Tenant "did a runner"

[KoopaTroopa]

Hi All.

Well it's not my IP that it happened to, but unfortunately it happened to my sister's IP.

The tenant became a horror tenant around 6-9 months ago due to whatever reasons, apparently he split up with the girlfriend, lost his job, yada yada

Point is, he started being incredibly late with the rent, wouldn't answer REA's phone calls, etc...

Eventually he said he would vacate 8th June, but he was $1800 behind in rent by that point.

So..........6th June rolls around (2 days before he was due to leave) and things come to a head.

The REA calls my sister and tells her she thinks the tenant did a runner and left the place in the middle of the night. By the 8th, this turned out to be true as the REA went to the property to do final inspection and here's the bulletpoints:

- tenant has gone, no furniture or any possessions left in the property
- tenant left behind a lot of dirt
- rubbish in the driveway
- carpets gross
- hole in the wall
- "frosted" windows in the 2 back bedrooms look red (some kind of fugly dirty red...)
- oven not cleaned
- maggots in the balcony
- basically it's all gross

So, I'm posting because I'd like to help my sister (she's in QLD and the property is here where I live in VIC)

What tips and pointers do you fellow landlords have? She is already going to go through her landlord insurance to try to get some "lost rent", and she'll obviously highly likely get all the bond back.

The REA is getting the locks changed today or tomorrow.

What else can she do from a "things a landlord should do" handbook?

The property was already due for carpet replacement and other minor upkeep, but apart from the obvious, I guess I'm wondering what else is there!?

 

[Sez]

Keep all receipts / invoices from any work done to the property, cleaning, carpet replacement, damage repair, change of locks etc. etc. Ensure your PM has at least 150 photos of everything from the vacate. Get the work done quickly and have the PM lodge an application with VCAT for bond and compensation. The more receipts / invoices and photos that the PM has, the better this claim will be.

Once you have your VCAT order your sister can (if she wants to) lodge the debt with a debt collection agency. Discuss this with the PM as they will have the information on which agency they use and the charges associated with it. It may not result in the collection of the funds in the NEAR future, however, if the correct steps are taken it can be listed as a default for the next 10 - 15 years and the debt can accrue interest. If the tenant turns his life around in the next 7 years and wants to buy a car... he can't.

While all of this is happening the work should have been completed and the property advertised for rent and possibly leased out again bringing an income back on the property as soon as possible.

If she is having some upkeep and maintenance done always think of things like servicing the gas heaters & checking smoke alarms. Tenants in VIC are responsible for the battery replacement during their tenancy but he just doesn't strike me as that kind of guy!

I would also suggest that she contact her insurance agency and inform them that the PM can discuss the claim with them directly. This will speed up the process as the insurance company can request photos, condition reports, VCAT orders etc. from the PM directly as opposed to having to go through a middle-man.

Just some suggestions from a VIC PM point of view not a landlords. Best of luck with this one, the good news is that the tenant took all of their possessions which speeds up the process as they won't need to get consumer affairs in to do a 'possessions left behind' valuation.

 

[kathryn d]

Sez, great advice.

We actually went to tribunal for a tenant who did a runner in Feb.
Had all our receipts..which added up to approx $4500.
We don't have insurance here, to claim against.

Tenant didn't show up, but the Director held the hearing, and took our evidence.

We will know the results in 10 days or less....
However we will never collect for years, but we will ruin her credit.
A bit of consolation.

 

[KoopaTroopa]

Wow thanks for the advice, Sez!

Ensure your PM has at least 150 photos of everything from the vacate.

Super quick-reply because I'm going to lunch (will reply in more detail later)

My sister sent me 74 pics that the PM sent her. Is "150" the magic number?

Once the keys are changed, I will be going to get a set of the keys for my sister and going through the property myself and can get the other 76 pictures if necessary.

My main question is: is 74 pics from the PM enough? (in addition to all your other points of criteria, of course)

 

[depreciator]

74 pics sounds pretty good to me.

 

[Sez]

Depends on the size of the house. When you get to VCAT you are never going to use all 150 + photos taken, however, you do need to be able to pick and choose the best photos to display the item you are claiming for. For example, if the lounge room has really dirty carpets and walls and you take a full room shot that won't display the damage as well as close up's of the stains (use a 30cm ruler to scale) & dents/scuffs in the walls. What if you take one picture of one item just to look at it later and see the flash has brightened the picture too much to see the damage well or it is blurred? That is the main reason I believe in such a huge amount of photos. At the end of the day it is unlikely that more than 30 will make it to tribunal. The most I have ever had to take with me to a hearing is 80.

I feel it is better to have them there as an option and not require them than to have less photos and at a later date be thinking "gee, I wish I had a better picture of this".

I also believe in over 100 photos for all condition reports too ... overly cautious I guess!

 

[chilliblue]

For your reference and only if you are able to, take a DVD recording through the property.

I would also rough up a floor plan and number the pictures so that you have a record of the exact location for each.


Best of luck.

 

[Dazz]

The tenant became a horror tenant around 6-9 months ago due to whatever reasons, apparently he split up with the girlfriend, lost his job, yada yada. What tips and pointers do you fellow landlords have?

I was going thru this about 12 years ago, until a revalation hit.

Why am I hitching my wealth wagon, upon which my family sit and utterly rely, to a ;

• lame donkey who refuses to move
• eventually cuts the straps and runs away
• is fully protected by the RSPCA

My only "tips and pointers" is hitch your wagon to a ;

• healthy stallion
• who is well fed by someone else
• has big blinkers on to keep him focussed on the track I want him to go down
• performs better when whipped
• and I'm allowed to carry a whip

Your sister ultimately just needs to choose which type of beast she wishes to hitch her wagon to.


On the much smaller point of what to do with the lame donkey.....well, there are many experts here who are the equivalent of highly qualified vets who can get lame donkeys back walking.....but really.....they will only ever be donkeys, and the best your sister can ever hope for is to hitch another stubborn donkey to her wagon.


Ipso facto KoopaTroopa - your sister's wagon is the root cause of her troubles, it attracts donkeys.

 

[Ausprop]

I have had a runner in the last week or so. I went to check it out and frankly I am disgusted how people not only treat other peoples property, but their lack of self pride in how they live. As for leaving their bras and knickers strewn across the doorstep... if you are so hard up for cash why throw your smalls away?? Usual mess... stuffed washing machine out the back, filth, old furniture, dog cr@p not removed, key for mailbox lost, missing light globes, damges, rubbish. This time I plan to chase the debt and default their credit file.

so indeed Dazz, why would anyone willingly tie themselves to this predictable dread?

 

[Doovalacky]

I am talking from a WA perspective here but even if you think its rubbish if it could have any value don't throw it immediately. You need to get an indemnity certificate to state that the goods have little/low value and can be dumped. Food can be thrown straight away.

All it took for me was a couple photos and a email to commerce.wa and I had it in a day. I am sure there would be something similar in your state.

I know of others sued for disposing of the tenants crap.

 

[Sez]

Doovalacky - Via email? Thats fantastic!! In VIC we have to get consumer affairs victoria to send someone out to the property to inspect in person. meet them there and sign the disposal or storage certificate. The idea is that if the items will cost more to store and auction than their worth then they can be disposed of. I've had houses where they were still full and they were disposable goods.

 

[Doovalacky]

I'm sure if there was anything that was border line of having to do the store then auction process it would take an inspection.
In my case about the most valuable thing was a spare car wheel. Unless you fancied some G-strings.

Anyway I sent a few pics in via email following their list of details required and requested authority to dispose if tenant did not remove in 1 week.
Quite happy how simple that part was.

 

[Sez]

I'm sure if there was anything that was border line of having to do the store then auction process it would take an inspection.
In my case about the most valuable thing was a spare car wheel. Unless you fancied some G-strings.

Anyway I sent a few pics in via email following their list of details required and requested authority to dispose if tenant did not remove in 1 week.
Quite happy how simple that part was.

I wish they made it that easy here!!!!

 

[KoopaTroopa]

Hi All!

So I'm posting a followup.

My sister went won her VCAT tribunal case.

This is a quick rundown (I'll summarise):

Tenancy ended 1 June 2011 and the rent was paid to 1 May 2011 with $13.00 on account

Total claim proved: $8300

The tribunal finds that tenant has paid a bond of $1300

Direct the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority to pay to the landlord $1300

Order tenant to now pay the landlord compensation fixed at $7000.00 being the balance after deduction of the bond.

Any order for arrears of rent made today includes all previous unsatisfied orders for arrears arising out of this tenancy.

So...my sister won, and I bolded the section I'm most interested in.

Can you guys tell me (and her) how she is to get the $7000? If the tenant wouldn't pay the rent, how exactly is he going to pay $7000?

If not the tenant, then who will actually give her the $7000?

I'm wondering if it's just a "paper victory" and she may not actually see much, if any, of that $7000.

Would totally appreciate ideas and further options she has.

Thanks guys!!

 

[Sez]

A good win and the paper is needed to follow certain avenues. For example, insurance will need this piece of paper to approve any claims (9/10, some insurance policies will pay without) and your sister will need this VCAT order if she wishes to persue the debt through a debt collector, details of the order can also be used to list the tenant on NTD.

Aside from the above, it is a paper victory.

With regards to the comment including all previous unsatisfied orders, this is on all arrears orders from VCAT - just to say that it includes all of the rental arrears and you can just add the amount from any previous orders !

 

[kathryn d]

Congratulations on the victory...even if on paper.
We won a $15,500 judgement a couple of weeks ago. One tenants has declared bankruptcy, so nothing from her. The other has a courier business, and the sheriff has asked us to provide a list of the businesses he deals with. We gave the sheriff a list of about 20. We don't expect much, but the judgement will be enough to ruin his credit. Might be the only satisfaction we get.
This is in canada...

 

[Melbournian]

dun forget to put time to it (you mayb have already done that through VCAT)

 

[Peterw]

The VCAT decision can be filed in the Magistrates Court, if unpaid, and you can then get a formal judgement. From there you can get a garnishee against wages etc. Its not lost yet, but some more work to do.

 

[Sez]

Agree with Peterw but it can still be hard to collect the funds. The debt collectors will transfer the order to a Magistrates order for you.... for a charge.

Melbournian - VCAT doesn't typically state a time in which the funds must be paid, just the amount to be paid. It remains open ended so that the landlord doesn't have a set time frame in which they must chase up the debt and they can immediately lodge it with a debt collector if they wish without giving the tenants any chance to come in and pay first.

Kathryn_d - $15,500??? What did they do????? The max amount VCAT will order is $10,000 and I've only ever seen 1 claim get to that amount.

 

[KoopaTroopa]

Wow thanks for the advice again, everyone!

Agree with Peterw but it can still be hard to collect the funds. The debt collectors will transfer the order to a Magistrates order for you.... for a charge.

Can you elaborate a little bit?

Are there good and/or great debt collectors to use?

What is the usual process now?

immediately lodge it with a debt collector if they wish without giving the tenants any chance to come in and pay first.

This is kinda what we'd like to do, not give any chance for the tenant to do anything about it.