ACT Advice about tenant under investigation

I have a few issues with a new tenant who's been in my fully furnished and equipped apartment for 6 weeks.

She never returned the signed lease ( she claimed she had but has also contradicted herself)
She's 2 weeks behind in her rent.
The police called me saying the fobs I issued her were used for numerous break ins into cars and storage cages. ( She denies it was her but the system has connected the fobs with the timing of the break ins)
She's disconnected a couple of her phone numbers and claims her computer got stolen so can't get my emails.
The police have disconnected her fobs which stops her from entering the apartment block and the lift, but then she rang me very upset as her children couldn't get back in. I requested that 1 of them get reactivated for her. I asked for the number on the other 2 fobs so we could also get them reactivated and suddenly she doesn't have them.
I can't deal with this drama. I have issued her a notice of remedy with 1 week to pay. That has now expired and I'm about to issue a notice to vacate which gives her 2 weeks BUT
She hasn't signed any lease ....so can't I evict her straight away? Wouldn't she be squatting?
The rent included all electricity, gas and wifi bills. As she hasn't paid rent for a couple of weeks can I disconnect all those services which are in my name?
This is causing me incredible stress and hardship. Any advice please? Do I just have to go through the whole process of notice to vacate etc etc.?

 

You definitely cannot disconnect the services, esp. if they were part of the lease.

 

Have a read of the residential tenancy act for starters. Read it all. Not that long

 

Hope you have landlord insurance and get a PM next time.

 

I can't seem to find anywhere where it mentions if they fail to sign a lease?

 

Probably, on the information provided. I'm not really sure what the story with the fobs and police really meant - or how it's particularly relevant to your own tenancy issues.

I'm surprised you let the tenant move in without a signed lease!

 

They likely have a valid lease even without entering a written one.

Police not relevant to kicking her out.

Has she paid rent and bond?

 

The issue with the police and the fobs is that she was going to get legal advice as she thinks it is illegal to deactivate them but the police did it without even notifying me. She's now using it as an excuse not to pay the rent. The police have advised me not to reactivate them while she's under investigation.

 

She paid 2 weeks bond, and has paid 4 weeks rent but currently behind 2 weeks and avoiding all my calls (and changes her number). I will just issue a notice to vacate...eventhough I wasn't sure if the lease would even be valid as she never returned it.

 

If she's in a complex with a body corporate, it won't take kindly to her being in trouble with the police and her fobs being used for break-ins. Please let the body corporate and its executive committee know. They might be able to help you get her out. Other unit holders may be able to give you evidence of other things she's done. And if I were living there, I'd want to know that a tenant's fobs were being used to steal property.

This is when you need a good pm.

 

There are red flags and alarm bells going off everywhere...certainly highlights the need for a PM.

If she is not paying rent your priority should be to get her out asap, issue the notices, try to keep open communication, you may need to negotiate something where you assist her to move. It may be worth finding a good PM who can help you take over from here.

 

This!

OMG! Why did you give her permission to move in without a signed lease. Get a PM ASAP.

 

Guessing LL insurance won't be of any help as it reads like basically no processes have been followed

 

Yah I was thinking that after I posted it. This is one of the major reasons why I keep PM's. If I ever do come across a disaster tenant from hell I wanna make sure I have absolutely nothing to do with it and the PM is responsible for everything, by the book and insurances are solidly in place. I did have 2 close calls (nothing as bad as this case) and the PM's handled absolutely everything and insurances covered what was appropriate. I didn't bother one iota.

Honestly, it's risk mitigation 101 when anyone has an outside tenant.

 

You LL insurance may be useless if there is no lease and you allowed her entry. You have a professional scammer as a squatter. Well done. They obviously seek to exploit slack landlords who dont use PMs. I bet she used the playbook of excuses and will continue to do so.

Time to pay a solicitor in place of the agent that would have been cheaper. The fobs thing makes no sense unless they investigated and found she was using a ID traceable tag to access neigbouring property. You may have grounds to terminate her. Seek legal advice. If you stop services she will be a master of tribunal eviction claims and play you out longer. LOL she scammed you on included services. Who does that ? She is probably a bitcoin miner with 50 stacked up PCs in a airconditioned room and you have yet to see the electricty bill.

Does she look like this :