VIC Rent Reduction Consumer Affairs Vic

Does anyone have any experience with going to Consumer Affairs in Vic to negotiate a rent reduction? I’ve heard they are very pro tenant. Can you request the matter to be heard at VCAT if a resolution can’t be made? I wonder if VCAT may be more balanced.

 

Vcat can also b more pro tenant
Eg trnants make up stories and win all the time
Eh landlord promised to put a - ..... air con ..... security door .... new stove .... etc and they didn’t . That’s why I haven’t paid .
suddenly Landlord is dealing with non payment plus has some item they need to pay for and install

and it’s all made up . There was never any such promise or conversation .

 

My experience was fairly good. We went back and forth with the tenant for 2 months, with them just drip feeding a little money here and there saying they couldn't pay the rent and we'd have to waive it until the end of the pandemic.

When we got to consumer affairs, they were fairly straight up with giving us an overview of what sort of discounts and concessions were being made. The tenants started trying to work something out and are getting about 25% off the rent whilst we're in lock down. The tenants have being paying this consistently since the agreement.

It's not ideal, but we were given evidence of the consumers financial circumstances. We would have also faced a longer than normal vacancy and other costs, plus probably a rental reduction for the next tenant anyway.

It's not ideal, but I can live with it. The tenants appear to be doing everything they can to not rock the boat at their end as well.

 

I started a CAV process in May, it was only referred to VCAT at the end of July (after going through CAV and DSCV) and I've only just got the hearing date for September. Sometimes CAV will refer you straight to VCAT or will help you negotiate (like Pete's above) - but I think it depends how willing both parties are to negotiate and follow the process. My one has been a little complicated - fortunately it's the only one we've had to escalate.

If CAV refers you straight to VCAT you will likely wait 6+ weeks for a hearing.

 

They might be getting better - I've had a 3 week turn around on a non-payment of rent application for termination. I won't be getting possession as they have paid some since but we still need to go through the process. The kicker is that they need to base their decision on what the member deems reasonable.

Is it reasonable to evict this poor family or is it more reasonable to allow them to live in the wealthy landlords investment for a bit longer due to covid19... when they read it that way, you can't get possession.

Is it reasonable to evict a non paying tenant who despite not being affected by covid19 decided they just wouldn't pay rent and they're being a right royal pain in the... while the poor mum and dad investor struggle to meet the mortgage obligations because they lost their job and can barely afford their own living expenses... you have a better chance.

Certainly adding extra challenges our way!

 

If a tenant asks for a rental reduction due to hardship, we have asked them to complete an application with supporting documents. This makes it more transparent where they are at and what they can afford. It is then a case of trying to negotiate with the landlord and tenant to agree before it gets escalated to CAV.

Most landlords have factored in if tenants vacate what their loss would be and they've been willing to work with proven good tenants enabling rental reductions.

The dealings we have had with CAV have been reasonable. Possibly due to the fact that they can see that the owner and tenant have tried to negotiate rather than one party not working with the other.

 

Surely VCAT/CAV are not asking the landlord to provide their financials? What I do with rent money is my own business!!

 

I suspect that would conceivably be the case if the tenant put foward a case for not being able to afford the rent and the landlord attempted to put foward a case for not being able to afford a rental reduction.

Disc: I haven't had anything to do with hardship provisions so I'm merely speculating.

 

That is certainly the case.

 

Did I go to sleep and wake up in communist Russia? Since when did Victoria ignore it's property rights and decide it was up to a tribunal to decide if people are worthy of their contractual income /vent

 

Bamp, might well go back to sleep for the next 6 months. Hopefully in April we have all this behind us.

 

Since it was determined that these are unprecedented times and everyone must share the pain.
Unfortunately some people agree with that only to the point it actually costs them anything, and therefore require a tribunal to intervene.

 

It is the case I'm afraid - VCAT are making decisions based on who is suffering the most and what is 'reasonable'. One of my PM's had a case where the investor (single male, this is his first home decided to rentvest) who also lost hours and ended up moving in with his mum, had to agree to reduce the rent from $1825pcm down to $1300pcm for 6 months because the tenant lost all work... I don't see how that's fair but it's an example of what's actually happening.

 

ye gads. And people always tell me how dodgy non-english speaker countries are (racist much?) and how excellent English speaker commonwealth framework systems are. I don't think so!

 

I guess if you were the tenant who lost all work it wouldnt seem so unfair. Obviously the landlord is getting a free ride at home so is able to share the hurt.

Curiously however, who charges rent by the calendar month in Australia?
I've never heard of that other than the occasional short term rentals which could be the case here, and therefore a factor in the resulting decision.

 

Per calendar month is standard in Victoria (though there seems to be more leniency in lower socio-demographic areas). I'd say 70% of my rent roll is on per calendar month, 30% on weekly or fortnightly.

 

I admit have never lived in Vic, although it seems like everywhere is in Australia I've lived rents are determined by a weekly value paid in whatever installment is arranged.

I thought calendar months were a peculiarity to places overseas but I guess if quoting a rental by month vs week works best in Vic then power to them, although I would have thought it would create an administrative headache working out final rent amount if someone terminated partway through a month.
At least on a weekly rental quote a per day figure can be determined by dividing by 7.

 

wowsers that is very disheartening for landlords. The means of the landlord surely has nothing to do with the assessment of whether or not a tenant can fulfil their end of the contract (COVID or not).

 

Do you own property MB18? I've never heard of a landlord so happy to give up their rights.

 

I'm not sure I agree with this MB18. My perception of fair is the same on both sides of the fence.

The comment RE: 'free ride' - is that in reference to loan deferrals?

That needs to be paid back later...with extra interest capitalised onto the loan. So net result would be that landlord pays more overall to the bank, and is squeezed by the tenant who is having difficulty with their own payments. I guess in that case the landlord could take the bank to court and see if they they could get the loan amount reduced based on the bank having the means to 'wear it' (based on VCAT logic). Being sarcastic obviously, but just trying to point out where the VACT logic falls apart.