NSW Tenant provides notice and stops paying rent

Hi. New to the forum with the problem of tenant rental arrears, and water arrears coupled with notice of exit. Moving out on the 10th so two weeks falls right on Christmas and NCAT on holiday.

Has been constantly late with rent for 6 months and previous PM not really on top of it, so I swapped PMs since dogs have also ripped up the backyard and the boyfriend ripped out all my plants before a home open and the previous PM didnt seem to care about it.

Just realised that bond probably wont cover it, it falls 4 days short of making an insurance claim and the BLEEP is moving directly across the road, so now Im paranoid about kept keys etc. Wondering if I mention things so the neighbours are not suckers too cos I dont want her across the road but worried about more retaliatory stuff....seems to know the law through and through and one of those who thinks its their job to play games with you....

Nightmare. Any advice appreciated.

 

Why is it ‘4 days short’ of making an insurance claim?

 

Hi. It will work out to be four days less than 4 weeks required for claim on rental arrears. Insurance seems pointless right now - appears that it will not cover anything but still investigating it all

 

Insurance might not cover rental shortfall (which could be covered by bond), but what about the damage?

 

Your tenant has the right to move anywhere she wants, whether you want her nearby or not.

If paranoid about the possibility of copied keys, change the locks (your expense).
Marg

 

Hi, yep sure she can move anywhere, right now I am just happy it is out of my house - maybe the next tenant will pay rent regularly, not maliciously rip up gardens, etc. Across the street can certainly have her - just wish I had been warned - these are my neighbours afterall!! My insurance wont cover unpaid water bills, dogs digging the rear yard (its not malicious nor is it accidental) and pulling up my plants doesnt appear to fall into these categories either. Not really fair for me. Should've managed it better and evicted her before - doesnt pay to try to be too fair in property management it would seem....

 

Come on those with so much more experience!! It appears my main issue is that the parameters on the insurance are not really working for me. How do experienced investors set their parameters - tick every box with low excess? Just seems a pointless product from this outllook - how does it work out for others? Do we pay for this without really thinking? Does landlord insurance really help anyone or is it merely added profits to insurance companies?

 

How much are you going to be out of pocket?
- Repair holes from dog
- Some replanting
- 4 weeks rent and water bill
Can you do much about it, if not take it as a lesson and move on.
Present the property well, get ready for new tenants in the NY - some say it's the best time to list a rental.

 

Yeah I don't actually see it as a huge issue. If you're not hitting the threshold to trigger insurance, the kinda suggests that the bond will cover most or all of the damages/loss. Not ideal I know, but not a worst case scenario.

And the outgoing tenant moving across the road sounds like a good thing to me - you know where they live in order to make or enforce claims or judgements against them moving forward.

 

Hey

Actually thanks, that helps! What about insurance parameters? What this has done is made me look at what this product actually does for me. I am wondering if I ought to minimise it and put that bit extra into offset. 3-4 months of those savings might actually cover these small damages or waterbills. How do those with experience set landlords insurance? Just the minimum? Maximising it doesnt seem to improve outcomes..?

 

If you have a good landlord insurance policy any arrears should be covered and you can use the bond to do the small repairs etc

 

Better vetting policies (and a PM who knows what they are doing)
Deal with problem at the source.

 

I am sympathetic to your post and problem at hand. Just be glad that an end is in sight. Be prepared for more damage and nasty surprises. Hopefully you can take care of cleaning up the garden, but maybe lineup a trusted handyman after you inspect your property on the 10/11th. Also line up a locksmith for the 10/11th.

If it were me, the tenant should be more scared of retaliatory action.

 

Thank you to everyone who has posted.

The new PM does seem to be more proactive and maybe I ought to research the landlords insurance some more. This one was linked to my loan but there probably are better providers.

It is disappointing though when you have done your best to keep tenants happy and they rip up gardens etc and then learn your not really covered like you had thought you were. Thanks again

 

Were "dogs" permittted as part of the lease ?
I'd feel that dogs ruining the yard would constitute a deliberate decision/action resulting in damage (and lets not kid ourselves, a kelpie cross running back and forth can decimate a lawn inside weeks !).
Ripping out plants is also a deliberate act of damage....
Insurance (who reads the fine print, until having a claim denied)
Consider staying in the place from the time they move out !
Have timers on lights and or a radio, leave one of your vehicles parked in the drive, and set up a nanny cam in the front window !
Notify insurance company of the vacancy and expected length.
Let the Insurance Co investigate, you can always appeal.
Landlords need to have a buffer, because eventually this will happen to all of us.....

 

I actually think this could cost quite a bit. I am not imagining holes from a dog, I am imagining a torn up lawn that needs to be completely re-turfed. That is expensive. Plants are also expensive, plus the cost of hiring someone to plant them properly. New plants often need to be watered daily for the first week too and quite frequently after that until they are established. Who is going to do that? Does OP live close by, or does OP have to pay someone to do all of this?

Sure, they are not the worst problems that can happen, but they could still be expensive.

 

All I can hope is for the yard issues and rent/water shortfalls to be the only problems. The plants cant really be replaced but they did lay all these wood chips down that might feed termites (probably my little flowering trees) so that will/should be removed. Few other dead trees that I might have been happy to have had removed but remain...but I guess most will perceive it to be due in part to drought and I guess the ripped up lawn and holes could also be considered to be a "drought" impact.

Just hope the floorboards and everything else is ok!!