How to protect yourself from rental scams<\/a><\/p>\nThey went onto say that the landlord was now forcing them to move out, before they would fix the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to move, besides (a) few other issues I love the apartment,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could have fixed this 9 yrs[sic] ago, not my fault the ceiling is collapsing. I\u2019ve lost time and money cleaning after every rain, have a potential health issue due to mould and undue stress.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecently the unit below me became available during the ceiling collapse, he could have offered that to me if he didn\u2019t want me in the unit when the ceiling was being fixed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many flooded to the comments in support of the tenant.<\/p>\n
One commenter said\u201d This is a sh*t show. Consult with your lawyer, they will be best equipped to deal with this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others suggested ways they could protect themselves including making a claim to the landlords tenant court and keeping track of any expenses the issue has caused.<\/p>\n
Tenant laws in Australia<\/p>\n
In Australia, there are varying rental laws across each state, but each has their own tenant union, as well as tribunal that will deal with landlord \/ tenant disputes.<\/p>\n
The Tenants Union of NSW notes that taking photos and documenting any disrepair can protect the tenant if things are to escalate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe landlord is responsible for ensuring that the property is structurally sound \u2013 floors, ceilings, walls and supporting structures should not be subject to significant dampness; and the roof, ceilings and windows should be properly sealed so water cannot get inside,\u201d according to The Tenants Union of NSW.<\/p>\n
These responsibilities also include providing \u201creasonable state of repair.\u201d<\/p>\n
In NSW, this ceiling issue would be considered a \u201cserious roof leak,\u201d which would mean the landlord should attend to urgent repairs as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the landlord\/agent cannot be contacted or is unwilling to do the urgent repairs, you can arrange for them to be done.<\/p>\n
![\"RENTALS\"](\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg)
<\/p>\n
Tenants can look to their union for protection if their landlords aren\u2019t keeping their property up to scratch. Picture: NCA NewsWire \/ Nikki Short<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must give the landlord\/agent written notice about the repairs, costs and copies of receipts. They must pay you for any reasonable costs up to $1,000 within 14 days of your notice,\u201d according to the Tenants Union of NSW.<\/p>\n
Before the issue becomes \u201curgent\u201d the tenant can apply to the NSW Civil and Adminstrative Tribunal (NCAT) to order the landlord to do the repairs specified if they are not co-operating with repair requests.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must be able to show that the premises were not in reasonable repair, you told the landlord\/agent about the need for the repairs (e.g. you wrote to them) or they should have reasonably known about it (e.g. they inspected the premises).\u201d<\/p>\n
If the landlord or agent did not make a reasonable effort to have the repairs done, this means they \u201cfailed to act with reasonable diligence\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must apply (to NCAT) within three months of the landlord failing to meet your deadline for repairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
If there was a structural issue causing mould, this is the landlords responsibility, according to The Tenants Union of NSW.<\/p>\n
You can also negotiate a rent reduction if you are moving out while repairs are done.<\/p>\n
\u201cMake a clear agreement in writing,\u201d the Tenants Union advises.<\/p>\n
However, the landlord does have the right to terminate your lease if part of the premises is \u201cdestroyed or are wholly or partly uninhabitable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey may give you a termination notice for immediate possession of the premises.<\/p>\n
However a termination notice does not itself end your tenancy. If you do not leave according to the notice, the landlord\/agent can apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) for an order to terminate your agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Tribunal will have to decide whether the premises being uninhabitable and other circumstances justify termination of the agreement. You cannot be evicted without a termination order by the Tribunal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it is safe and you are not prevented by council orders or emergency services, it is your home and your tenancy has not legally ended, so you can return home after a disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A tenant\u2019s ceiling has collapsed, despite claiming they asked for 10 years for their landlord to fix it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":790382,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-790381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=790381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790381\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/790382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=790381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=790381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=790381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}