Part 2: Tactics Property Managers Use to Screw Tenants

Property managers are very adept at using the law to screw over tenants. In this article, I will look at strategies a property manager uses against a tenant. Previously, I looked at how Michelle Heta, a property manager at Centurion Real Estate, bullied Lucan into removing a pool from his home.

Hinder Communication – Throughout the whole debacle, Lucan repeatedly requested the landlord’s contact details. Understandably, he wanted to communicate directly with the landlord. I can only imagine the conversation between the property manager and the landlord. But of course, it was not in the interest of Centurion Real Estate to do this considering they had actually screwed up in the first place.

Obstructing Repairs – After Lucan put in a complaint, obtaining repairs became very difficult. Lucan asked for safety repairs. He requested that the screen door be fixed. He had found his young son out the front near the busy road. Michelle Heta sent out a repair man, but provided the wrong phone number, so he could not obtain access.

As Lucan and his family no longer had a pool, he asked that the air conditioning be fixed. Michelle Heta repeatedly requested further information. How is a tenant supposed to know the inns and outs of air conditioner servicing? Lucan cottoned on to what Michelle Heta was doing. So Lucan asked if he could go up on the roof, have a look and maybe fix it. But he was not allowed. Vindictive much? Finally, he was told that he would be charged a call out fee because the air conditioner did not work in humid weather (but the humidity level was only 16%). Perhaps I’m mistaken, but I thought that was what air conditioners were supposed to do.

Unlawful Breach of Duty Notice – Michelle Heta proceeded to issue a notice of termination on the basis that the agreement had been breached. As a professional, and I use the term loosely, Michelle Heta should have known that such a notice can only be issued if the breach had not been remedied. But Lucan had actually complied. He had removed the pool and the fence.

Misleading Eviction – When this was brought to her attention, Michelle Heta attempted to evict Lucan and his family again. She emailed Lucan and told him he had to hand in the keys as he was immediately evicted. On this basis, Lucan quit his job, half moved out, and prepared to leave the country. His stress was through the roof! Then he received another email from Michelle Heta informing him that he was behind in rent. I am inclined to think this was a deliberate strategic manoeuvre so that she could whack him with the ‘bad tenant’ stick.

Trespass on Property – Third attempt. Michelle Heta personally delivered the termination of lease notice. Unfortunately, personal service is permitted in the great state of Western Australia. This does not mean, however, that agents can use this loophole to harass tenants. After Michelle Heta delivered the legal document, she stayed on the premises. She told Lucan that she was permitted to come onto the property and ask him questions. Well actually no, this is an interference with Lucan’s right to quiet enjoyment of the property. I also think it is arguable that Michelle Heta trespassed on Lucan’s property. Trespass on property is a criminal charge. It does not matter that Michelle Heta is the landlord’s agent. Lucan took his complaint to the police, but of course, they weren’t keen on getting involved. In the too hard basket, it went.

Bullying Behaviour – When Michelle Heta turned up at Lucan’s door, he asked her to leave the premises over ten times, but she used the opportunity to badger and harass him. Lucan’s kids were terrified, they thought they were being made homeless. Michelle Heta knew very well she was not welcome. He tried to physically remove her from the premises. She looks directly at the camera and says ‘did you get that one’. She then brags that her husband is Maori and her son-in-law is in the police force. Later she turns to the camera man and says, ‘he is not a client, you fucking idiot’. She grabs the camera and slams it against the camera man’s head.  

This is the worst display of misconduct that I have seen. We are lucky that it was documented via email and on video. And it all started over a pool. Yours truly, Bad Landlord Australia.

Post script. Ms Hetta has provided a statement in which she has said, 'I am not in the habit of strategic moves to get out tenants and have always worked 100% under the Residential Tenancy Act. I do however think Lucan misunderstood the notices that were sent to him. A breach was issued for non payment of rent and this was not remedied after the 14 days'.

Part 2: Tactics Property Managers Use to Screw Tenants

Property managers are very adept at using the law to screw over tenants. In this article, I will look at strategies a property manager uses against a tenant. Previously, I looked at how Michelle Heta, a property manager at Centurion Real Estate, bullied Lucan into removing a pool from his home.

Hinder Communication – Throughout the whole debacle, Lucan repeatedly requested the landlord’s contact details. Understandably, he wanted to communicate directly with the landlord. I can only imagine the conversation between the property manager and the landlord. But of course, it was not in the interest of Centurion Real Estate to do this considering they had actually screwed up in the first place.

Obstructing Repairs – After Lucan put in a complaint, obtaining repairs became very difficult. Lucan asked for safety repairs. He requested that the screen door be fixed. He had found his young son out the front near the busy road. Michelle Heta sent out a repair man, but provided the wrong phone number, so he could not obtain access.

As Lucan and his family no longer had a pool, he asked that the air conditioning be fixed. Michelle Heta repeatedly requested further information. How is a tenant supposed to know the inns and outs of air conditioner servicing? Lucan cottoned on to what Michelle Heta was doing. So Lucan asked if he could go up on the roof, have a look and maybe fix it. But he was not allowed. Vindictive much? Finally, he was told that he would be charged a call out fee because the air conditioner did not work in humid weather (but the humidity level was only 16%). Perhaps I’m mistaken, but I thought that was what air conditioners were supposed to do.

Unlawful Breach of Duty Notice – Michelle Heta proceeded to issue a notice of termination on the basis that the agreement had been breached. As a professional, and I use the term loosely, Michelle Heta should have known that such a notice can only be issued if the breach had not been remedied. But Lucan had actually complied. He had removed the pool and the fence.

Misleading Eviction – When this was brought to her attention, Michelle Heta attempted to evict Lucan and his family again. She emailed Lucan and told him he had to hand in the keys as he was immediately evicted. On this basis, Lucan quit his job, half moved out, and prepared to leave the country. His stress was through the roof! Then he received another email from Michelle Heta informing him that he was behind in rent. I am inclined to think this was a deliberate strategic manoeuvre so that she could whack him with the ‘bad tenant’ stick.

Trespass on Property – Third attempt. Michelle Heta personally delivered the termination of lease notice. Unfortunately, personal service is permitted in the great state of Western Australia. This does not mean, however, that agents can use this loophole to harass tenants. After Michelle Heta delivered the legal document, she stayed on the premises. She told Lucan that she was permitted to come onto the property and ask him questions. Well actually no, this is an interference with Lucan’s right to quiet enjoyment of the property. I also think it is arguable that Michelle Heta trespassed on Lucan’s property. Trespass on property is a criminal charge. It does not matter that Michelle Heta is the landlord’s agent. Lucan took his complaint to the police, but of course, they weren’t keen on getting involved. In the too hard basket, it went.

Bullying Behaviour – When Michelle Heta turned up at Lucan’s door, he asked her to leave the premises over ten times, but she used the opportunity to badger and harass him. Lucan’s kids were terrified, they thought they were being made homeless. Michelle Heta knew very well she was not welcome. He tried to physically remove her from the premises. She looks directly at the camera and says ‘did you get that one’. She then brags that her husband is Maori and her son-in-law is in the police force. Later she turns to the camera man and says, ‘he is not a client, you fucking idiot’. She grabs the camera and slams it against the camera man’s head.  

This is the worst display of misconduct that I have seen. We are lucky that it was documented via email and on video. And it all started over a pool. Yours truly, Bad Landlord Australia.

Post script. Ms Hetta has provided a statement in which she has said, 'I am not in the habit of strategic moves to get out tenants and have always worked 100% under the Residential Tenancy Act. I do however think Lucan misunderstood the notices that were sent to him. A breach was issued for non payment of rent and this was not remedied after the 14 days'.

Part 1: When Agents Screw Up

Lucan and his family live in a rental property in Western Australia. One day, they decided to get a portable pool because of the blistering heat. I totally get this. 

Lucan did the right thing and checked with the property manager first. In response to the request, Kim Webster said, ‘The owner would not have a problem with this...’ It seems pretty clear to me that the property manager provided permission for Lucan to install a pool.

Lucan and his family lived in peace for over a year. And all of a sudden, the portable pool became a huge problem. Centurion Real Estate (previously trading as Raine and Horne Maida Vale) took the view that the email did not constitute written permission from the owner. Emily Harris said, ‘This is not written permission from the owner, only from the property manager, the Act clearly states it has to be written notice from the owner’. By this point, Kim Webster had left Raine and Horne.

Hold on a moment. Is this actually true? Section 47 of the Residential Tenancies Act provides a tenant ‘may affix fixtures or make additions to the premises with the owner’s consent. First point of doubt. Is a property manager not an agent of the landlord? An agent usually has an authority to act in the landlord’s shoes. Second point of doubt. It is highly doubtful that a portable pool is a fixture as it can be removed with relative ease. Third point of doubt. There has to be some kind of limit on additions, otherwise tenants would have to get permission to put in swing sets for their kids!

But really, Centurion Real Estate have engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by intimating that Lucan was permitted to install a pool. Nor does it matter that the Kim Webster is no longer an employee of Centurion Real Estate. She was a representative of their business while in their employment.

Lucan is understandably upset. He spent thousands of dollars making sure his family does not roast in the heat of the outback. He is no fool. He sought legal advice. The contract actually stated, ‘Any reference in this lease to the ‘owner’ doing anything shall mean and include it being done by the owner’s agent’ and further that ‘the tenant shall not without the owner’s prior permission install any water bed, swimming pool on the premises’.

Michelle Heta gets involved at this point. She says ‘the lease clearly states written permission from the owner’. And proceeds to threaten Lucan with eviction if he does not drop his complaint. But Lucan wants to stay. It is his home. He wants to stay there with his family for many more years.

Centurion Real Estate try to pin the whole debacle on council regulations. At the beginning, Emily Harris said the council had to provide approval for the installation of a pool and erection of a fence. I have a problem with this approach. How is it the business of  Centurion Real Estate as to whether Lucan has complied with council regulations? Is Centurion Real Estate paid to enforce council regulations?

Lucan tried to be reasonable. He installed a fence even though technically he was not required to because the pool did not have a ladder. But this wasn’t good enough. Michelle Heta later turns around and demands that the fence be removed because Lucan did not obtain permission to install a fence. This is totally inconsistent with their demand that the Lucan comply with council regulations.

But really, Centurion Real Estate is acting under express instructions of the landlord. The landlord ‘has clearly stated she wants the pool removed and the fence’. Michelle says, ‘at the end of the day, the property belongs to the owner and they have every right to ask you to remove the pool from the garden’. Well actually no, Lucan is paying rent for the right to live on the property. One would think that the longer a person lives in a rental property, the greater their rights to make changes.

Michelle’s true character comes out when she says, ‘Sorry I won’t be told what to do by a tenant’. She is a bully. Unfortunately, I have been told that this kind of behaviour is fairly typical in the industry. At the end of the day, tenants are deserving of respect as any other person. They should not be treated like second-class citizens.

In the next instalment, I will look at how Michelle exploits the law for strategic advantage and commercial gain.

Post Script. Ms Hetta says: Being a Property Manager is a tough job. There are days when you love it and deal with some lovely tenants and owners and there are days when you deal with some unreasonable people. Just like any other normal job that you do dealing with the public. I am actually a very empathetic compassionate person and very rarely loose my rag.

 

 

 

Part 1: When Agents Screw Up

Lucan and his family live in a rental property in Western Australia. One day, they decided to get a portable pool because of the blistering heat. I totally get this. 

Lucan did the right thing and checked with the property manager first. In response to the request, Kim Webster said, ‘The owner would not have a problem with this...’ It seems pretty clear to me that the property manager provided permission for Lucan to install a pool.

Lucan and his family lived in peace for over a year. And all of a sudden, the portable pool became a huge problem. Centurion Real Estate (previously trading as Raine and Horne Maida Vale) took the view that the email did not constitute written permission from the owner. Emily Harris said, ‘This is not written permission from the owner, only from the property manager, the Act clearly states it has to be written notice from the owner’. By this point, Kim Webster had left Raine and Horne.

Hold on a moment. Is this actually true? Section 47 of the Residential Tenancies Act provides a tenant ‘may affix fixtures or make additions to the premises with the owner’s consent. First point of doubt. Is a property manager not an agent of the landlord? An agent usually has an authority to act in the landlord’s shoes. Second point of doubt. It is highly doubtful that a portable pool is a fixture as it can be removed with relative ease. Third point of doubt. There has to be some kind of limit on additions, otherwise tenants would have to get permission to put in swing sets for their kids!

But really, Centurion Real Estate have engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by intimating that Lucan was permitted to install a pool. Nor does it matter that the Kim Webster is no longer an employee of Centurion Real Estate. She was a representative of their business while in their employment.

Lucan is understandably upset. He spent thousands of dollars making sure his family does not roast in the heat of the outback. He is no fool. He sought legal advice. The contract actually stated, ‘Any reference in this lease to the ‘owner’ doing anything shall mean and include it being done by the owner’s agent’ and further that ‘the tenant shall not without the owner’s prior permission install any water bed, swimming pool on the premises’.

Michelle Heta gets involved at this point. She says ‘the lease clearly states written permission from the owner’. And proceeds to threaten Lucan with eviction if he does not drop his complaint. But Lucan wants to stay. It is his home. He wants to stay there with his family for many more years.

Centurion Real Estate try to pin the whole debacle on council regulations. At the beginning, Emily Harris said the council had to provide approval for the installation of a pool and erection of a fence. I have a problem with this approach. How is it the business of  Centurion Real Estate as to whether Lucan has complied with council regulations? Is Centurion Real Estate paid to enforce council regulations?

Lucan tried to be reasonable. He installed a fence even though technically he was not required to because the pool did not have a ladder. But this wasn’t good enough. Michelle Heta later turns around and demands that the fence be removed because Lucan did not obtain permission to install a fence. This is totally inconsistent with their demand that the Lucan comply with council regulations.

But really, Centurion Real Estate is acting under express instructions of the landlord. The landlord ‘has clearly stated she wants the pool removed and the fence’. Michelle says, ‘at the end of the day, the property belongs to the owner and they have every right to ask you to remove the pool from the garden’. Well actually no, Lucan is paying rent for the right to live on the property. One would think that the longer a person lives in a rental property, the greater their rights to make changes.

Michelle’s true character comes out when she says, ‘Sorry I won’t be told what to do by a tenant’. She is a bully. Unfortunately, I have been told that this kind of behaviour is fairly typical in the industry. At the end of the day, tenants are deserving of respect as any other person. They should not be treated like second-class citizens.

In the next instalment, I will look at how Michelle exploits the law for strategic advantage and commercial gain.

Post Script. Ms Hetta says: Being a Property Manager is a tough job. There are days when you love it and deal with some lovely tenants and owners and there are days when you deal with some unreasonable people. Just like any other normal job that you do dealing with the public. I am actually a very empathetic compassionate person and very rarely loose my rag.

 

 

 

Icky Mould: Safety at Home

A former tenant has written in with concerns about a problem rental property. From here forth, she shall be known as Rapunzel. She has come forward because she is worried about the health of incoming tenants. A house she was living in is being re-let with a huge problem. The asbestos-clad bathroom is full of mould. For those thinking of renting this property be warned, the address is 19 Wright Road of Emerald, Victoria 3782.

The real estate agency is fully aware that the rental property has a mould and asbestos problem. It is Barry Plant in Emerald. The landlord has performed cosmetic work – he has cleaned the surface stuff off but the mould is in the wooden panels. Rapunzel is no fool. She brought in a cleaner. The cleaner refused to touch it. Equinox Cleaning Services state, ‘Ensuite bathroom needs wall replaced due to asbestos and mould. Spores in wall – VERY DANGEROUS’.

I thought I would look into this matter a bit further. I don’t know too much about mould and asbestos except that they are both bad news. It seems the presence of asbestos in buildings does not generally pose a health risk unless materials are broken, deteriorating or disturbed in a way that fibres are produced. This might actually be the case here, I am not sure. But I sure as hell wouldn’t stick around to find out.

The icky mould problem has reared its ugly head before. Every time someone writes in, I think about what happened to the actress Brittany Murphy. She played my favourite character in the classic teen movie – Clueless. I was saddened to hear that she had passed away from pneumonia some years ago. Her partner died some months after from the same illness. Their deaths were attributed to the presence of a toxic mould in their Los Angeles home.

Mould can make you sick. It can cause nasal congestion, sneezing, cough, wheeze, and respiratory infections. It can worsen pre-existing conditions, such as chronic lung, asthma, and allergy conditions. Those with weaker immune systems, such as babies and the elderly, are more vulnerable than others. And some kinds of mould can kill in the right quantities. Choice has written an excellent article on mould removal. Check it out here - Getting Rid of Mould.

The World Health Organisation has pointed out that the increasing shortage of affordable housing and substantial costs involved in mould proofing provide little incentive for landlords to improve substandard conditions. This is just common sense. It is no skin off the landlord’s nose. They are not putting themselves or their family at risk.

The Centre for Disease Control, over in the United States, has this to say - You do not need to know the type of mould growing in your home, and you should not perform routine sampling for moulds. Since the effect of mould on people can vary greatly, either because of the amount or type of mould, you cannot rely on sampling and culturing to know your health risk. Sampling for mould can be expensive, and standards for judging what is and what is not an acceptable quantity of mould have not been set.

At the end of the day, mould is a public health issue. People should be entitled to safety at home as well as work. The best way forward is for governments to implement a case worker system under which rental properties are assessed for risk to health and safety. Let's make the home safe for Rapunzel and her family.

See more:

World Health Organisation, ‘WHO guidelines for indoor air quality: dampness and mould’ (2009)

 

Legal Loophole in Tenancy

Last year, I wrote a series of articles titled - Fighting the System! I traced the experiences of a tenant as he went into battle with the real estate agent, the landlord, and the tribunal (VCAT in this instance). A neighbour has written in anonymously with concerns  about the deplorable state of the property and the unethical conduct of both the landlord and managing agent. I applaud her sense of community in coming forward with her concerns.

Since Dawne Hedges purchased the property around mid-2006 and started renting it out through Danielle Hunter at the Professionals, Wantirna South, VIC, there has been a high turnover of tenants, due to either being evicted by the agent when repairs have been requested or the tenants voluntarily give notice to vacate the property due to the frustration of repairs not being carried out.

The place is run down, not fit for human habitation and on the verge of collapsing - the property is tired and should be knocked down. It is filled with vermin such as rats and possums, leaks, rising damp, the stumps are giving way, electrical/fire risks etc. Dawne repeatedly uses the excuse of wanting to develop the property when she wants to evict her tenants if they make a request for repairs to the property.  The agent and Dawne are corrupt. In the past when they used to hold open inspections, they would cancel scheduled inspections if it was raining because they didn't want prospective tenants to see the numerous leaks inside and outside of the property. To this day, you can still see the leak from the front of the property, above the front door - this leak is still not fixed and yet, in late September 2012 she had a new tenant occupy the property with absolutely no repairs carried out. The block is still not developed either which is the old and tired excuse she has used in the past with previous tenants when they begin to exercise their rights as a tenant. It is approximately seven years since she purchased the property, so where are these units, when are they going to be built?

After Matt left around August 2012, it appeared that she had trouble renting out the property for a couple of months due to existing repairs not being carried out and the poor condition of the property. I suspect the current rent she is collecting on the property is around $330 - $350 per week. No sensible person inspecting the property around August/September 2012 bothered to make an application to rent the property due to the appalling condition. Dawne Hedges is nothing but a greedy, insensitive landlord who does what she can avoid her legal responsibilities as a landlord.

Danelle Hunter is also someone who should have her real estate license revoked due to her incompetence, deceit and abuse of power. The current tenant has been told that his lease will only be a twelve month one because again, Dawne Hedges wants to develop the block.  She uses this excuse on all her tenants in the event that they begin to make repair requests, she can then use this reason (which does not appear to be based in reality) to evict them. I have, over the years repeatedly observed the pattern of one set of tenants vacating the premises and no repairs being carried out prior to the next tenants occupying the property.  Previous tenants have made mention that they begun developing respiratory health complaints after occupying the property due to the rising dampness, mould and moisture in the floorboards, walls and ceilings. At one point, tradesmen were brought in to fix the electricals but the power had to be shut down for one week due to the risk of electrocution and fire!

When Danelle advertises the property on the internet, seeking new tenants they don't mention the address or show an image of the house, just an old picture of the kitchen. They only have private inspections of the property with the agent and prospective tenant, rather than group ones like they used to have  Saturday mornings between 10:00am and 1:00pm. The agent advertises the property as low key as possible in an effort to deceive the future tenant. The agent also plays down the condition of the house at the time of the house inspection and claims that the repairs will be attended too once the person moves in and has signed the lease but no, the repairs never get done and leases don't get renewed once the tenant has made repair requests.

I do not advise ANYONE to rent 20 Orange Grove, Bayswater, Victoria, 3153, or rent through Danielle Hunter of the Professionals Real Estate Agent, Wantirna South, Victoria.

The system is based on the notion that it resolves disputes between individuals. But really, the law of tenancy (or the law of the home as I like to think of it) concerns the entire community. The system facilitates the exploitation of tenants because the malfeasance of landlords and agents is not tracked. It is a waste of public resources for tribunals to adjudicate the same problems again and again with no actual resolution. It’s time this loophole was closed.

 

See More:

• Fighting the System: My Toaster Has More Rights!
• Fighting the System: The Landlord's Minions?
• Fighting the System: Going to Tribunal

The Law Won’t Listen: Taking to FB for Help

Tenants are confused as to why the law does not protect them from exploitative treatment. They are taking to Facebook in increasing numbers. Tenant advocates have told the government repeatedly that landlords and agents are becoming increasingly opportunistic. But no action. No response.

Depending on the property, the amount of bond money may be small. But bond money is important because of what it represents. For tenants, bond money represents safety and security. Families can reapply bond moneys to secure a new rental property. In this case, a family was evacuated due to flooding and were told that they would not get their bond back unless the property was in the state it was let. The following speaks for itself.

This is our family, and this is our story.

On the 28th of January 2013 we noticed flooding had started in the backyard of our house and tried to block off all entries for the water to get into the house, on the 29th of January we woke up to water in the house we were evacuated and told by a council member due to the pressure of so much water from the floods had caused a pipe to burst over night from a house behind us, we lived behind 2 houses in a gully.

We copped all the water as it ran down our yard into the house causing 90% of my kids clothes, toys and other belongings to get water damaged and mould. We packed up what we had left and informed our real estate the situation, she insisted we stay while the house was being cleaned. I informed her that the whole house is wet and muddy we cannot stay here she had no understanding to what we had just gone through and let us know it's okay to stay. I packed up my family and said to my partner we are not staying here it's unliveable, I am not letting my kids stay in the house, he agreed and got straight onto my Dad. He was more than happy to help us move our stuff out and get what wasn't ruined into storage.

The following day I called and reminded her that we had been evacuated and wanted to know what happens from here in regards to our bond, she replied "you need to clean the property back to how it was when you first moved in" gobsmacked and in disbelief I agreed and hung up the phone, I thought about what to do and talked to friends on what to do and got referred to call the RTA, I immediately called and explained my situation the lady who I spoke to was in disgust as to what is happening and gave me a few numbers to call to get more help.

I had to wait until the 7th of March to do a phone conference through the RTA with the real estate, a day before the conference my solicitor sent her and the tribunal a copy of a affidavit. The real estate decided not to participate and now have until the 18th of March to respond if they do it goes to court and our solicitor is going to sue, if they do not respond we automatically get the bond back.

The reason for the no bond return is ridiculous, $600 for cleaning which both my partner and I spent hours upon hours cleaning what we could in the house and in the yard keeping in mind the condition of the yard/house, $512 to change a lock, the keys got lost in the flooding, $180 for pest control mind you the carpets were pulled up and new ones put in the whole house and we didn't have any animal/s at the house $160 to trim a tree out the front. Humidifiers were ran through-out the whole house to dry the carpets they ran at over 40 degrees for a week with the house closed up and the real estate still expected us to stay in the house with our 2 kids.

The real estate now also want 2 extra weeks rent because we failed to give 2 weeks’ notice of leaving, when in reality how were we supposed to give 2 weeks’ notice when we didn't know about the floods. Our lease was due to end on the 3rd of February. Now having to worry about solicitor fees upon storage fees and replacing everything my children lost in the floods which was well over thousands of dollars of toys, clothes and other belongings.

The stress is starting to get to us and we are on the verge of giving up it has been an ongoing battle since the 29th of January, it's not fair on us or my kids we have done absolutely nothing wrong...What they are doing to us is disgusting, the house is now back up for rent and I would hate for the next family to go through what we are going through right now. We’re asking for help to get our story out so please share this, all it takes is the right person to see it.