Tribunal Ruling - Unbelieveable !!!!

[triv]

Hi All,

After some advice please.
Here's the history first up.
PM left agency and new one started. On his 2nd day he tells me the tenant is nearly 4weeks in arrears and I won't be receiving any rent for the previous month.
New PM chases up tenant who gives sob story about how he lost his job and wife only works 8 - 10 hrs per week.
Skip ahead to yesterday when the case went to the tribunal.
They are now $4030 ( 13 weeks ) behind in rent and haven't even attempted to repay $1 of the debt.

The ruling was ( And this really S@#TS me )

Tenant to be out in 2 weeks paying a daily rent of $45/day from yesterday until they leave although this doesn't need to be paid for 3 weeks.
Ordered to pay $60 per fortnight until the debt is paid =
$4030 - $1240 bond = $2790 @ $30 / week = 93 weeks to repay the debt

Hopefully they haven't trashed the place.

I cannot believe the outcome of this

Surely they are on some sort of rental assistance... How can this not be the minimum they need to repay ???

Anyway I have no idea where to go from here or what my options are.

I do have Landlords Insurance with CBA. Will CBA reimburse the debt & if so do I need to pay it back as it comes in from the tenant from hell ?

Is the PM liable in any way for allowing this to get so far out of control ?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Cheers

Triv

 

[Trippy]

Hi All,

After some advice please.
Here's the history first up.
PM left agency and new one started. On his 2nd day he tells me the tenant is nearly 4weeks in arrears and I won't be receiving any rent for the previous month.
New PM chases up tenant who gives sob story about how he lost his job and wife only works 8 - 10 hrs per week.
Skip ahead to yesterday when the case went to the tribunal.
They are now $4030 ( 13 weeks ) behind in rent and haven't even attempted to repay $1 of the debt.

The ruling was ( And this really S@#TS me )

Tenant to be out in 2 weeks paying a daily rent of $45/day from yesterday until they leave although this doesn't need to be paid for 3 weeks.
Ordered to pay $60 per fortnight until the debt is paid =
$4030 - $1240 bond = $2790 @ $30 / week = 93 weeks to repay the debt

Hopefully they haven't trashed the place.

I cannot believe the outcome of this

Surely they are on some sort of rental assistance... How can this not be the minimum they need to repay ???

Anyway I have no idea where to go from here or what my options are.

I do have Landlords Insurance with CBA. Will CBA reimburse the debt & if so do I need to pay it back as it comes in from the tenant from hell ?

Is the PM liable in any way for allowing this to get so far out of control ?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Cheers

Triv

Doesn't sound like they have the money...maybe a little bit repaid now and then is better than getting nothing now or later...

 

[perthguy]

PM left agency and new one started. On his 2nd day he tells me the tenant is nearly 4weeks in arrears and I won't be receiving any rent for the previous month.

This is precisely why I refuse to use a commercial PM.

Surely they are on some sort of rental assistance... How can this not be the minimum they need to repay ???

Umm, because they need to live somewhere? If they pay all their rental assistance to you, where are they supposed to live?

Anyway I have no idea where to go from here or what my options are.

I do have Landlords Insurance with CBA. Will CBA reimburse the debt & if so do I need to pay it back as it comes in from the tenant from hell ?

Best check with CBA.

Is the PM liable in any way for allowing this to get so far out of control?

Not one bit. It's your job to make sure your PM is doing their job properly. If they aren't, you fire them and get a new PM. My parents went through a similar thing with their PM. PM let the tenant get months behind on their rent and PM did not do rent reviews over a number of years and the rent ended up $150 per week below market. I told my parents to fire their PM and get a new one but they refused to. So frustrating. It took nearly 2 years of regular rent increases (within the law) to get the rent back to market.

In your case, you need to check the rent amount coming in each fortnight or month and make sure it matches what you should be receiving. If a payment is missed or the rent amount is low, get onto the PM immediately and find out what is going on. That is what you are paying them for. I know it's too late for this time, but that is what you need to do in future to stop this happening again.

 

[Vixs]

Really? There's no liability for a PM being negligent in keeping records/communicating? Far out... I would have thought a management contract/agreement would set out requirements and obligations for the manager at least, otherwise what's actually being requested of the PM?

 

[perthguy]

I would have thought a management contract/agreement would set out requirements and obligations for the manager at least

You would have to check your contract. If a PM breaches a contract, that is a different story. Action can be taken against a PM for breach of contract but it is likely to be expensive.

 

[Scott No Mates]

the agency has broad shoulders put a claim in against their professional indemnity insurance. If they're incompetent force their hands.

 

[Terry_w]

Sounds like an appropriate ruling to me.

Tenant has been ordered out with appropriate time to find new accomodation. Debt has been ordered to be repaid. You are lucky.

This tribunal matter had nothing to do with agent liability. You can tae legal action against them separately. But, you haven't suffered a financial loss as of yet because the tenant has been ordered to pay you.

 

[perthguy]

This tribunal matter had nothing to do with agent liability. You can tae legal action against them separately. But, you haven't suffered a financial loss as of yet because the tenant has been ordered to pay you.

My guess is it would be hard to make an insurance claim against rent coming in slower than you would like. What do you say to the insurance company: I have this rent coming in but it is coming in slower than I want and I want it now so pay me? It kinda sounds unconvincing to me. But as always, speak to your insurer.

 

[Coconutwheels]

Hey Triv, must be very frustrating! I can imagine what's going to happen, they'll pay for a few weeks then become add hoc and then just stop.

Anyone else been through that scenario and how to handle it?

Let us know how you go with the insurance, after some of the recent threads regarding LL policy I'm very curious.

 

[triv]

Thanks everyone,

I understand that they will have to pay rent in the future and that is possibly why the repayment is so low.

They have obviously found other ' Uses ' for there rental assistance and wages so far so I pity the poor landlord whos place they move into next.

It's just frustrating that I have to wait nearly 2 years to get it back. Seems like the owner always seems to get the rough end of the pineapple and the tenant moves on with very little consequences.

Fingers crossed they haven't trashed the place also.

Thanks again

Triv

 

[Terry_w]

Thanks everyone,

I understand that they will have to pay rent in the future and that is possibly why the repayment is so low.

They have obviously found other ' Uses ' for there rental assistance and wages so far so I pity the poor landlord whos place they move into next.

It's just frustrating that I have to wait nearly 2 years to get it back. Seems like the owner always seems to get the rough end of the pineapple and the tenant moves on with very little consequences.

Fingers crossed they haven't trashed the place also.

Thanks again

Triv

Sounds like he was getting a wage but lost his job. Doesn't mean he is on rental assistance or that he has wasted his money.

 

[perthguy]

Fingers crossed they haven't trashed the place also.

Hopefully the place is fine and you can just rent it out again straight away. If not, has your PM been charging you for doing regular property inspections? If so, and the place is not fine, give the PM a good kick up the ***.

Oh, I was just thinking that there needs to be final inspection and the bond (or part thereof) needs to be paid back. It would be good to speak to the PM about this before they move out and find out what they are planning to do.

It's just frustrating that I have to wait nearly 2 years to get it back. Seems like the owner always seems to get the rough end of the pineapple and the tenant moves on with very little consequences.

It does suck you have to wait 2 years to get your money. Owners do get the rough and of the pineapple and tenants get away with anything. My last tenant left owing rent and the magistrate's court here in WA basically told me to get stuffed. Lucky for me it was only 3 days rent...

 

[Lil Skater]

Read the PM contract, if you can prove there's a breach you can take action. What this costs would be another story. A threatening letter might just do the trick as the amount owed in rent is likely to be less than the insurance excess.

You'll need to check on your insurance to see if they will pay.

Hate to break it to you, but I've seen "payment plans" for as little as $5/week!!

 

[mikezen]

Hate to break it to you, but I've seen "payment plans" for as little as $5/week!!

I'm aiming at paying my final Vodafone bill off at $1 a week, these thieving scum bags tried to make me pay 600 in data usage charges, In my view it's attempted theft so I have dragged the ombudsman in and pleading the I'm so poor story and can only afford a dollar a week, I hope I win I really do

 

[HD_ACE]

It seems your pretty lucky.

I was awarded 3k of a 5k claim at tribunal, to be payed at $10 a week over about 6 years.. After 3 payments they stopped. Got a debt collector onto the case to track them down and serve for payment. Got them onto another plan minus 25% to the debt collector.

Has been going on for about the last 6 months getting money in drips and drabs. The other day got a letter from debt company saying ex tenants had cancelled their payment plan. And to either pay another $200 to go to court again to serve them, and another $250 for a soli.

Im still deciding weather to bother with it all. over 12 months have probably received $150 in total.

I mean why cant people just accept the consequences for their actions and actually make it right.

never mind tomorrows another day

cheers

 

[donkey]

please let us know what commsure decide to do.

good luck and dont give up.

 

[Scott No Mates]

Well, it could get this good >>>>>>>> Linky

Persistance pays off, not!

 

[Deltaberry]

Robin Hood handed a judgment as always. What did you expect?

 

[Ajax]

I had a similar situatiuon where tenant had not paid rent for about 10 weeks.

Husband kept applying for adjournments at tenancy Tribunal. Managing agent had changed the lease into the wife's name (then left agency) I finally got judgment for about $2500 (lump sum).

Landlord insurance paid out. I drove past where the tenant was now living and thought twice about pursuing the judgment against them. I could see my unit being burnt or firebombed if I did.

If you play your cards right you could be double compensated here. Once by the insurer and eventually by the tenant. Having the real estate agent chase up the insurer could be helpful (if its an insurer they give a lot of business to as they then have some leverage).

 

[Jolly123]

Thanks Triv for sharing this. I hope you hv a much better tenants next time. My one is now 7 wks in arrears and tribunal on 4th feb. It's a new experience for me. Any advice on what should I do now? Currently waiting for the PDS arrived from LL insurance as I have a different version.