VCAT hearing is done!
You may remember earlier this month I wrote about my old landlady trying to get thousands of dollars off me. I said, politely, no. So she lodged a claim through VCAT. The landlady did drop the claim for repainting the interior (over $4,000). I believe the real estate agents pointed out to her that the first thing VCAT would ask would be “When was the place last painted?” Given we believe that may have been some 20 years ago, this wasn’t going to wash. Plus the condition report completed when I leased the place clearly stated the walls were not in a good condition.
In the end she claimed $515 and by attending the VCAT hearing and giving evidence, the claim was reduced to $197.50. I conceded a claim for a glass panel in a light and we had to contribute to the cost of removing some rubbish.
In my earlier article I published some photos of the condition of the property when I moved in.
Today I’m sharing two more photos. The first is of the range hood filter when I moved in, the second is of the same filter when I moved out.
Filthy Filter
Now let us look at the same filter when I moved out.
Clean Filter – when I moved OUT
I was too embarrassed to publish that filthy filter in my previous article because I thought people would think “How could she move in?” but at the time I did demand the rangehood and the oven be cleaned BEFORE I moved in. Of course, they weren’t cleaned, so I demanded again AFTER I moved in and they then did arrange for them to be professionally cleaned. The point is, they were quite happy to try to rent it as it was which as we can see was DISGUSTING! The oven was almost as bad. I should point out this property is in an area where houses sell for well over $1 million: I was not renting in the slums, despite the look of the rangehood filter!
So as far as I am concerned we moved out leaving the place in better condition than when I moved in: clean shower recess, clean bath, clean range hood, clean oven etc etc. PLUS I had paid for half of the new carpet, paid for a previously patched hole in the wall to be fixed properly because they wouldn’t and it drove me nuts and let us not forget I’d paid for half of the pest control treatment before moving in!
Now I am feeling a case of “here we go again” because we STILL have no dishwasher almost a month after moving into the new place, we had to have the oven door hinges replaced and this week one of the towel rails in the bathroom flew off in Miss O 2′s hands when she reached for a towel for me. I wish I’d had a shot of her face, but as I was naked in the shower at the time I didn’t have my camera handy! Closer inspection revealed it has been broken before and repaired with superglue or similar. Not to mention to get these things fixed I have to take time off work. Why should I have to take time off work to be there to have maintenance done that SHOULD have been done before I took up residence? This really is ridiculous.
I think the hot water heater may be on the way out as well, but we shall see.
I am making sure I note EVERYTHING about this place: I’ve learnt my lesson about keeping notes and evidence. Property owners forget, it seems, what their properties were like! While we have condition reports, some things are not immediately visible until a week or two after moving in. The towel rail, for example. What else may we find as we continue to live here? There is a patched piece on the screen on the security door at the back which I did not notice when I took the first photos here. I keep saying, I must photograph that and I keep being too busy. Rule number one: don’t be too busy to document the condition!
Can I say I hate renting? I hate renting. How on earth can owners expect a reasonable rent if they are not prepared to keep a property maintained? Thank goodness for VCAT and the fact in Victoria our deposits/bonds are paid into a government authority!
renting is a minefield if you are unlucky to get landlords such as these
I rang the new agent today and they promised to get back to me – they didn’t. I’m going to hand deliver a Notice to Landlord, which I HATE doing, but I have no choice. We need the repairs done!
Glad you won the day. I’ve been flabbergasted at things landlord previously tried to get me to pay for even though I usually left a place in better condition than I found it. Now we own our house, thank you Jesus!
Owning our own house is our objective! I am over trying to get things fixed in the new place already!
Glad you sorted out your troubles from the old house, sadly the new one doesn´t seem to be trouble free either. Hope it all gets sorted out soon, so you can enjoy your new place.
When we came to Australia we moved into a furnished apartment that my husband´s employer rented out on a long term basis for their employees, and I remember noticing the cream carpets looked quite dirty, the pots and pans were filthy, etc.
About 1 month later we had an inspection (wasn´t aware of such a thing, as in Portugal there is no such thing as home inspections, when you move in you do as you please, paint, hang pictures, you treat a rental as your own house) and were told by the agency the carpet was dirty and we must have it professionally cleaned!! My husband spoke to his employer and told him that was just a not on as whoever had been there before us had left the place filthy, and they actually paid for the clean! Had I known about it I would have photographed it and had evidence we hadn´t done that!
Yes, I heard the other day that if you rent in Germany you actually have to instal your own kitchen! I was stunned!
Here, as you now know, you can’t do anything like painting etc without permission.
Glad you didn’t have to clean the carpet in the end. Yes, photos, photos, photos!
I’m glad the VCAT hearing is behind you. Hope that the issues in your new place are sorted out in short order.
So do I Nancy, but the last time I emailed the agent I got an out of office from the property manager (on holidays) and I forwarded the email to another email address in the same real estate office and so far no reply. Also no further news on the dishwasher.
Not too happy!
Oh how frustrating, people are so greedy.
Was very frustrating. Not to mention disappointing. I couldn’t do that to people.
I’m very glad you almost got the result you wanted Robyn.. but yes renting sucks unless you are lucky enough to rent from someone who cares about people !!
I was very disappointed actually, because they always came across as a couple who DID care. Apart from the condition of the property when I moved in – that really should have told me, but I wasn’t experienced at renting I had always owned!
That’s even worse than
My only experience of renting was before I bought this house and the house I rented was almost new which I figured would be a safer bet and it ws spotless when I moved in… another thing to put behind you.. though I see the new place is sadly troublesome too
Unfortunately in some respects, this is one of the oldest areas in Melbourne so many of the homes are old. In the case of our new house, this means high ceilings, larger bedrooms and good land size. However it also means they potentially have old appliances and are more exensive to heat.
The winders for the shutters are causing us to use more electricity. The shower doesn’t have a water saver shower rose (yet). Things like that. The one toilet is a pain in the arse!
Literally I expect !!!! haha glad to see you are trying to keep your sense of humour girl!!!