Flood tests tenants

QUESTION: Recently the drain in our ensuite bathroom floor (not the shower) overflowed and flooded the main bedroom and all down the hallway.

The carpets were ripped up and slow leaks were found from both the ensuite shower and main bathroom. It’s clearly much more than just blocked drains and definitely not our fault.

The Real Estate agent and owner have been OK so far but we are walking on cold cement and only using one bathroom while these issues are slowly being fixed.

My partner is a full time uni student in the middle of exams and I work full-time so he is left to attend to all the hassle. Are we entitled to some sort of compensation? – Kateh.

ANSWER:  You certainly should get some sort of rent relief while this is going on, possibly enough to allow your partner to rent a corner of an office somewhere so he can study in peace. 

Your landlord should have insurance to cover for loss of rent and should be glad you are allowing this remedial work to go on around you. 

If a polite request for a rent ‘holiday’ fails, try contacting Tenants Advice (tenants.org.au) or Community Justice (phone 1800 990 777) to ask for a mediation.

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