Part 2: Keeping tenants browbeaten

This is the second part of a series we are running on Gartea Property Management. Alice has been dealing with Bonnie Van Beek, the property manager. In the first part, we looked at how condition reports are used to exploit tenants. Now we are going to look at what property managers do to keep tenants browbeaten.

Alice contacted Ms Van Beek and raised concerns as to the misleading and deceptive nature of the condition report. But no reply. No response. This is a strategy. Property managers know written communications can be produced as evidence at tribunal. This is very upsetting for already stressed and distressed tenants. If you're dealing with someone dodgy, record phone calls and keep text messages.

Ms Van Beek went on the attack and issued a notice to remedy breach. And again, this is a very deliberate strategy. It's called throwing mud. If you throw enough mud at someone, sometimes it sticks. And some unwary tribunal members fall for this trick even though they really should know better. Property managers know that tenants are unlikely to respond to these notices.

Property managers try to get around the rule that notice be given for inspections. Ms Van Beek falsely alleged that the house was not in a clean state. But she didn't even view the house. She spoke to the repair man and the pest control dude. This is just another loophole that needs closing. This is what Alice has to say:

I also received a notice to remedy breach today which was dated the 30/09/2014 which said "please clean up unit as it is in extremely dirty condition" (her exact words). Now this is a lie. She had not even come on to the property and seen the house and there was no routine inspection scheduled. I tried to ring her phone but she never answered and I tried to go to the office but she wasn't there. So my brother rang off his phone and she answered. She said that the maintenance guy and the pest control guy reported this to her which is why I got the notice. My house was not extremely dirty and I am deeply offended by the accusations. She never came to inspect the property herself nor does she have any supporting evidence.

Oh and by the way I rang the pest control guy and he denied saying anything to her about the state of my house, all he can say, is if there were obstacles in the way that blocked him having access to certain areas and completing his job, nothing about the cleanliness. I have yet to speak to the maintenance guy about the issue. So I also spoke about this to the RTA and they said that she can report a notice to remedy breach for pretty much anything but I do have a right to dispute it, which I am doing at the moment. I am so shocked at my treatment and it is unbelievable the lengths this landlord is willing to go to make me look bad. I pay $370 for this house and I keep it well looked after others pay $390-$400 a week for the same house.

Ms Van Beek has also issued a "no-grounds" notice and failed to specify the correct dates according to the law.

And also, the notice to remedy breach form that was issued to me on the 31st of October 2014, except my lease runs out on the 18th of December 2014. She has put the dates from the 31st of October 2014 to the 31st of December because she knows that you have to give at least 2 months notice to issue a Notice to leave without grounds. However the real notice period she has given me is 6 weeks and 5 days. It also has to be agreed to by both parties (because it is a fixed term agreement), yet I did not agree to it.

Alice also received a letter advising her that the rent would go up $30 per week if she decided to renew the lease. The lesson here is to check all notices you receive carefully against the Act.

 

Alice is firmly of the view she has been targeted because she stood up for her rights. In the next part, we will look at how property managers dodge the duty to provide safe and healthy premises. Stay tuned, it's a doozy.

Takeaways

• Keep texts or save as images on your phone for use in legal proceedings
• Record conversations when talking about legal obligations

Postscript. Alice spoke with the maintenance guy and told him that Bonnie alleged her house was not clean. He said he never wrote a report and that Bonnie had asked him what her house looked like.

Part 1: Fraudulent Condition Reports

This is the first part of a series we are running on Gartea Property Management. Alice has been dealing with Bonnie Van Beek, the complex manager. Bonnie owns a few of the houses and is a member of the body corporate. We are going to explore how condition reports are used to exploit tenants.

 

When Alice moved in, her landlord made her sign the condition report without letting her make comments:

The day that I signed the lease, I came to inspect the property again so that I could complete the entry report (take photos; write down comments, record any damages, marks, etc). My landlord approached me and told me not to worry about the Condition Report because everything that needed to be noted had been done so, and I believed her. She then made me sign the Condition Report and off she left, without giving me a copy. Little to her knowledge I had already taken a few pictures when I initially came to the viewing (unfortunately they are not as detailed as they would have been had I taken photos for the entry report, but I have them). Nine months later, I remembered that I never received a copy of the Condition Report.

This is a clear breach of Queensland’s tenancy law. Tenants must be provided with a signed copy of the condition report before they move in so they can protect themselves legally by noting any issues.  Alice did the right thing taking photos when she first looked at the property. If you think you are dealing with someone dodgy, and you have the time and the inclination, it's worth doing.  

Here are the photos Alice took when she first inspected the property:

 

 

 

 

The plot thickens. When Alice eventually received a copy of the condition report, she realised there were many inconsistencies:

The house looks okay, its looks clean, there does not appear to be any problems. But there are no close-up pictures of marks on the walls, and it seems the camera was angled purposely to insure that any marks or damages cannot be seen. You can clearly see that the Entry Report was falsely filled out on purpose.

 

Here are the photos taken by the agent:

 

 

Alice has listed all the differences between the condition report and photos and the actual condition of the house and yards:

• Almost everything in the report had been checked off as clean and undamaged. A lot of issues, such as marks on the wall, aren’t even mentioned.  
• The photos that the landlord supplied are few and not in detail (no close-ups). They are printed onto paper with each photo being small in size and not very clear. It is almost impossible to see any traces of smudges, marks or damage due to the poor quality of the photos. It is also noticeable that the areas where I HAVE found there to be problems, have been purposely avoided.
• There are also photos missing of the back yard, where there are large dirt patches from the previous tenant. 
• In Bedroom 2 there are cigarette burns on the window sill. The blinds were deliberately closed in the photos so they could not be seen.
• There are four blinds missing in Bedroom 3. There is no mention of this in the Condition Report.
• The Condition Report also refers to “New Carpets”. There were no new carpets when we first moved in, although landlord did mention that she might put in new carpets. I sent an email requesting receipts to which she never replied.
• The place wasn't in the best state when I moved in and I know it wasn't professionally cleaned either. When I asked for a receipt from the cleaners I was ignored. There were marks on the walls which I had to scrub off before moving in (unfortunately they can't be seen in my photos) and when I told my landlord, she said that the house was newly painted before I moved in. When I requested a receipt from the painter and the date I was again ignored.

 

 

1.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is definitely a difference between misleading the tribunal and presenting your case in a favourable light. I looked at the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 (Qld). Under section 216, a person must not state or prove a document to the tribunal that is "false or misleading" in a material particular. In this instance, the evidence shows that the claims are factually incorrect.

 

This is not a trifling matter. A few blinds, some tiles, a paint job, and new carpet - and you're definitely losing your bond. If you don't get your bond back, you've got to come up with all that money to pay for the new place. If estimated damages are more than the bond, then you could easily end up on a tenant database. And you could end up homeless. In exchange, the landlord gets a windfall and a free renovation. The worst thing is you don't even know if the money goes to repairs (unless you're friendly with the neighbours). This is probably why the housing stock in Australia is of such poor quality.

 

But Alice is going to fight this injustice. In the next instalment, we are going to look at strategies property managers use to keep tenants browbeaten.

 

Takeaways

• Don't trust your agent to do the right thing
• Remember to take photos of the property when you move in
• Make sure the photos are time-stamped
• Note every tiny little issue on the condition report