If so much inequity exists in tenancy regimes, why don’t we hear more about it? My educated guess puts it down to implicit and systemised coercion. This is just a bunch of fancy words that means a landlord can do what they like with little impunity.
Everyone who rents knows landlords and real estate agencies can impact on future prospects of renting in the private market. Landlords and real estate agencies do not have to provide rental references and can actually give bad references. Landlords and real estate agencies can refer tenants to blacklisting databases. This power is particularly important at the moment given the current state of the housing market. The end result is no home.
Say we have a situation where a good tenant has a bad landlord. The landlord refuses to undertake and pay for repairs. Let’s look at the options open to a tenant. A tenant can do nothing and just put up with it. A tenant can organise and pay for repairs. Or the tenant can take the landlord to tribunal. It’s a safe bet that a landlord won’t give the tenant a good rental reference. If the landlord is particularly nasty, the tenant can be referred to a blacklisting database. So the lesson is tenants can end up in situations where they are penalised for fighting for their rights. We can’t assume that all tenants are skilled in dispute resolution. Tenants are just ordinary people – cleaners, labourers, teachers, etc. I think many tenants adopt the ‘don’t rock the boat’ approach.
Landlords and agencies can exploit existing mechanisms. They can delay bond payments which may be needed for the next rental property. They can make unreasonable but successful claims against bond moneys. Claims can be difficult to dispute in situations like when a tenant moves interstate or overseas. A tenant may not be aware of a claim if the bond authority is not given their forwarding address. A centralised system should be electronic and online. In this computer age, and given the mobility of tenants, email should be the primary mode of communication, and online deposits rather than cheques should automatically be the method of payment. To my mind, this is just common sense. Come on, guys! So tenants know without being told or threatened, landlords and real estate agencies can make things very difficult for them. In the real world, it is usually better to maintain positive working relationships with landlords and property managers.
We see the occasional shock story on shows like Current Affairs and Today Tonight. Frank Cassar was Australia’s slum lord from hell. He was a multi-millionaire property owner and developer in Melbourne. He did not repay rental bonds, failed to perform essential repairs, entered premises unlawfully, and threatened and intimidated tenants.
Tenants had complained about Frank Cassar for at least twenty-five years. He had been take to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) over sixty times. In 2006, the Minister for Consumer Affairs took him to the Supreme Court and obtained an order for him to manage residential premises through a licensed real estate agent. Sometime after, a protest was organised at his place of business.
After some googling, I realised Frank Cassar had passed away in 2011. He owed tenants over $40,000 in compensation. I don't know whether the tenants were ultimately successful in obtaining moneys owed. What can we take away from this tale? This is obviously an extreme case but it demonstrates landlords can easily circumvent existing legal protection. So basically this landlord had to die for tenants to be protected. Is it just me that sees a problem with this picture?
If you still don’t think there’s a problem, turn to a friend and ask. Almost everyone has a story, or knows someone who does. I guess some people just accept the status quo. I think the prevailing sentiment is that this is just life, this is just the way things are. But to my mind, we need a new way of thinking. If tenancy law has so many problems, why hasn’t someone done something about it? We have bureaucrats, politicians, and lawyers. These individuals usually move in a circle of homeowners rather than renters. Gripes about tenants are more explicit to people in power.
Public dialogue is very much about the rights of the landlord and real estate agencies. We can see that with the Queensland Government’s targeted review of tenancy laws. In Queensland, a landlord or real estate agency can nominate a two-hour window for inspections. They want to increase this window to three hours. This is just ridiculous. Basically, we have a situation that the law actually encourages incompetence and poor time management. In any other professional context, you don’t make an appointment for a window of time. You make a time for a meeting and you stick to it. And what about working tenants who need to take time off work and lose income to attend inspections?
What kind of Australia do we want to be? A country that doesn’t care? Doesn’t take initiative? Merely follows and does not lead? If Australia was a character on the Simpsons, who would Australia be? Lisa – smart and motivated? Mr Burns – evil and calculating? Homer – dim-witted and accident prone? In my view, considering the current state of tenancy laws, Australia is Homer. And that makes me very sad.
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