Broken Garage Lock

Hey All

A quick question on Landlord vs Tenant responsibilities.

We have a garage door, it's somewhat old and the key has broken off into the lock (by turning the key the correct way). The Agent is saying this is the tenant's responsibility. The said key was apparently only used 4 times since the tenant has moved in (1yr 5months)

"As we do not have any space keys available in the office or with the owner you will need to organise a locksmith to replace and supply a new key. As the key and lock have not been reported as faulty previously this falls under a tenant responsibility."

Is that fair? I'm looking at it the lock and key are old .. and it's .. pretty hard to break a key off in a lock if said key is good quality ..

Cheers
Dan

 

The agent should be arranging a locksmith to replace the key (and make sure there is one for each of the people on the lease), get a spare for the office and one for yourself if required & check the lock. Let the agent sort it out if they believe that it's the tenant's fault otherwise you will end up paying anyway.

 

Hi Dan,

Under the RTRA Act the Lessor/Agent has an obligation to ensure the property is maintained and fit for purpose etc, so if you really want to get narky, you can issue them a Form 11 Notice to Remedy Breach to fix it.

If the Lessor/Agent believes the Tenant was the cause and this was not a fair wear & tear event/maintenance issue, they can make a claim through QCAT for compensation from the Tenant for the repair/replacement cost, but not without first going through the RTA's dispute resolution service. (Nb. as per first paragraph, the Lessor/Agent is still obligated to fix it regardless of who pays)

Long story short, if you don't care about a lease extension being offered, don't pay, issue them a breach and follow that up with a compensation claim through QCAT for reduced amenity (loss of secure garage use). If the Lessor/Agent doesn't understand their obligations correctly, you'll probably find the Tribunal award for compensation of lost amenity would cancel out the cost of the repair/replacement

 

Plot twist, I'm the tenant and I'm the one who broke it with minimal force Literally turned it like you would any normal key.

 

If it ended up going to the tribunal, on the balance of probabilities I'd say the Tenant would have a fair chance of not being responsible. As a compromise, perhaps offer to go 50/50 on repair/replacement. DR/Adjudicators like to see the parties trying to reach agreement, good faith goes a long way.

 

I don't think you are responsible. Fair wear and tear.

 

Well I'm fine with paying or going 50/50, our property manager is a right cow so I'm just wanting revenge to be honest.

And why .. wouldn't they have copies of the keys .. that's not my problem .. I can easily get the broken part of the key out with plyers.

And since I can remove the broken part I can hopefully get the key remade .. (cheaper) yay. But still .. no spare key for a garage?

 

does the butt of the key have a number on it? If yes, locksmith can cut a new one using that number

 

Yep it does.

 

If you can get the broken key out with pliers, why don't you do that, go to the locksmith & get two keys cut, and send the 2nd key & bill to the agent, with a note referring to the age of the key and lock? Sounds like wear and tear to me.

 

I wanted to see both sides, as I'm a new landlord myself. My thinking was .. hey it's old I'm the owner I'll just get some more info about the key and be done with it.

It's stupid that you'd even have to "fight" over something like this.

The agents just being a jerk, she has a superiority complex... Regardless I'm going to tell her to shove it on the fair wear and fair basis.

 

Not opposed to that, at all. Wanted some opinions from both views.

And how do I know the age of the lock, or are you saying in general because it's old.

 

Nice plot twist Dan. I now have to rearrange my thought processes.

 

You said it was old, so I would guess it looks old ... how old is the property? If it's a new place you might be better off to say it must have been faulty.

Just because the agent may be hard to deal with, I don't think you should be difficult in return, which is what it sounded like you wanted to do. Take it as an example of what you don't want in an agent for your tenant ...

 

Fair point, but you don't know the whole story, and that's probably for another post.

Sum it up, extreme rudeness every inspection or phone call, accusations about lawns being overgrown (they professionally cut at my cost every fortnight).. random bills and debt notices for waterbills that have already been paid.

Unwilling to listen when we've said we have paid (one bill was a year old and we paid it the next day) given reciepts of said payments. And no apology for getting it wrong and pushing that we owe money.

That's it in a nutshell.

 

@Dan Wood if it was me, I'd be trying to find out the owners details and letting them know they what their agent is like. If you're doing the right thing then you should never have to hear from an agent unless it's to schedule an inspection or maintenance. It's not fair on you as a tenant to have a bullying agent when you're doing the right thing.

I'd be telling them to shove their "professional" lawn maintenance to and sorting that myself (unless they are cheap, in which case keep it as they can't very well argue the lawn is not being maintained if you are paying them to maintain it).

As far as the key goes, not worth the fight if you can get one cut. Just get two and give them in when you move on, take the higher ground on that one.

 

Oh boy, the Landlord works for the same agency under the commercial section, in the same building.

He's the one who said the lawns were to "long", he's the one driving past on a weekly basis taking photos of the property (again another story).

She's making accusations without proof, I kindly asked for it and was told a stern no.

The lawn is out of my pocket, sorry I organise it, I pay, lawn is the tenants responsibility.


(Edit) I'll admit yes twice the lawns grew long probably about 1.5 to 2 feet in one section that's always ... Wet.. once over Christmas and another when we were away. Xmas lawn guy was fully booked and the other time I was on holiday not a huge deal IMO..

 

Sounds like a rough situation @Dan Wood I think I'd be looking to move on if it's at all possible. Sounds like you'll always have these issues as long as your'e in that property.

I'm not up on these things but isn't their laws about quiet enjoyment? Landlord shouldn't be driving passed weekly, that's bit rough., that would drive me insane.