Constant maintenance, ending tenancy on hardship grounds

Hi. Iv been in the current property now for 6 months , within the 6 months iv had about 7 tradesman come out , and most have had to come back twice. Being a single mother and working part time its made it difficult at times to get the time off or book them in for when im not working, i dont want anyone in the place when im not home either, iv also got abuse from the REA over the time for cancelling due to being sick.

All of the repairs should have been done while the property was vacant , they aren't all emergency ones apart from 1.

Im pretty much fed up, theres probably another 2 repairs i could mention , but it means more time off and more people through the house. Iv rang to get some advice and was told i can apply to end the tenancy on hardship grounds as im loosing too much money having to take time off, and not having my right to peace and enjoyment . But what i forgot to ask is if i apply and im successful how long do i have to find another place or is the tenancy terminated once i find a place?

 

This is weird. No landlord fixes stuff unless its required. What are they doing?

 

Walls painted, keys to doors that weren't supplied with, tiles replaced, fans and lights fixed, blinds repaired, clothes line repaired, bath room fan needs fixing, some tradesman have only come to quote , others have had to come back due to wrong paint , or only did half job half another day.
most could have been done while the property was vacant.

Although its my choice to be home, i dont feel confident letting a tradesman in while im not home especially when i know the agent doesnt mean the tradesman at the place they just hand them the keys.

 

I would not want tradespeople, or anyone else I don’t know, in my house when I wasn’t home.

Most PMs just hand out a key, so there is no supervision.

Staying home would be a necessity for me, not a choice.
Marg

 

welcome to PC @RachelAdelaide, it is a bit annoying having to take time off to get things fixed.

is there any chance that you could ask the PM to get all these fixed in one go, or get the tradies coming in one or 2 days and get them done?

 

the wall painting ( 1 wall which im not sure why it was repainted) and the fan i was unaware of and got a call from a tradesman to come paint, few weeks later another to come do fan,So they weren't something i had actually told them of. the blinds and tiles i mentioned on inspection, they knew about these but apparently hadn't been give the go ahead from owner , Keys was a massive issue to get, and i was basically abused and questioned why im angry when i started to get fed up with repairs that i mentioned the keys shouldn't have taken so long given an emergency ( to them keys aren't an emergency)

 

Unfortantly not all repairs can or could have been done on one day, the keys and i forgot to mention broken power points i requested on the day i moved in , i had no working keys to 4 out of 5 doors, and could not plug some of my appliances in. 2 seperate tradies rang on separate weeks to fix fan and paint wall that i was unaware of, clothes line i mentioned a couple weeks later, blinds i mentioned in the first week was ignored so mentioned it in inspection and was told they knew about this but havent been given the go ahead for repairs,

Its really upset me because its got to the point that iv voiced my problem with all this and i felt i had a right too, its not like i asked for a new kitchen, iv not asked for anything apart for mention things that dont work and iv been abused for it , so its going to make it hard when applying for new properties given now i cant use them for a reference .

I dont want to try the tribunal until i know what to do with everything, like do i find a place first then try to end tenancy , obviously i dont want to end it and have no where to go

 

Firstly, no one should be abused but the key is having a good relationship with the agent.

To be fair, there is no difference between owning a house and renting a house when it comes to repairs. If you need to be there then you are always going to have scheduling constraints.

I suggest you get on the front foot with the agent and thank them for getting this all organised and appreciate the effort to respond to the issues. Then that you want to work with them and are happy to arrange time with the tradies. Give them helpful feedback on the tradies.

Some jobs take more than one visit, that is normal and what you would have to deal with if it was your own house. This is not a hotel.

 

There is a big difference and that is choosing to organise WHEN you want repaired. I also would have a set of keys if i owned a house not chasing an agent for a set. I also wouldnt purchase a property if repairs were needed or at least i can choose when i want repaired rather then getting abused if i had to cancel a repair to being sick. its really not rocket science to figure the difference out.

i hope you are not a LL with that attitude

 

Most tradies start early so perhaps in future ask them to come to the house before you leave for work - esp. for small things and for quotes.

It sounds like a lot of the issues were things you had identified needed to be fixed.

 

im not disputing they dont, but its 1 repair after another, probably wouldnt feel like it if some issues were fixed prior to putting a tennant in. obviously keys are a must and working power points are for appliances , this took a month to be done let me add, But knowing theres repairs needed perhaps dont rent it out until they've been fixed? Fan, Paint, blinds, Tiles, powerpoint ?they also were aware of broken tiles but didnt say anything probably hoping i wouldnt also.

The point really i was asking was regarding terminating weather they give time to find new place ect or i do that first and then apply if this was the way i went if things continued here

 

Ouch.

As you say, it might be best to find a property that meets your needs.

 

if you want out of the lease you should try negotiate the date with them. Just tell them when you want to move out and give yourself enough time to find another place.

It sounds like most of the repairs you had issue with have now (eventually) been fixed.

Perhaps think carefully if it's actually worth getting out of the lease early.

Given the time it takes to find a new place (you say you don't have much free time) and likely higher cost for a property of higher standard than the one you are in, it might be easier to ride the lease out.

 

Sounds like a typical investment property

It would be interesting to see whether you are able to truncate a lease on those grounds - unless the owner/pm let’s you out by mutual agreement.

That “they should have been done prior” is what every tenant says every time.

Are these repairs you are asking for?

Was house inspected prior? If you didn’t pick up on the maintenance issues at an inspection, the property manager would not have been expected to either.

You don’t need to be home and the pm would probably argue that the losses are a personal choice - I would argue this.

Property managers act for landlords (or should) and will protect the landlords interests at all times including not ending a lease.

You can also choose to just break the lease - walk out, pay breaklease costs and move elsewhere. You don’t need permission from a tribunal to do what you think is right.

 

Hi @RachelAdelaide how many months left on your lease? Have most of the repairs been done now? Would it be possible to wait out the term of the lease and then make a decision to stay or leave?

It's a shame that the fact of rental properties is that most are not well looked after, and those that are can be out of reach for most people. If the worst is over, it may be worth staying put, than risking another bad experience all over again. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, so to speak.

 

Why shouldn't they though ? i guarantee anyone buying a house , who inspected it prior and saw no issue wouldnt like to move in and have constant repairs done. As i said above powerpoints were broken so couldn't plug some appliances in, and were not given keys to 4/5 doors, this took a month to get. broken tiles and blinds clothes line i told them out, wall painting and a fan i was unaware about and got a call from tradesman wanting to come and do.

I think the question that should be asked was did the REA do a final inspection from the last tenant.

Would you like a stranger entering your home while your at work ?

 

All your questions can be answered with that is the way SACAT sees things. You can argue your own view points all you like, they will see:
You had another choice
You inspected that property
You asked for those maintenance issues

The property manager would not be liable whether they did an outgoing or not. A landlord is responsible for having maintenance carried out within a reasonable timeframe. Not responsible for having it all done and seeing it all and inspecting everything prior to a new tenant taking possession - that is not legislation and no court will rule them accountable.

I would love to know whether SACAT has allowed you to terminate a lease without penalty on the grounds you described.

If I was the PM for this property I would be arguing as above. Some property managers may choose to terminate by mutual consent - this does not favour the landlord

 

Correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t all fixtures and appliances supposed to be in working order , I don’t think it’s unreasonable the things iv mentioned .As a property mananger your self would you not check that all keys work ? Would you not see broken tiles and let the tenant know? Broken PowerPoints with a cut cord coming from wall ? Although I may think some of this could have been done when vacant that’s not my argument here .

Like I said when I rang to get advice I was told I could apply on the grounds of not having the right to peace and quiet, and time off because I don’t want a stranger entering while I’m not home .