Tenants took off, Slow PM and other hassles

[Melbournee]

Hello all,

1 year lease finished- tenants kept living on monthly basis after that.

Now about another year on they were delaying on rent last few months - especially last month- so PM set a court date with VCAT for this. They paid and again more delays this month. PM kept calling and they handed in keys and took off.

They have left a garage full of stuff (old furniture and other junk), some other stuff around backyard, an internal door broken, some holes through the wall, tall grass and other gardening duties. House is not clean either.


1) Now the VCAT hearing is next week - but I am sure it was to do with the delayed rent from previous month. Can the PM include things like damages and rental loss in that hearing to claim bond or does he need to set a new date.

2) PM tells we cannot throw stuff without approval from VCAT or consumer affairs etc and to wait for this hearing. Fair Enough- but how can that be added to an existing hearing? Is there a way to check the proceedings of the hearing or what my PM will be saying there.


Insurance:
3) Was under the impression that its $250 access, called my insurance (One Path Landlords insurance) and its going to be 750 (250+ 250 +250) to make a claim against rent and damage. I have not put in a claim as yet- need to get exact dates from PM who is away till Wednesday.

Which of these things in my case (lost rent, damage to Property, gardening fixes etc) do insurances cover in general.

4) Do I have to wait on Insurance people before starting on fixing things. I mean is taking pictures beforehand enough or should I wait for their inspection.

When and how can I start work on property- its pretty stressful with no rent coming in and not knowing when to start work on it.

Will appreciate any advice

 

[thatbum]

You should probably ask VCAT to adjourn your matter for a financial order. I imagine it will take you longer than a week to assess your final claim amount.

You should only worry about insurance until after you've gotten an order from VCAT. Focus on assessing the damage first.

Basically, you need to start making a spreadsheet of issues and calculating the claim based under each heading. You will need this both for VCAT and to negotiate with your insurer.

 

[D.T.]

Silly residential landlords. This is why you should only have commercial IPs

 

[Melbournee]

You should only worry about insurance until after you've gotten an order from VCAT.

what VCAT order is that - is that about dumping stuff.

Checked online - one has to store Tenants junk for 28 days


Think I didn't make myselves clear-
The tenants were delaying on rent - so PM set a court date with VCAT for this. Thats the VCAT hearing thats coming up in a few days. Can the PM include things like damages and rental loss in that hearing to claim bond

 

[thatbum]

what VCAT order is that - is that about dumping stuff.

Checked online - one has to store Tenants junk for 28 days


Think I didn't make myselves clear-
The tenants were delaying on rent - so PM set a court date with VCAT for this. Thats the VCAT hearing thats coming up in a few days. Can the PM include things like damages and rental loss in that hearing to claim bond

I guess I didn't make myself clear.

The order that you want from VCAT is an order for the payment of your loss and damages. You no longer need an order for termination.

You might be able to get your PM to claim things at the upcoming hearing date - but there is no point doing that if you don't know how much you are going to claim.

Hence my advice. Does that make sense?

 

[landlubber]

Understand clearly an order from VCAT does not mean you'll get your money. It's just an order. Even it doesn't mean anything until it's stamped by magistrates court. Even that won't get your money if the tenant doesn't pay. LL

 

[wylie]

On the few occasions this has happened to us, we would get in there and clean ourselves, dump rubbish, store items that are not rubbish and over a certain amount (check first with rent authority).

Waiting for a hearing means more lost rent and you also have to pay $750 excess plus several weeks of lost rent and you still may not get any money from the tenants. Sounds like a few days' work and you could have it rented again.

I would claim the bond, clean myself and get a new tenant, and probably get it done before the court hearing date.

 

[landlubber]

Agree with wylie. VCAT will not help you. Cut your losses. Get on with it is the best solution. And no matter how bad the condition of the IP never hold it for VCAT to inspect. Will not happen. Move on. The whole system is in the tenants favour. LL

 

[Melbournee]

Thanks all.

Not what I wanted but glad the picture is clearer sooner rather than later.

Got a written quote from a local business - its gonna cost $2200 to fix the tenants doings. biggest cost within this is $600 - rubbish removal.

Few other costs but that will be more normal fixing stuff.

How do I go about insurance now - do I put in a claim and wait on their inspection or can I start fixing stuff. Sorry to sound like an idiot but never done this before and have no family or friends who can help with this either.

 

[landlubber]

I think landlord's insurance (if the claim is accepted) only pays what ever amount is excess over the bond. Have you got the bond ? LL

 

[wylie]

Could you put up the quote so we can see what the cost is. If you claim insurance you will be paying $750 excess. Getting rid of rubbish at a cost of $600 could simply be a couple of hours of your time with a trailer. How much rubbish is there?

I would be careful with doing anything yourself and then trying to claim insurance. I'm not sure... but I think you claim or you don't. I think if you want to claim, but you do some work yourself, you could be muddying the waters.

The only time we ever claimed, we paid an excess of $750 and the insurer repainted two rooms and fixed a broken box window lift-up seat. We got a skip ourselves for probably $150 and spent the morning filling it with their rubbish.

I'm fairly sure we paid for the skip ourselves, and we certainly filled it ourselves. I cannot remember if the insurance didn't cover this aspect. But I do recall we got in professional cleaners. Whether we paid that ourselves or it was part of the insurance... I cannot recall.

I do know that waiting for the work to be done meant lost rent. Nobody gets things done as quickly as we do .

From memory the painting and repair job came to about $2K. Had we painted the walls ourselves it would have taken one day. Instead, we arranged access etc and no doubt had to wait to have the work done. We would have done it the next day. Hubby would have knocked up a new lid in a morning but instead, we probably paid a carpenter $600 (guessing) to make it.

We no doubt had to pay a higher premium the next year too.

If you can post up the quote, it will be clearer whether or not it is worth claiming, or whether you will save time and money doing it yourself (assuming you live nearby, and have the time and/or inclination to do it yourself.

 

[Lil Skater]

The hearing booked for next week for bond and compensation?

Surely it is... I would hope anyway. You cannot add anything into the hearing that isn't specified in the application.

$2,200 sounds quite hefty, what are the damages? What has your PM said and what advice have they given you?

You need to have consumer affairs inspect the goods left behind as certain things will require storage, and for different time frames. You do not need a VCAT order for this.

If you plan on using insurance, I wouldn't start work yourself. Depending on the insurance, they may want a VCAT order before approving anything anyway.

 

[landlubber]

I'll bet you find between landlord insurance excess and time wasted lost rent and VCAT fees and BS and wasted time ....you are better just "kissing goodbye" to your losses and getting on with it. If you pursue this please keep the forum informed. I'm very public on this forum that VCAT is a total fraud for landlords. LL

 

[Perp]

1. Ring the insurer and ask them what substantiation they require in the event of a claim. I doubt they'll send somebody to inspect, if you have photos and quotes from independent professionals - but confirm what the requirements are with them.

2. VCAT is not going to send anybody to inspect; they just look at evidence presented at the hearing, so photograph, photograph, photograph, and if any of the quotes seem "beyond what you'd expect", get another quote, so that you can justify your claim.

3. Once you've got adequate substantiation for the purposes of the insurer and VCAT, get going as quickly as you can on getting it rented again.

I somewhat share the cynicism of other posters - not as much as landlubber, but I get where he's coming from - that you'll get an outcome from VCAT, but I'd pursue it anyway, even if it only means the tenant gets listed on TICA and you spare some other poor sod from sharing in your experience. You should at least get a good portion of the bond, which is better than nothing, but I wouldn't be delaying getting the property ready for the next tenants on this basis.

With regards to tenant's stuff, do you have to store everything they've left, or only items over a certain value? In either case, I'd be inclined to get a quote for collecting and storing the lot, and get it off your property. Make sure it's stored securely and insured, because the worst possible ending would be for the person storing it on your behalf to lose it all, and you be found liable to compensate the tenant for losing their crap.

 

[ZachAnSel]

Agree with LL in regards to cut loses, but the challenge is how to evict tenant?
Looks like tenant know every loophole favors them.

Do you know how we can avoid this type of tenant black listed? like the credit rating point perhaps, but dedicated for tenant

 

[landlubber]

Store rubbish what and where and for how long etc etc etc ??? .....I recall the property was left totally perfectly clean. Actually it was inspected by the PM who will verify that .... No claim was made. Nothing to see here ....... Move on. LL .

 

[landlubber]

Agree with LL in regards to cut loses, but the challenge is how to evict tenant?
Looks like tenant know every loophole favors them.

To evict the tenant if they continue to occupy the property you do actually need the tribunal (and preferably a competent PM.) ... ( The police do actually arrive to put the tenant and his belongings out on the street if the tenant wants to test the limits.) In Melbourne at least tribunal is actually pretty good on this point. Wear a suit ( because the member does). Take your wife/partner. Speak without emotion. LL

 

[wylie]

Agree with LL in regards to cut loses, but the challenge is how to evict tenant?
Looks like tenant know every loophole favors them.

Do you know how we can this type of tenant black listed? like the credit rating point perhaps, but dedicated for tenant

In this case it appears tenant is already gone.

 

[Melbournee]

In this case it appears tenant is already gone.

Yes, the tenant is already gone.

Here is a list of things:

Patch up 4-5 holes in walls - (punch like biggish holes )

Replace one Indoor Door - has been completely smashed

Replace an outside door - backyard door.

One door handle broken.

Quite a bit of Stuff needs to be dumped - couch, old furniture etc.

Fixing Lawns- overgrown grass, weeds etc.

Cleanup

Leak in roof- plasterboard will need replacing.

 

[landlubber]

And they wonder why we all become as tough as bl--dy nails. My heart goes out to you ! LL