Tenants damaged my property then made a claim of bond after moving out immediately

Tenants damaged my property then made a claim of bond after moving out immediately. Our property manager said we need to go to Tribunal to get the bonds back for cost of repairs .The cost of going to Tribunal would be $150 for case management and $100 per hour for attending the Tribunal (2-3 hours). Have anyone been in this situation? Is there any way to make a claim without paying to go to Tribunal? Please kindly guide us. Thank you in advance.

 

Maybe ring up who ever you have landlord insurance with and let them deal with the problem..

Why did the PM not inspect the property before the bond was paid and why?.

 

Isn’t this the normal situation? You have to go to tribunal anyway if bond deductions aren’t agreed to.

 

In NSW, renants can make a bond claim without agent/landlord signature

I read PDS of Terri Scheer landlord insurance and they indicated that these charges for going to Tribunal won't be able to be claimed.

 

In Victoria, the bond release has to be agreed by the LL and tenant, and quickly. If there's no agreement then it goes to VCAT, costs $66 for most cases. The bond is not released until the matter is decided. The NSW system makes the matter more complicated and expensive than the Victorian system.

 

From past experiences it makes all the more reason to invest in Qld as it's not as complicated as what seems normal in Victoria and New South Wales ..
No wonder so many people give up on property investing..

 

This ^^^^^^

What was the damage ?
As this would determine my actions moving forward.
Consider changing PM, as this is a pretty big stuff up on their part !
(*I'd happily pay the $150, but the PM can work for free as it's their stuff up releasing the bond)

 

Victoria is reasonably simple most of the time. The bond is held by an agency. If there's no dispute about returning all or part of the bond then the money goes to the tenant quickly, and perhaps the landlord. If there's no agreement then for a small fee the matter is adjudicated.

 

Normal.

In QLD, the RTA are now advising tenants to submit their bond claim immediately upon vacate.

It just unnecessarily bogs the process down in red tape & formality. 99% of the time all issues can be resolved with clear communication after vacate - then bond refunded.

 

Once the bond claim /release form is lodged, then the other party is emailed a notification to release the bond in full/part. It just gets the ball rolling especially if PMs want to take their time about finalising the matter.

 

It sounds like the Victorian system is a bit simpler. If the Victorian LL/PM and tenant agree they fill out one form and the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority acts on that. It's probable that most bonds are disbursed by mutual agreement. If there's disagreement about the bond then the LL/PM must lodge the matter with VCAT within 10 business days of the end of the lease. I've always had agreement and have never had to go to VCAT.

 

In NSW unfortunately tenants are able to claim the bond at any time and the only way to stop it being paid out after 14 days is to lodge a Tribunal application. Its a ridiculous system, I had a tenant once that tried to claim their bond before they'd even moved out and we had no choice.

Now the Tribunal cost itself is $52.21 from memory, the rest of the expenses are what your PM charges in order to put together the application supporting documentation, represent you at the hearing etc. (you would have agreed to this in your original management agreement, although I've never heard of $150 for case management!)

This is what I would do (and it does depend on how much damage is there):
- I would be lodging the NCAT application so the bond payment is stopped (hopefully minimal PM expense)
- I would then lodge the landlord insurance claim
- At the same time I would get quotes for the damage and negotiate with the tenant on coming to an acceptable outcome without tribunal. Once they know they're not getting their bond back and you are going to fight them at Tribunal, then they should be more open to coming to a fair resolution.

 

Based on the advice above, the Victorian system seems best:
- Attempt to agree.
- One form lodged.
- Default all bond to tenant unless LL/PM lodges with VCAT.
- Tenant cannot get access to funds outside this process.

 

Unfortunately correct.

Spot on.

I think the best way to alleviate this frustrating problem for agents and owners is for Tribunals to award costs against tenants who fire off full bond claims when they are unjustified in doing so. This way, the tenant would have to pay the owner for the cost of lodging the tribunal application, any tribunal file preparation fees (usually charged by the hour), tribunal appearance fees (also usually charged by the hour) and any car parking charges applicable.

This would hopefully knock some sense into some of the tenants that are clogging up the already burgeoning tribunal system with ridiculous claims that get torpedoed by the clear cut evidence of rent arrears, property damage, unclean property, water usage owing etc etc.

 

Thank you for all your replies. Is there anyway we can represent ourselves in the Tribunal? The agency asked us to pay $700 upfront for preparing the case and estimated hours of attending the Tribunal. We have the evidence in the incoming report so it would be an easy case for us. Any landlord present yourself in Tribunal? Thank you.

 

What "damage" ?
Has the bond been released ?


I wouldn't be expecting too many more free suggestions or examples if you can't address at least some of the questions asked (As answering these could very much help you further).

We can't help unless you first help yourself

 

When I was 19 I fired my first property managers and represented myself at Tribunal, I did it again over the phone at QCAT some years later. This was all well before I decided to be a property manager, so its definitely possible.

Have clear ingoing, routine and outgoing photos. Get multiple quotes or invoices to rectify the damage and support your claims.