Anger at mad cow charge

Every time I think I’ve read just about every weird story under the sun, I get, something like this. It’s not strictly strata … but it’s a doozy!

QUESTION: We were renting a farm house (house and yard only) and while we were driving out on the driveway one morning, a cow owned by the landlord charged our car causing $2300 worth of damage.

I have a witness who was in the car but the landlord’s insurance says it’s not liable and the landlord refused to pay.  Then, two days after I served him with a final demand, we got a termination notice.

We have now moved but is he liable for the damage or not? As I’m on a pension I can’t afford a lawyer.- Trevorm via Flat Chat Forum

ANSWER: Firstly, your landlord may have broken the law by terminating your lease just because you were trying to assert your legal rights.

You could talk to an advisor at tenants.org.au but I suspect the mad cow isn’t really a rental issue … it sounds more like a small claims court matter to me.

If you win the case you should be able to claim costs so, pensioner or not, it’s worth talking to a lawyer about this.