PM keeping bonds

Hi all, I recently rented a holiday property for three nights on a long weekend.

Upon leaving, the property manager claimed we damaged various items which was totally false. They will not return our bond.

They will not answer the phone or return my messages.

Who can I talk to about legally getting it back?

 

Probably the civil court or tribunal where you make small claims.

 

What sort of damages are they claiming? One wonders if they have pulled this stunt off before? A quick check of the various review websites would show these up.

It's probably the property owner's strategy of getting all the minor repairs and damages fixed up bit by bit without having to spend of their own money at all. Sort of like what some residential investment property owners try to get away with.

 

They are claiming we damaged a tap which was leaking on arrival.

They claim we damaged the front gate and a sign which was on it.

All false claims, we left it in great condition. I’ve rented places in the area for the last fifteen years without a complaint.

After digging deeper I’ve heard they have done the same thing to others recently.

I’m keen on fighting it. I’m just trying to figure out who to speak to in Darwin.

If anyone knows please let me know.

 

There it is... it is indeed a cost-free property repair strategy...

I hope someone else here can point you in the right direction (I'm in NSW so I am of no use to you in respect to where you can take the matter) but I hope you go all the way and expose these people so that you can get your bond back and stop this fleecing of guests for no valid reason.

 

Thanks, hopefully someone can point me in the right direction.

I even said keep $50 to replace the washers out of goodwill to get the issue resolved but they want to keep the lot.

When arrived they wanted an extra $100 bond because I had my dog with me. It’s advertised on a pet friendly web site and that’s why my wife chose the place....

Lucky I said no to that.

 

You can possibly report it to the regulatory authorities, particularly if the manager is a registered agent. Or in terms of a civil remedy, make a civil claim.

What else were you after?

 

How much bond are we talking about? (if you don't mind me asking)

 

It’s only a few hundred dollars. It’s just the point that we haven’t damaged a thing and it’s happened to others only a couple of months ago.

 

Absolutely !!

 

I think I’ve found the place.

NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

 

That's right.

 

Where is, or what is the property, chances are we will know it, or the managers.

 

So I'm not sure in the context of holiday rentals (as have never dealt with this from a landlord/PM PoV), however in the context of general tenancies, it is important to note that it is not the Landlord's or PM's bond, it is your bond i.e. the tenant.

It is a little known fact that when a tenancy ends, either party can lay claim to the bond first. Often the PM does the final inspection and tells the tenant they are claiming x, y, z and the tenant waits for the claim to come to them and then decides whether to challenge it at the tribunal.

Whilst this is ok and relatively normal, as a tenant you can claim 100% of the bond immediately at the end of tenancy i.e. 12:01am on the day after the tenancy ends and before the final inspection even takes place. If you do this, your PM will then have to complete the final inspection and if they want to claim anything they will have to challenge your claim to the bond and take you to the tribunal to do so.

It works both ways. Good PMs will be reasonable in their assessment but many will try to claim little things assuming the tenant won't "fight back". If you've already claimed your bond prior to the final inspection, they will be less likely to pick you up for $100 here or there as the cost of applying to the tribunal and the hours spent there simply aren't worth it.

As a landlord and previous PM agency owner, why would I tell you this? Because fair is fair and while there are many great PMs out there (I have a couple on this forum myself), there are also a lot of less knowledgeable and dodgy ones and having been a tenant myself who has had PMs try to work me over in this regard, I have a very strong sense of right and wrong.

How this applies in the context of holiday lettings, I'm not sure - but I imagine in any case if both your assertions are strong enough, you will end up at the tribunal to sort it out.

Andrew

 

Assuming NT is similar to other states, if the Lessor/Agent hasn't lodged the bond with the states' RTA/equivelant, that's usually a breach of the Act and you can make a complaint about them and the licencing authority will investigate that and may fine them if it's not their first time.

As above, a Tenant can lodge refund request for their bond - doesn't have to be done by the Lessor/Agent.

If the Lessor/Agent has lodged a claim (assuming the bond has been properly lodged), then you'll have to dispute it and your evidence vs. theirs etc.

If the Lessor/Agent hasn't lodged your bond and kept it cash, you'll need to go through NCAT (in parallel to your complaint I mentioned above) to attempt to get the money back through civil means.

Your experience is not defamation, you're entitled to share it with others via the their online review pages