I had a visit to the Tenancies Tribunal in South Australia today.. here's a few notes on what went on, what I can do better next time, and what worked well this time.
Situation: Tenant around 5 weeks in arrears, appropriate paperwork served.. finally got a hearing date.. the hearing day was roughly 10 days after the Application was delivered to the tribunal.
Tenant hadn't moved out after Notice to Remedy Breach served and breach not rectified.. Applied to tribunal for vacant possession and refund of bond to me.
Had tried everything to get the Tenant out, had offered them a full bond refund 2 weeks ago in return for an orderly exit and a reasonably clean house (an attempt to short circuit the process).. They agreed to this.. but just couldnt get their act together to move out (or didnt want to).. Claimed they had nowhere to put their stuff.. luckily its a big site so I went to the expense (not very large) of putting a Shipping Container there for them to store their stuff in. (in reality I need one at the site for some building work in about 6months time, so its not wasted money )
Anyhow.. Tribunal visit was today.. arrived in my best suit.. Had all my paperwork in order, particularly the original lease, the rent record, detailed notes on what had happened (who said what, when, agreements about arrears I had made with Tenants)..
The Tenants didnt turn up (not surprisingly, but its nice when they don't, it always goes so much smoother).. Hearing commenced, sitting Member (like a Junior Magistrate) verified details of Tenancy, checked rent record, validated my original Breach noticed was in order.. and then granted the return of bond to me and a Vacant Possession order..
The Member asked me if I thought 7 days was appropriate for them to move out (7 days is the MAXIMUM that can be allowed under the SA Act).. She seemed a litle suprised when I said "No" and proceeded to demonstrate how much I'd done to try and resolve the situation.. she was particularly impressed with the shipping container idea! At the end of my 2-3 minute monologue she agreed 7 days was excessive and wound it back to 4 days which I was happy with.
So come next Wednesday if they havent moved out, I'll have access to the Bailiff to assist them out of the house.. which is always an interesting experience. I'm yet to have a Tenant actually HOME when the Bailiff arrives..
I await next weeks eviction with bated breath!
So a couple of new lessons from Today:
1) Make sure you can demonstrate at a hearing what YOU have done to try and resolve the situation.. it can work in your favor even if the Tenant doesnt take you up on any of your offers. The return of the bond idea I'm going to use again.. if I can shortcut the whole process by 4 weeks I'm ahead.. especially if at least some token cleaning is done.
2) Be prepared to challenge (politely) any suggestions the Member makes about number of days, penalties etc.. But dont argue.
I was nervous.. but I think that helps.. its my 3rd solo trip to the Tribunal but I've sat thru a number of hearings previously. (they're public!). This latest eviction was my last "Agent Placed Problem Tenant", they should NEVER have been allowed into the property, the Agent signed the lease on my behalf without verifying their suitability with me. She was sacked shortly after and I started my self-management lark.
Situation: Tenant around 5 weeks in arrears, appropriate paperwork served.. finally got a hearing date.. the hearing day was roughly 10 days after the Application was delivered to the tribunal.
Tenant hadn't moved out after Notice to Remedy Breach served and breach not rectified.. Applied to tribunal for vacant possession and refund of bond to me.
Had tried everything to get the Tenant out, had offered them a full bond refund 2 weeks ago in return for an orderly exit and a reasonably clean house (an attempt to short circuit the process).. They agreed to this.. but just couldnt get their act together to move out (or didnt want to).. Claimed they had nowhere to put their stuff.. luckily its a big site so I went to the expense (not very large) of putting a Shipping Container there for them to store their stuff in. (in reality I need one at the site for some building work in about 6months time, so its not wasted money )
Anyhow.. Tribunal visit was today.. arrived in my best suit.. Had all my paperwork in order, particularly the original lease, the rent record, detailed notes on what had happened (who said what, when, agreements about arrears I had made with Tenants)..
The Tenants didnt turn up (not surprisingly, but its nice when they don't, it always goes so much smoother).. Hearing commenced, sitting Member (like a Junior Magistrate) verified details of Tenancy, checked rent record, validated my original Breach noticed was in order.. and then granted the return of bond to me and a Vacant Possession order..
The Member asked me if I thought 7 days was appropriate for them to move out (7 days is the MAXIMUM that can be allowed under the SA Act).. She seemed a litle suprised when I said "No" and proceeded to demonstrate how much I'd done to try and resolve the situation.. she was particularly impressed with the shipping container idea! At the end of my 2-3 minute monologue she agreed 7 days was excessive and wound it back to 4 days which I was happy with.
So come next Wednesday if they havent moved out, I'll have access to the Bailiff to assist them out of the house.. which is always an interesting experience. I'm yet to have a Tenant actually HOME when the Bailiff arrives..
I await next weeks eviction with bated breath!
So a couple of new lessons from Today:
1) Make sure you can demonstrate at a hearing what YOU have done to try and resolve the situation.. it can work in your favor even if the Tenant doesnt take you up on any of your offers. The return of the bond idea I'm going to use again.. if I can shortcut the whole process by 4 weeks I'm ahead.. especially if at least some token cleaning is done.
2) Be prepared to challenge (politely) any suggestions the Member makes about number of days, penalties etc.. But dont argue.
I was nervous.. but I think that helps.. its my 3rd solo trip to the Tribunal but I've sat thru a number of hearings previously. (they're public!). This latest eviction was my last "Agent Placed Problem Tenant", they should NEVER have been allowed into the property, the Agent signed the lease on my behalf without verifying their suitability with me. She was sacked shortly after and I started my self-management lark.