VIC Agent reneged promise after signed rental contract

Discussion in 'Property Management' started by glasszon, 13th May, 2019.

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  1. glasszon

    glasszon Active Member

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    I have recently rented an apartment in Melbourne and the central issue is around a 2nd access card. He refused to provide the 2nd access card and stonewalled me with excuses after excuses when originally he promised I will be given 2 set of keys and access cards when I signed the contract, do I have any recourse or am I better off dealing with owner corp directly and eat the expense myself?

    The whole story is below:
    When I signed the contract, the agent confirmed multiple times that I will get 2 set of keys, then on move-in date the agent sprang a surprise and told me the previous tenant lost 1 of the access card (he would know beforehand because the place was vacant when I signed the lease), but he assured me they are currently getting it replaced and is currently with owner corp at the moment. In hindsight I shouldn't take possession of the property but I naively agreed, after this there has been no progress on the 2nd access card, every time he told me a different story when I pushed him and eventually he stopped replying me altogether.

    Unfortunately nothing is in writing and VIC doesn't require landlords to provide a set of key per tenant on the lease, the most I have is a text message where he said he is waiting for the bond money from the previous tenant before he can lodge a request to get a new access card. The problem is me and my wife work in different hours and my boss is not happy with how I have to keep leaving office each day to give the access card to my wife so she can go home.

    Do I have any recourse in this situation? I know the cost is minimal in the grand scheme of things, but the problem is I am not sure I can even deal with owner corp directly about the access card given I am not the landlord. Ideally I would love to get the second access card without charge as promised originally, but I am just stuck on what option I feasibly have to get it sorted.
     
  2. Terry_w

    Terry_w Lawyer, Tax Adviser and Mortgage broker in Sydney Business Member

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    was it in the contract?
     
  3. D.T.

    D.T. Specialist Property Manager Business Member

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    Which people are on the lease, 1 or 2? I'm not sure about Vic, but here 1 person on lease = 1 copy of keys/cards regardless of how many people are actually there. Additionally, our leases here specify how many of any items are provided, not sure if they do over there.
     
  4. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    This is the agent's problem - get the keys back (& access cards). If not, take it out of the bond and get a replacement.
     
  5. thatbum

    thatbum Well-Known Member

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    On the face of it you appear to have a legal right to the second access key. I'd be bugging everyone - OC, PM, Landlord.
     
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  6. glasszon

    glasszon Active Member

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    Unfortunately not, I should have insisted that the agent insert the clause into the contract.

    The problem is I can't get hold of anyone, OC is not involved because they haven't received an application for an access card, PM is not responding to my message and emails and I don't have Landlord's contact information. The last message I got from the PM is they are waiting to receive bond money from the previous tenant before they will submit a request for a new access card.

    To be honest I really regret signing up for this property, this is definitely not the only issue (for example, one of the draw in the cupboard is broken and the condition report says it is fine? do they seriously want to double dip on compensation?). To let you know how bad things are, I only have the rental contract + condition report + bond lodgement form and nothing else, I don't even know how am I suppose to pay them each month for the rent!

    Edit: There's 2 people on the lease, but unlike NSW, in Victoria apparently it is not mandatory to give a key to each tenant based on the research I did yesterday.
     
  7. marmot

    marmot Well-Known Member

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    Normally the lot owner would have to put a request in with Strata manager to organise more common area keys .
    Maybe the lot owner is refusing to pay the additional cost for another access card.
    If the previous tenent has not returned all access keys ,thats not your problem.
     
  8. glasszon

    glasszon Active Member

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    Totally agree, but the problem for me is how I can get this moving, the agent is clearly avoiding me and just hope the problem will go away, so should I give a breach notice (if so, on what grounds?), apply to VCAT over this (again, what grounds do I have?) or?
     
  9. marmot

    marmot Well-Known Member

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    Only pay 50% of the rent.
    That might get their attention !!!!!.
     
  10. bunkai

    bunkai Well-Known Member

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    Whilst they get their act together, you can cheaply duplicate many (but not all) cards.
     
  11. Perp

    Perp Well-Known Member

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    Not that you should have to, but a win-win may be to propose to the PM that you'll outlay for the second access card on condition that the landlord reimburses you within, say, 6 weeks or something. Get it in writing - even if it's just a text or email.
     
  12. glasszon

    glasszon Active Member

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    How? It's one of those standard access card for apartment complex.
     
  13. bunkai

    bunkai Well-Known Member

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    How about these guys.
     
  14. Lil Skater

    Lil Skater Well-Known Member

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    I don't know about getting fake cards, technically Vic isn't clear on how many keys should be supplied to a tenant - but really, whoever thinks that you shouldn't provide the number of listed tenants a key each is bonkers. Especially in this situation where you only technically have one way to access the property.

    I'd offer to pay, then seek reimbursement. You can go the route of breach as well if needed.

    Alternatively do you have an external letterbox? If so and it's lockable you could put the card in there when you're out for the interim.
     
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  15. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    A little bit of a give away for the not so honest (locks only keep out the inquisitive).
     
  16. The Y-man

    The Y-man Moderator Staff Member

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    Unfortunately, standard practice in many places: the landlord/agent creates the "everything is fine" version. Your task is to go through it, and find everything wrong with it, take photos etc, and not sign off the report until it represents mostly the truth.

    The Y-man
     
  17. Trainee

    Trainee Well-Known Member

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    Why did you agree to the condition report?
     
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  18. S.T

    S.T Well-Known Member

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    Serve the landlord (PM) a breach of duty notice as they have failed to provide access to the property for both tenants that are on the lease.
     
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  19. glasszon

    glasszon Active Member

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    I didn't, I took many pictures and modified the condition report in a big way, the agent has pre-signed the condition report (before we write anything on it, go figure) and asked us to give the final report + pictures to his colleague who filed it away.

    Everything is really strange dealing with the agency, he asked us to sign the condition report as-is but say it won't go into effect if I return the modified condition report within 3 business days, so on the 3rd business day I gave the modified version + pictures to his colleague.

    The agent has responded and said he have submitted a request now and is waiting on OC, if it doesn't work out by Wednesday I will go down this route and serve a formal notice.
     
  20. Tom Rivera

    Tom Rivera Property Manager Business Member

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    Some agents have a strange policy of getting you to sign the condition report on the spot, it's technically not okay and as a tenant I wouldn't be comfortable doing it.

    It sounds like you're in a really irritating situation where they didn't promise two cards in writing, the legislation is unclear- but you obviously need two cards, and can't easily acquire another one. You can't really breach, but the agent has acted unconscionably.

    If I were you, I'd be pushing to contact the Body Corporate so you can make sure the request for an access card is in and get a clearer idea on timelines.
     
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