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Hi all, I am absolutely desperate… at the ends of my whit. I’m hoping that someone at this forum could help or redirect me… it is not true that landlords are well protected as I keep reading on all the forums I go to… I certainly don’t! All seems to be designed to max protection of the tenant and all relying on common sense …and understanding which is certainly something missing in my case. I can assure you that I am the most compassionate person you’ve met in a while, this is my first property I bought and first tenants.
The tenants has moved in 8mnts ago with the understanding this is a brand new property and a few fixes are required. One partner works in the city and the other doesn’t or occasionally from home and is the primary home maker. What we found out a few month into the lease is that they have previously sued 2 previous landlords and their agents, strata… for insufficient duty of care as they were allegedly exposed to mould. This came as a complete shock as this is nothing that was communicated to the agent nor to me. The tenants are claiming high sensitivity to mould and claiming all sorts of remediation to the property and expensive testing … for their syndrome (which is not a disease!) they see specialists that I’ve never heard of … I have already offered a rent reduction for the room that got the rain whilst negotiating with the builder how best to repair.
The constant harassment about every little thing is just appalling – now they started to complain about drug dealers in front of the property …. and I shall not leave out their hurtful remarks about the ever changing demographic in the area directly showing their racist upbringing from their respective countries. I have also heard from a neighbour that they verbally insult one of the other neighbours …
The tenant are acting like they own the property – actually to certain tradies they introduce themselves as owners!!! They continually obstruct to remediation work with false arguments of fear for their health. YET they are not moving out!!!!! I rent for a reason! I cannot afford to live in the property myself!!!! I’m am absolutely outraged and angry that I might be the next victim of this vexatious litigant …. do they really have a leg to stand on? My property is brand new and I have offered for them to move out without any cost …but here’s the issue again they want money from me! I’m utterly shattered and don’t know where to get help.
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Yep the tenants from hell
Firstly who vetted these tenants. As a landlord who self manages, I personally interview the last few landlords. If the feedback I get is not solid then the prospective tenant does not get in. The old saying a leopard cant change its spots applies. People’s behaviour is constant no matter how hard they try to hide their real self.
In your situation ,this is what I would do TODAY.
Ignore all and any complaints these people make. You will never satisfy them no matter what you do.
Since the lease probably runs out in a few months, just give them notice that the lease will not continue. If they currently have jobs, they are not covered by the government anti throw out laws.
If they ask a reason why you will not renew, tell them you are moving in yourself. No further discussion required or necessary.
In any case do not fight fire with fire. They have done this a few times before and have the system gamed.
It is not good to be dismissive of mould as it can have very nasty effects, on people and buildings.
The circumstances where these tenants have taken action against 2 previous landlords, and now threatening a third, when the current premises are new, makes me wonder if it is their possessions which have been contaminated in the first mouldy premises and they are taking the problem with them from home to home?
If there has been water ingress into a room and you are negotiating remediation with the builder, it would not be a bad idea to consult a mould expert to ensure appropriate work is done by the builder to stop future water ingress and any water damaged materials and mould (hidden as well as visible) are removed. Mould is often part of a building defect claim, with the cost of the expert included in the claim, and you should obtain formal advice before the defects liability period expires.
The usual medical advice to a mould sensitive person is to remove themselves from the troublesome environment, and your offer to let them break the lease without cost should be attractive to your tenants in the current climate where rental property availability is up, but rental prices are falling.
A friend of mine is microbiologist who worked for two councils as an environmental health officer. At times she was called in to inspect rental properties that tenants claimed were not fit to be lived in due to mould problems. In almost every case, the mould problem was not caused by the building, but the lifestyle of the occupants. The windows would all be shut tight “to keep the cold out”, and/or there would be laundry drying in front of the heater. Some would never use the exhaust fan in the bathroom… the list goes on.
If there’s a mould problem in a new building, then the only other possibility would be a long term leak. It sounds like there may have been a once-off event that allowed water ingress, but this shouldn’t cause a mould problem.
In almost every case, the mould problem was not caused by the building, but the lifestyle of the occupants. The windows would all be shut tight “to keep the cold out”, and/or there would be laundry drying in front of the heater. Some would never use the exhaust fan in the bathroom… the list goes on.
That would go some way to explaining why people move from apartment to apartment and can never seem to find one that doesn’t have a mould problem. I’m not saying that’s the case in every instance, but it’s worth considering. There is another issue, though, there has to be a better way of ventillationg flats than opening windows in winter.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
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