oh dear tenant troubles

[adaran01]

Hello
I recently finished off a renovation of a house I have just rented out.
I started advertising well in advance and gave a date into the future when prospective tenants could move in. As my property manager took the prospective tenants through, they decided they could not wait a second longer. As the place was not finished I could not allow them to move in straight away as they insisted needed to happen, however I said I would meet half way and they could move in in a weeks time, instead of my planned fortnight, on the proviso there would still be work to be completed. This all sounded fantastic.

The day of the ingoing inspection was very interesting, I had the new tenants, my PM, and the bank valuer all up there at the same time, and to my absolute delight the tenants told the valuer to leave as they had not recieved notice that the valuation was going to take place, I thought that a little rich considering they had not even recieved the keys to the front door, and the house was completely empty.
Thats right tenants Don't let common sense get in the way of your rights!!!!
Then to my amazement I had another call saying the tenant wan'ts a reduction in rent until all the maintenance issues have been rectified, considering the great deal of effort and expense I went to to ensure the place was ready in time, and the fact I had already warned them about some loose ends, well you could have knocked me over with a feather.
I told the PM to knock $100 off for the first fortnight, in an attempt to keep them happy. I then organised the tradesmen to finish of what was needed to complete the renovation. The tenant then complained that he did not want tradesmen coming through the house. I told my PM I could always organise a dozen pink fairies to finish the work off while he was sleeping!!!
I won't bore everyone with all the details, however I have now had these fantastic tenants in the house for 2 months, and they are already over a month behind in rent ($1800), and now there excuse is they are not paying the rent until a list of thing as long as my arm has been fixed.
The score so far rent recieved $1800
rent arrears $1800
money spent fixing their concerns $2500 (non essential)
A letter of termination was sent today. At least I won't lose money if the house is empty.

 

[Peter_Tersteeg]

By the sounds of it these tenants are probably going to give you no end of trouble over the long term. Since they haven't paid their rent, you've probably got grounds to evict them, which is what I'd be doing at the first oppertunity.

This may sound a bit harsh, but it appears that you've tried to be acommidating, and they've only taken advantage of the situation.

 

[brains]

My God!!! I feel for you.....ive had some bad tennants but you have the tennants from hell.

I would get them outta there any way i could. They sound like not just bad tennnats but bad people and their karma will catch up with them one day, maybe it already has.

disclaimer: i dont believe in karma but it just seemed the right thing to say

 

[july]

Hi
I am so sorry that you have this beautiful house which you have obviously taken great pride in and then these snapper heads come along and behave like this.
Great news to hear you are getting rid of them!
Have you asked your pm about adding them to the national database of snapper heads? Worth considering.
Please let us know how you go evicting them, I hope you then find tenants who can appreciate your property and your generosity.
Good Luck.

 

[Kristine..]

G'day

When I decided to close my retail business, I was delighted when the local commercial agent found me a tenant within days - another local trader. How nice!

He asked - nay, insisted that he be allowed to take over the shop before the end of the tax year. Considering I had huge amounts of stock to shift during my closing down sale, I had really counted on every day through to the end of the financial year.

However, 'everybody' told me how lucky I was to get a tenant straight away, that even though the rent was $5,000 pa less than I had hoped, it was a local business just moving a few doors due to the end of their lease and their 'exploitive' landlord, etc

So, I capitulated, and allowed the new tenant to take over when they wanted. I cut my losses in terms of lost trade, and moved heaven and earth to move stock, furniture, fixtures & fittings etc out, and to clean the place completely.

By 10am the first morning, the shopfitters had, without permission, cut holes in the feature timber ceiling, dismantled the gents toilet, and pushed the hot water service aside which caused it to burst, with resultant water damage to the cabinets etc

The agent hadn't done a condition report nor taken photos of my imaculate shop including unswollen kitchen cabinets, and the extra week's rent was the last money I received without threatening legal action.

Eventually, we saw the business advertised in the daily papers by the receivers, who hadn't even had the courtesy to tell us or the agent that the business had failed.

Due to me going to the receiver's office and sweetly telling them that I was quite looking foward to changing the locks next morning unless all arrears were paid in full etc, we were lucky to get all that was owed to us and the new tenants haven't missed a beat!

Moral of the story:

If they seem to be in too much of a hurry - they are.

If you can smell a rat, you can.

The drama queens will get you every time.

Just remember those wonderful lines from "A Streetcar Named Desire" ... (tenants) are like street cars - one comes along every minute (with apologies to Tennessee Williams).

Cheers

Kristine

 

[brains]

Kristine,

Great post....btw...its my favorite TW of all time.........STELLAAAA!!!!........

 

[Macca]

It seems to me that when tenants are a problem before they even get in the place then they are always a potential problem.

Perhaps it is the mindset of some people that they are always right!! and of course the rest of world is there simply to make life easier and cheaper for these greedy unscrupulous bludgers.

I have found that firm but fair with everyone is the easiest in the longterm. So many people interpret kindness as a weakness these days that I am even becoming careful myself.

Macca

 

[just do it]

Did anyone check these guys reference. This type of tenant is a serial offender. I guarantee you they have pulled this stuff before.

always check for references

 

[natmarie73]

adaran, when the tenants told the valuer to leave could you have terminated their tenancy at that point or was it too late? I am currently almost finished my renovations and will be in the same situation as you. I presume they had signed a lease and paid a bond by this stage - is that right?

Also, a small legal question for those who might be able to help. As I am about to rent out a totally refurbished 2 bed unit can I specify that no children are allowed? Would this be classed as discrimination? I really don't want to be painting over texta scribbles anytime soon!

Nat

 

[Jas]

Instead of texta on the walls, you'll get vomit and wine stains on the carpet...

Jas

 

[natmarie73]

lol, vomit and wine stains don't bother me - the carpet is a dark colour hard wearing commercial blend. It's the repainting of the walls I wan't to avoid.

 

[geoffw]

Marks from broken dishes on the walls?

 

[natmarie73]

Ok - there is a reason I am asking this question - I'm actually not a child hater at all! Most of the insurance policies I have been looking at say they won't cover damage caused by children as it is not deemed to be malicious.

Therefore, repainting walls damaged by children will come out of my pocket and have to be done by me - which is what I want to avoid after spending way too much time and energy in painting it the first time around. I would like to be able to leave it for a few years before repainting.

Maybe someone is aware of an insurance policy which covers damage caused by children?

 

[Kevmeister]

Ok - there is a reason I am asking this question - I'm actually not a child hater at all! Most of the insurance policies I have been looking at say they won't cover damage caused by children as it is not deemed to be malicious.

So you're saying the insurance covers only malicious damage. What if an adult gets drunk one night and falls over, pushing their head/hand/foot through the plasterboard.

From experience with my own home, despite your best efforts paintwork ain't gonna last that long. My PPOR is approaching 7 years old, and could do with fresh paint in a few spots.

Not that long ago I bought a new printer for my computer, was carrying it up the stairs to my study and the box accidently rubbed on the wall. Result: big red smudge non-removeable. Not malicious, not intentional, due care taken, but, as they say, sh*t happens.

In short, I don't really think children are going to make that big a difference, and eliminating children from the equation does not eliminate the risk if malicious damage is the issue. The quality of the tenant (the adults) will, however, dictate somewhat what the kids get away with.

Any kind of landlord insurance available that covers accidental damage?

 

[natmarie73]

Thanks Kev,

One insurance policy I have looked at does cover accidental damage by tenants, but seems to exclude damage caused by their children and guests. Hence my worry.

 

[Peter_Tersteeg]

From a legal point of view, you can't reject applicants because they have children. Choosing a tenant is very subjective though, and at the end of the day you can just say that you didn't feel comfortable with a given application or that there is another better application, but you can't put "No children" in your add.

Lenders tend to discriminate against people with children in that they factor into their servicability the cost of raising a child. This is worthwhile considering when you factor in if a tenant can afford to pay the rent.

Also consider that your house may not be suitable for a family with more than about 2 children, the same way you'd consider that a small flat wouldn't be suitable for a tenant with a large dog - it just wouldn't be fair on the dog.

At the end of the day though, I wouldn't have a problem renting to a family with children, so long as the house was suitable and they had excellent (verifiable) references.

 

[geoffw]

Originally posted by natmarie73
a small legal question for those who might be able to help. As I am about to rent out a totally refurbished 2 bed unit can I specify that no children are allowed? Would this be classed as discrimination? I really don't want to be painting over texta scribbles anytime soon!

Nat

Can this be like pets- that you can specify that any damage be returned to original condition? Isn't this a part of inspections anyway? And part of the reason for a bond?

When my daughter was little, and we were in a rental place, the biggest damage she did was to use the brown stuff in here nappy to draw all over the wall.

I'd rather had paid to paint over texta than to clean that up!

 

[Joe D]

NatMarie73

Not sure why your concern - with a half decent PM surely the bond covers damage notwithstanding fair wear and tear?

Joe D

 

[natmarie73]

Well, you haven't seen my friends kids lol! Don't think their bond will cover the damage they have done to their rented property.

Thanks for your replies though. I am not as worried as I was. the property is a two bed townhouse with a very small courtyard so I doubt there will be families applying in the first place.

 

[Kristine..]

PTBear

You mention not being able to exclude children from a rental property, but in Victoria you certainly can.

The Residential Tenancies Act is not (contrary to opinion) loaded against the landlord.

There is provision for special circumstances eg if a property is unsafe for young children (balconies, steep slopes or whatever), if it is the landlords principal place of residence and there are special carpets or furnishings, and a few other circumstances.

The landlord can also ask for a higher bond than the usual one months rent amount.

And be aware that the tenant is responsible for everything that happens during their tenancy, whether by their own action, their visitors, family members, children, pets, etc.

And this includes things like nuisance, not just physical damage.

However, 99.95% of tenants will look after a property properly. a friend of mine is renting, and he has repaired all the fences and gates, built a new deck at his expense, painted inside and out, and put extra plants in the garden and mulched it. It may not be his house, but it is his home, and he wants his home to look good.

Cheers

Kristine

PS Don't forget that legislation is available on line. Search Google.

PPS I can't figure out how to reply with quotes.