tenant at least 2 month's notice in writing. The written notice can be a letter saying how much the rent will increase by, and the day when the tenant needs to start to pay the increased rent.

If the rent goes up, the lessor/agent might also ask the tenant to pay more rental bond. Notice of bond increase can only be given if it is at least 11 months since the last bond increase. One month's notice about the bond increase must be given. The extra bond must be lodged with the RTA using either a Bond Lodgement (Form 2) or Part Payment of Rental Bond (Form 7).
 
Thanks WW!

What would your suggestion be if they've chosen to increase the rent to a higher amount than similar properties - i.e. $460 per week, all other similar properties are at $380-$450? The $450's are better than this one (2 x living areas vs. 1 living area, etc, etc.....)

I think about $420-$425/week is fair. Are there any rights, or must it be negotiated between landlord/agent and tenant? This is in VIC.

Thanks,
Jen
 
If propertiess with same number of bedss are renting for 450, then 460 is not a big deal. I can't see the tenants have any recourse.

Put it down to an expensive lesson learnt.

If it is that drastically overpriced, then the tenants will have to get motivated to move.

There's going to be a lot more of this sstuff going on in the next 2 years, because there will be renters prepared to pay large jumps in rent.

I Iam seeing low income types being pushed quickly out of some outer ring burbs in Brissy.

THere's lots more hurt coming.....
 
WinstonWolfe said:
The rent can be increased at the end of a fixed term agreement, or at any time during a periodic agreement. If the rent is being increased during a periodic agreement, the lessor/agent must give the tenant at least 2 month's notice in writing. The written notice can be a letter saying how much the rent will increase by, and the day when the tenant needs to start to pay the increased rent.
).
Click to expand...

I think the banks should give you 2 months written notice before interest rates are raised. usually they are raised, and 1 month later you get a notice in the mail..
 
crc_error said:
I think the banks should give you 2 months written notice before interest rates are raised. usually they are raised, and 1 month later you get a notice in the mail..
Click to expand...

Wouldn't that be so nice and considerate of them...to enable me to rearrange my budget!:rolleyes:
 
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