Issues with Tenant - Investment Property

@thatbum yep, end of lease notices need to have the vacate date as the end date on the lease. Leases over 6 months it’s 90 days, leases under 6 months it’s 60 days. In Vic 12 month leases to start are the norm and in my experience offering a 6 month lease does limit your market.

To make matters even worse, the current RTA reforms suggested include the removal of the 120 day NTV. I’ve done a whole rant on these reforms on another thread.

If we can pick and choose legislation from every state to make one national RTA maybe we could find a middle ground.

 

How long has it now neen since routine inspection?
Did the PM speak with the tenant regarding the issues reported to you?
Personally, I would ask the PM to schedule another inspection and tell them to notify the tenant that you will be in attendance.
I haven't had to do this often, but I have fone this, and 9 times out of 10, the issues are corrected by this second inspection.
If not, 120 day notice. As mentioned in another reply, this notice is getting harder to win if the tenant fights the notice. But not many do.

 

I’m not familiar with Victorian laws so maybe one of the PMs can answer.

Why can’t the tenant be breached for failing to maintain a property to a reasonable standard?

In SA I would be sending them a breach notice with a time frame to make good any damage and mess they created. You can use that to try and terminate the lease on the grounds that breach was not rectified.

This is in addition to an end of lease notice as discussed

 

Have you ever actually terminated a tenancy on the grounds of cleanliness? I don't think I've seen a single one go through in my 9 years or so of tenancy experience.

It can be a hard ground to prove to a serious enough standard, and an easy one for the tenant to rectify.

 

Not likely to go far in tribunal in reality

 

Insurance
This is why we should have it (as much as it may seem like a waste).

I am emotionally attached to each of my properties, and hope I never have to endure again what the OP is having to go thru.

Hope the outcome is bearable for you @mercthunder

 

There is a breach of duty notice for failing to keep the property in a clean and reasonable condition, plus for damages. I think OP would have reasonable grounds to issue a breach based on the carpets, however in my experience it can be quite difficult to terminate a tenancy based on successive breaches (depending on what those breaches are for, of course). A breach notice in Vic gives a tenant 14 days to rectify before re-inspection.

 

I have similar issue as you, it is sad as landlord.

 

Some tenants shouldn't have the right to rent a chicken shed as far as I'm concerned. They know the laws are weak and they just don't care. There needs to be a register for LL to report these sorts of people so that other LL don't fall victim to them rather than a PM moving them on into another rental.

 

This is also my question. If tenant's next agent do their job properly, calling currnt agent and check rental ledger, and current agent tells truth, how could they lease a property in Australia?

 

I love this! Thinking outside the box often results in the best response.

 

There's many elephants in the room.

 

Quickest way for a PM to get rid of an unsatisfactory tenant?
Give them a good reference so they can move easily and become someone else’s problem!
Marg

 

Giving a good reference for a bad tenant is THE most disgraceful conduct, but it's reasonably common....

 

I would absolutely blast anyone who did this! Luckily, PM's have a good community here. We have a private FB group where we tell each other who to avoid.

 

Same happens with employees. Particularly in say govt. Promote them and get them out of your area - not your problem anymore.

 

So just updating here and we finally got rid of the tenant as they left shortly before the VCAT hearing. We didn't end up getting a court order eviction which has screwed everything from a claimable insurance perspective.

Now the tenant didn't return the garage remote, failed to return a set of keys, and during an open home inspection someone broke the dishwasher handle. After putting in a call to Terri Scheer Insurance, i basically can't claim for any of these additions given there was no court order to evict. This whole experience has really turned me off investing in property. This was my first investment property and will be my last. I think i'll stick to the stock market where you don't have to sit and watch your things get destroyed by others and be powerless to do anything about it.

Such is life, but just thought id update on everyone here about how this one played out.

 

Hmm that doesn’t seem right. What did you go to VCAT for and what does the tenant owe?

 

Agreed. I can't see how an eviction order would be required to claim those items. I'm also assuming there were more costs and damage- the couple of things listed only add up to about $30?

 

insurance claim not 100% related to VCAT order I believe