r/AusRenters

So I am a first time renter who just secured their first rental and I need some tips and tricks. What do I need? The place comes with a washer/dryer so I don't have to use the communal one (Landlord was really proud of that for some reason). No fridge or dishwasher. I just signed the agreement and sent the bond and first month rent.

Any budget tips, utility companies advice. I am really out of my depth moving out on my own in my 30s. My anxiety made sure I had at least a year's worth of saving in case I lost my job before I even thought of moving. But can anyone tell me if I should plan for any unexpected expenses when it comes to renting? What things are just plain unnecessary?

Thanks

Hello All!

I understand there are families and people doing it really tough at the moment so i understand i am lucky and i hope i don't offend any one by this post.

Ive been waiting for about a year on the dept of housing disabilities waiting list, and today was the last day of my lease to evict. Last week i was offered housing by a church business who runs a large complex with about 40 units in it. And they where going to consider me for a single unit. Sth Brisbane

I was surprised and really happy this was happening and great timing, i dressed nice and was on time for the interview and had all my paperwork they seemed like really nice people.

How ever i came across a few issues to start with, the first being they dont have car parks for the units, so you park your car out the front in some big car park and then walk in the complex and it would be about a 10-15min walk from my car to said unit. As a person with disabilities i cant imagine how i would bring my shopping in from my car, walk 5 mins catch a lift up 3 floors and then another long walk to my unit would be a real pain, but ok i can live with that ill just get a trolly or something i can drag maybe, but would still be in pain with my spine trying it each day.

On the way to inspecting the unit i noticed heaps of people had there balconies full of junk and the front of their units had bikes and all sorts of stuff thrown out the front spare tyres and just random junk.

Then i got to see the unit they where offering, it was a single bedroom unit, Im a single guy so ok. But the unit was like a hotel room, it did have one small bedroom but you would struggle to get a queen size bed in it, and then no room for a dresser table next to it or anything and the main area was so small just like a hotel room, if i moved my normal fridge into it, it would take up 1/4 of the room. it was that small. I asked where would i put my desk to work, sorry no room for a desk. Where do i put all my clothes? Put a cuboard in the main area this taking up another 1/2 the space left. And so where and how do i watch tv and there,s no room for a couch? Oh yeah no room for a couch or anything its a single unit so you just have to make do. No laundry either.

I just cant imagine trying to live in such a small house as a permanent home, if it was short term it might be ok and put everything in storage, but this is suppose to be a forever home and i just cant fit anything into it. They said dont take it if you dont want to live here permanently.

Is this normal to what they offer and expect us to live in? Ive been private renting a small house for 15 years and its been great, but going from a small house to a hotel room id have to store or sell all my stuff because i cant fit it in. I cant even watch TV in bed because there is no room for a tv either. And cant wall mount.

i feel so bad about turning it down, but i figured id never be happy in it and frustrated by its small size and long walks.. But then people tell me well its alot bigger than a tent that i might end up in. and thats true.

Is this common for single people to get such small housing from dept of housing? Or is this just some business trying to squeeze as many people they can into a small area?

Thanks all. 😄

Just a quick question to clarify my rights.

I moved into my place 3 years ago. The lease agreement said strictly no pets. I had a small, smoochy, lovely black tuxedo cat called Jafar. He was very good for my autistic son in emotional regulation and teaching responsibility - i.e. he had to feed him, and brush him etc. To learn about things existing outside of his own brain.

When we moved in Jafar went to live with a friend of mine. My son asks about him every second day and when we can get him back.

Nsw laws have changed regarding pets, my understanding is that they cannot be refused unless there is reasonable concern they will cause harm or damage.

I asked my landlord today if we could get my pet back and this was her response.

Hi <me>,

Thank you for your message and for explaining the situation regarding your son and the cat. I understand your thoughts and appreciate why the cat is meaningful to your family, especially in supporting your son.

After careful consideration, however, I am unfortunately unable to approve keeping a cat at the property.

As outlined in the rental agreement, pets are not permitted in the property. This is mainly due to concerns about potential property damage and ongoing maintenance issues. Cats are naturally active animals and can scratch walls, flooring, doors, and other surfaces, even when they are well trained and fully house trained.

There are also concerns regarding hygiene and odor. Although cats are generally clean pets, litter trays, pet odors, and shedding fur can affect the condition and air quality of the home and may create difficulties for future tenants.

In addition, cats in heat can sometimes create noise disturbances for neighbors, which may lead to complaints.

I understand this may be disappointing news, and I appreciate your understanding and cooperation in respecting the terms of the tenancy agreement.

Kind regards,

<Landlord>

I am not going to pursue the issue until I have enough money saved up to move places. I don't want to move but I am worried that if backed into a corner, she may evict us based on another reasonable claim such as selling the place or whatever and I won't be financially in a place to move and be screwed. But once I have enough funds saved I would like to challenge this. But my question is, does the new law apply even if the lease said "strictly no pets", despite this being signed before the new law came into effect? And are her concerns around the cat a reasonable risk of property damage that would justify her refusal? Also, the cat is male and desexed so never "on heat". Also, I have a 4 year old and 6 year old who are far more destructive with hygiene risks than the cat has ever been!

Hey reddit,
Is getting a private rental worth it? Are there even any in Melbourne? Im looking for one bed/studio appts in Melbourne preferably inner city area as I don’t own a car. I cant afford much rent as im still on minimum wage pay but im looking at 280-350 per week. Does anyone have any leads on granny flats/one bedder or studios that are not an exorbitant amount? Im happy to rent privately and cut the middle man but where do you go finding landlords? Fb has been no luck so far

Hi just after a little advice. My roommate handles most of the paperwork and calls with the real estate as they are home all day. We are having another smoke alarm check. These seem to be happening every 6 months minimum. I'm sure last year they were coming every 3 months. I decided to question the legalities of it and in doing so realised the entry notice is being emailed from the contractor themselves? I was under the understanding it was the real estate or landlord that could issue these notices?

Hey gang,

Just signed up for a rental that has a kitchen stone top. Not sure if it's quartz or marble.

Our agreement only states that reasonable care must be taken care for cleaning, and handling food/hot liquid etc.

Not sure if its sealed or not.

Is it reasonable to seal it myself(again?) when we move it just in case? Im all for taking care of it etc but accidents happen.tips will be greatly appreciated

Howdy all,
I live in a sharehouse with my cat and I will be moving out in the next few months, what is the etiquette around end of lease pest fumigation stuff if everyone else is remaining and it’s just my room being vacated?
I was thinking just paying for my room and offering to contribute to their end of lease fumigation cost for the main living area if they were to move out in the next few months? My cat is in my room 90% of the time.
Thank you!

QLD. Long post.

How do you actually get representation and any form of reasonable justice in this system?

I have spent 6 months on a sofa because of a real estate's negligence and dodgy actions and every support/referral done has just spent a few weeks looking into it and sending me to someone else who I've likely already spoken to.

Two trees fell on my rental in a few months (aug and nov) and it lead to the place basically slowly collapsing and exposing all of its landlord special secrets eventually having my friends stage an intervention in December as I looked like I was actually dying and I am still having excessive medical testing since and know I've breathed in a LOT of asbestos (tested and confirmed) dust. In November the agency promised a rent abatement to be discussed and sorted once repairs were done. They promised it was structurally sound based off the termite report, so I asked to see it. The termite report showed extreme risk, no history of a barrier and need for invasive investigation. This was never done.

After 2 months, my PM, the agency principal and their handyman came to the place to see all the issues. I recorded the whole thing. They acknowledged most of them and said they'd make plans. That was in Janurary. They already had the details but hey, I thought it was progress.

In February they decided all I wanted was the rat poison and corpses remnants (that were about 3 years old, despite me being 8 months into my tenancy) hidden under my kitchen cabinets and seeping under the kickboards from a roof leak - and ignored/tried to gaslight me about everything else.

So I decided to hire a company that do minimum housing inspections to see what they found and give the agency something concrete to work off. They found the house was collapsing one side with major floor levelling issues, ceilings decoupling, the water temperature being so high it would cause 3rd degree burns on impact and was 10-20% above the legal maximum, that there was damaged asbestos in many places that were a major hazard, black mold growing everywhere, multiple leaks that had rotted the underfloor structures to the point of postcard size chunks being missing in numerous areas. There was plenty more he found, basically almost every category checked was marked as unsafe and inhabitable.

Agency mocked the report but told me their BUILDER was going to fix it. Their builder turned out to be an unlicenced handyman who's work quality was disturbingly bad. I had a friend come check the place as I was too sick to, mid-work to hide my spare key as I was concerned about safety so asked the agency to facilitate letting him in moving forward. Friend got there, all doors unlocked and windows open. All lights on. A shit in my toilet unflushed with the lid up and my wardrobe having been gone through and left intimate items gone through. Nothing had been protected, the house had been diy jacked up by the handyman himself, wall segments had been ripped out without my belongings being protected and then thrown out the window into they yard and left there.

I was surprisingly chill about it, because I was too sick to even care at that point but did make the contractor and agency knew.

At that point my pet was with a carer and costing me quite a lot of $ out of pocket, I was too sick to work and needed $500+ in specialist blood tests that weren't covered by Medicare and fell behind by a week in rent. I got breached. I followed up with the agency about the rent abatement for everything and proof the property was safe, and for a $ figure after abatement considerations so I could get it bridged by rentconnect. They delayed telling me for a few days saying it was in discussion and it got to day 8 of the breach, they said that the landlord wasnt going to do the abatement and told them to give me a notice to leave for overdue rent.

I filed qcat for an interim order to stop rent from being expected until this was sorted, and for an urgent case for repair orders, etc. Case went through, but interim order was rejected because the agency hadn't filed to evict me yet. Next day they did. Cases got combined. I just wanted to know if my home was safe, if anything had been contaminated and for it all to be sorted. My QSTARS support was confident in my case.

Court wasnt for a while, when we got there the judge hadn't read the filings and frankly, fucked my life up. Neither party were filing for money as they were urgent cases and needed mediation, but we had the situation at hand. Somehow the judge thought I owed $9000 in rent, when I absolutely did not and even the agency was confused. He said the house was obviously inhabitable but wouldn't issue repair orders as it'd be too much.

He ignored my concerns about safety and integrity of even going into the property now that an asbestos ridden, wooden Queenslander that was collapsing from termite and water damage saying well if someone died, the agents would go to jail, and laughed. Said my concerns and breaches id issued for the property and everything that was going on was "ancient history" and "a crusade".

He proposed we call it even, I get my bond back, can't have any further claims and Ive got 2 weeks to vacate.

When I had a panic attack after hearing the agents objectively lie - as I do have asbergers, complex ptsd and was experiencing a DV situation (outside of this) and asked for a moment - he basically said no, you need to toughen up - I am pretty sure you're exaggerating and I can have this drag out 1-2 years or issue a warrant of possession on the spot.

I tried to ask specifics of what the proposal was, and was just mocked, interrupted and shut down. I asked about legal avenues and how I am already sick from that house and it's a blatant danger to enter and said if that's the case the agency would lose their licences (very tongue and cheek).

I was pressured into agreeing and accepted that it was what it was.

Went into the house to measure items for removalists and found all doors and windows and lights open and on again, with the fans on full blast. Inside the floor was more damaged, there was crumbling wall and ceiling pieces and it felt like a 'fun house". The back electric gate to the garage/driveway/only door big enough to fit furniture out had broken. I saw the entire front porch and adjacent rooms covered in building debris, like a think chunky layer and a more fine layer of it on anything nearby.

I contacted the agency about the gate and the debris, as I had 9 days to move. They got it tested and it came back positive for 2 kinds if asbestos and quarantined one room. They didn't get a professional on site, they did the tests themselves (and the makesafes) and decided that the rest of the place was safe. I offered to personally pay for makesafes and testing. Was refused. I asked several times and they just duct taped one door closed and called it a day, the day before the WOP was to come into effect.

No removalist would touch it, my family refused to let anything that might be contaminated into their property. My things weren't cheap kmart specials, they are really lovely sentimental antiques throughout so it's not an easy fix either.

The agency went through with WOP and told me I had a week to get removalists. They then filed to sell my belongings. They offered me $1000 for everything in my study that was contaminated and lied about the contents. It was easily 10k worth of stuff in there.

I filed to reopen the case with the new information, it was rejected. I filed for reasons of why it was rejected, that too, was rejected.

QSTARS told me to contact the council, who referred me to worksafe who referred me to industrial relations who referred me back to worksafe. Worksafe only JUST put through a warning and asbestos management plan to the agency that I don't have access to.

Worksafe told me to get a lawyer. I spoke to my doctor and he was like, no, you're not in a place to be able to self represent and you were refused accommodations last time and wrote me a letter stating as much. I spoke to 20+ lawyers who told me to either do personal injury for the asbestos exposure etc, but that they didnt cover the more immediate situation. One referred me to QLS who referred me to Lawright and Pro Bono connect. Lawright and pro bono connect refused the case as it's tenancy related and sent me to QSTARS and tenants Queensland. Qstars and Tenants Queensland said they dont have actual lawyers or do referrals like that and now I am just so exhausted, done with this stuff, in a constant state of one foot off a ledge hand have lost literally everything. I've been sleeping on a friend's sofa for 6 months. I haven't seen my pet in 4 as he is with a bird minder. I have been living out of a suitcase and and am an absolute nervous wreck. I breathed in a LOT of asbestos dust just waking into that house. I was obviously breathing it in for 6 months prior. I had a meticulous paper trail and everyone has said ive done everything I could - the agency didnt file ANY evidence and basically has got off Scott free.

Now I have a hearing coming up about the future of everything I own and cherish, because the agency want to sell it - and I can't even get help apparently. I finally got the transcript from the hearing a week ago, I had hoped my panicked state made me misrepresent or misremember what the judge said. I didn't.  It was worse than I remembered. I didn't know QCAT only wants to hold people accountable if someone literally dies, and even then, I have my doubts.

So I inspected a 2 bedder today that was pretty nice, however when I looked up the address on the real estate website, it said that the unit was only recently sold (April I think).

Is this a red flag that I should look out for? I did ask the agent if the owner is looking for a long term lease/tenant and she said yes but idk. Has anyone ever rented a recently sold property and been stuffed around or should everything be okay??

Hello, I wanted others experience or outcomes of a SACAT dispute/hearing relating to an early break of lease.

My REA has tried claiming my bond (hasn’t provided me an exit inspection report) and hasn’t found a replacement tenant yet. I disputed the bond claim and now it has been referred to SACAT.

This is my previous post, for context:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AusRenters/comments/1t168np/no_access_to_meter_room_how_do_i_resolve_this/

The repair guy managed to obtain the keys to the meter room from Strata, but then he called me to tell me that there is another locked door in the meter room and he needs the key to that. I just gave him the entire bunch of keys that I was provided, but none of them fit this lock. And he was supposedly told by strata that they can provide keys to the meter room but they have no idea who has the keys to these meter boxes inside the meter room. He just left, and marked it as 'locked premises' just like before.

I took a picture of the locked meter box, circled the faulty meter for the unit I am renting and the lock, and sent an email to the real estate agent, practically begging and pleading to get this resolved through the landlord because I have been threatened with a disconnection and no one knows who has these keys. I haven't heard back from them for a few days now, and when I call them, I am just told that the property manager will call me back, but he never calls. I contacted the electricity company, but they said that since I am the customer, they have no other point of contact so it is up to me sort out access issues. I tried asking a couple of neighbours, but they have no idea about the key for this meter box.

I was informed by the electricity company that my supply would be disconnected if they are unable to read the meter for three consecutive months, so if they go by that, then the disconnection day will be somewhere during the third week of June.

I am totally lost here. Do I contact the tenants union? Should I register a complaint with the Ombudsman? I know that no-fault evictions are now banned in NSW, but if I go through official routes, I am worried that the landlord may retaliate by significantly increasing the rent or something like that. It hasn't even been a year since I moved, so it would be really hard for me to pack up and move again, especially since I have no family or friends in Sydney to assist in any way. Since I also have a close up photo of the lock, can I actually get a key made from a locksmith, or are these one of those 'do not copy' types of secure locks?

My previous post got a lot of helpful suggestions, so I am just looking for some tips here to avoid disconnection. Sharing the photo for reference (the faulty meter and the lock for which no one has the key, have been circled).

https://preview.redd.it/p752r3mmn12h1.jpg?width=1375&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37d63ac6c4c89014c7c7e3d3048edac44639125f

My wife and I recently had the annual gas inspection done at our rental property in Melbourne. The last inspection was apparently over two years ago.

Today the plumber checked our stove and found a serious gas leak. We had noticed a foul smell for a while but didn’t realise it was that dangerous. The stove has now been disconnected, and we currently have no cooking appliance.

The plumber also told us the landlord only wants to repair issues one unit at a time, despite multiple units having serious problems. Other tenants have reported overflowing toilets, unsafe and outdated electrical wiring, broken lighting and switches, no heating, and smoke alarms that apparently haven’t been inspected in over four years.

We’re considering taking this to VCAT, especially because some of these issues seem like major safety hazards.

Does this sound like enough evidence for VCAT, and what should our next steps be? Should we contact Consumer Affairs Victoria first?

My original tenancy agreement in Sydney says rent costs include gas, electricity, and water. The property is not separately metered. There is a small clause later down that says water will be paid if separately metered. Now the landlord wants to separately meter. Can they ask for me to pay utilities? Even if the lease agreement says I don't need to pay? If they can ask me to, how much notice must be given? None?

Our rental is being sold 6 months into our lease, there are quite a few maintenance issues with the property but nothing major except for the oven which is getting more and more shit as the days go on (takes about an hour to preheat and only heats up to max 180 degrees). The lack of function is annoying but there have been a couple of incidents with it that make it seem like a legit hazard e.g. one time my partner went to turn it on and it flashed blue inside and tripped the power, another time we used the cooktop in the morning and several hours later the elements were glowing red and were warm even though all the knobs were turned off. Have reported it to the property managers via both of the management apps they use, and via email and have received no response. The selling agent (different real estate to our property managers) has advised the owner is desperate to sell so could they just be ignoring the requests because they don't want to buy a new oven before they sell the place? Where do we go next if the property managers keep ignoring the request?

Broke a lease on an old queenslander that've I've rented for almost half a year. Since the beginning, Ive had massive issues (see my previous post: https://www.reddit.com/r/shitrentals/s/LjAXZlBJfL )

Immediately after I handed the keys back, I claimed the bond refund.

Well, today they just sent me the exit condition report and are asking me to remedy a load of issues (maintenance and cleaning), and have left the keys in a lockbox. Thing is, the condition report completely lacks the condition report comments and photos I returned at the start of the tenancy. There seems to have been a mixup, and I've emailed back asking why my report isnt there. My report from the start of the tenancy lists the maintenance issues as well as how extremely dirty the house was (such as a toilet seat being covered in faeces). I must emphasise that every problem they listed existed when I moved in, except I have cleaned significantly.

Also, I just received an invoice for a break lease fee totalling almost three weeks rent. They can't do this, right? Technically I'm liable for a max of three weeks rent if a tenant can't be found. However, the property was listed as available from 7 days after the date I handed the keys back (I handed the keys back last Friday). And already it says the house has been leased . I'm assuming I'm liable for 1 week then, not almost three?

Any advice would be super appreciated!

Hi! I am an incoming international student. In my search for housing I stumbled upon aurent on flatmates. They have rooms in Melbourne and Sydney and are verified by flatmates. However, they have really bad reviews online. Has anybody rented from them? What's your experience?

Thank you so much in advance!:)