QLD Bad tenants; what to do before they leave

I have recently bought a property where a tenant is living there for 12 months. Previous owner had done internal painting, new carpets for rooms, new vinyl for living area, new fan, new AC and bathroom/kitchen renovation before they moved in. Entry condition indicates brand new items.

After 12 months, it's hard to believe it had a full renovation, carpets have many stains and vinyl also looks pretty old and etc. Broken walls in couple of places and we can't even reach some areas inside the house because lots of storage are sitting there blocking the way. Previous owner has had lots of troubles with the tenant, he couldn't present the house properly as the tenants have been keeping it in terrible condition.

My PM hasn't done any routine inspection yet. BDM visited the place during the purchase phase and she straightaway suggested to issue exit notice to the tenant. After that PM had a chat over the phone with them about tidy up the place if they want to stay. But PM said they are not prepared to change anything in terms of cleaning the storage and etc.

After that we have issued 60 days notice to leave as they were on periodic lease. I doubt they will fix those issues before they leave. The bond probably won't be enough to fix those items (I have landload insurance).

Still they have about 7 weeks before leaving. PM said they can give us 2 weeks notice and leave if they find a place. Also there is a chance they may not be able to find a place before 60 days.

I am wondering if there is anything we can do through the PM? Any suggestions to take any actions in order to avoid losses? Thank you.

 

I bought it just before they completed 12 months lease and they had an arrangement to go periodic after that.

Good question about the insurance... I got the insurance right after signing the contract before their 12 months lease ends. I am with Terrisheer, not sure..

 

I am curios about this - what do you mean by "wait for vacant possession"? if we buy a property that is tenanted, but we want to replace the tenant / or do some renovation, what is the best way to go about it?

 

Makes sense, that didn't work for this property.

It was complicated, somehow tenant and property agent were friends. The same agency sold it and they told me tenants are good and like to stay. Also once they told me owner doesn't want to extend the lease, so they arranged a periodic lease.

Tenants didn't even tidy up the place for the inspection and it was full of people when we went for the inspection.

Now my question is, what can the current PM do about it? I have got a new PM.

 

So long as they're not in bad rent arrears you will be eligible to take out landlords insurance, then providing the previous Lessor/Agent did a half decent entry report with date and time stamped photos, and you schedule a routine inspection as soon as you can once settled, then issues breaches for things picked up during that inspection, when they vacate, if there are issues, you've covered enough bases for an insurance claim if the bond is exhausted.

 

BIG HUGE Red flag !

One could hope it was cheap......

One thing I would do is have your current (new) PM give immediate notice of another property inspection, when there viewing have him reiterate that according to the entry report (and have a copy to hand the tenant) the place was renovated when they moved in and it's current state doesn't portray "fair & tear" and they may be financially liable for the repairs !

Be prepared to go to tenancy tribunal.
Make sure you tell your PM "not to release the bond, as you intend to contest it" (in writing/email today).

Otherwise this is a textbook case why you don't want to buy a tenanted property