r/shitrentals

Hello folks - well, I got one VCAT hearing for compensation finished this morning.

The member ruled that the rental provider was still in breach for all of the three items I claimed. Unfortunately, the member only gave me a quarter of the compensation I calculated using the Tenants Victoria compensation template, which was around $1400 from the rent special account. Better than nothing!

The LL and REA lied so much - they said a mould report had been done before I moved in or at the time I moved in. I found out the day I got the keys in March 2025 there was water damage as a plumber sent by body corporate knocked on my door to do thermal scanning. When they couldn’t supply any evidence, the agent conceded that the only report was made in October by the builder they sent to fix the wall.

The LL uploaded videos of evidence at 9.28am for a 9.30am hearing and the member ruled it inadmissible.

He continued to claim I had made it all up, even after the member made his ruling to say he was in breach for all three items. I asked if he will be listed as non compliant on the CAV website - the LL again tried to say I made it all up. Member came back and said he will automatically be listed and he will have to take it up with CAV if he wants it removed.

That was the best thing I got out of this whole process! After being gaslit for over 12 months all I have to say is sucked in dickhead!!

EDIT: The REA was a not for profit who specialise in helping women escape violence. I was paying $330 a week rent. When I moved in the property had a gas leak, vermin, water damage, no proper window coverings and more. It failed both the gas and electrical compliance checks and they should have been done before I was allowed to move in. You are not doing a victim of violence any favours by providing a property that causes this amount of stress on top of what they have already been through! It was unbelievable.

What is going on with “ethics” around sub-letting in Melbourne (not sure about other places, lived in Sydney and sub-let there with zero issues)?

This flat in Hawthorn is full of mould. The windows are rotten and the place is filthy. It was last sold in 1987 for $53,900 so I’m assuming it’s owned outright. The block was built in 1959 from what I can find so it’s obviously had zero work done with the original kitchen and bathroom. I looked through the windows (dirty and mouldy) and it’s in a terrible state. Yours for $495 per week.

This might be a weird one, but maybe someone has dealt with a similar issue and has some advice.

So I rent an apartment and the neighbour living next to us runs his exhaust fan almost constantly. We've tried speaking to him and he says he's running it because his 'cat litter smells', so it's not because he's showering lol. I'm talking it's on all day and he has left it on overnight before. Now idk why but this fan creates a really loud hum throughout our entire apartment, especially our bedroom, to the extent that we cannot get to sleep when it's on, and it bothers us when we're just trying to relax in the lounge room. Our own bathroom exhaust doesn't even tune out the noise. We've tried asking him to at least turn it off by midnight so we can sleep, but he often leaves it on past then anyway.

If I press my ear against certain walls at either end of the apartment, I can tell that this humming seems to be traveling through the walls, so closing doors or adding noise insulation likely won't help.

Has anyone else dealt with electrical humming coming from a neighbour's apartment & has some ways to mitigate the noise? I've submitted a noise complaint to the council but I'm concerned I'm going too far & don't want to rock the boat. Just really tired of not being able to relax and/or sleep in our own apartment, especially because IMO he doesn't need to have it running as often as he does.

We're thinking of moving when our lease ends in a couple months because the noise is so unbearable. Any advice appreciated.

I have been in property for years, been paying by bank transfer and it’s been fine.

Now I have had multiple emails in two weeks saying “we have moved to Ailo, set up an account”

I sent them two emails saying I do not wish to use Ailo. Today they sent a text message saying “we are now using Ailo”

Snd today an email from Ailo saying “you owe XXX in rent, pay today” when I paid my rent on time and in full last week

Why are they bothering me like this? I have been a tenant for years here and do not appreciate this kinda of pressure

UPDATE: A second email today from Ailo saying my rent is late

Anyone had any problems with Realmark urban they refuse to give me the bond back and I paid for cleaners and carpet cleaners to go over the house and it was spotless no damage

I have finally left my first rental and the rental provider had let us know that we had to pay a departure cleaning fee of $595 the month before our lease ended. Mind you the place is very small with a total of 35m^(2)

We had refused to pay this because the place was already in shit condition. Admittedly the floors seemed clean, but other surfaces like walls, roofs and even some of the furniture (furnished rental) had some big stains, the floor bathroom also had buildup of scum. I know I had taken photos for the condition report but i actually cannot find it in the app it was provided in so I can't confirm how much was shown in the condition report.

I did not tell them that I refused paying until I handed in the keys and immediately started the bond claim, all my experience with this told me that I should not wait for them.

Yesterday we were sent an email informing us that the floor requires vacuuming and steam cleaning and the bench tops require wiping and that we can come back to rectify the issues before 6th july. an exit report was sent despite no email, message or any notification of the inspection happening, they actually cancelled an inspection a week before we handed in the keys.

We weren't informed of ANY professional cleaning having happened and the condition of he place didn't show much evidence of basic cleaning considering the large stains we saw that were removed with a basic wet wipe.

I'm posting this more as a rant but also for any advice particularly since they clearly breached the tenancies act 1997 35(5). I'd love to call VCAT but they're conveniently closed from the moment I received the email and the deadline is on the day they open back up

I am currently on a fixed term lease, and for the past few months there has been a significant leak in our downstairs bathroom (likely due to the bathroom upstairs). It’s caused really bad water damage on the ceiling and mould downstairs, and of course a fear that the downstairs bathroom roof could fall in as the ceiling is squishy lol.

The landlord has had people in to fix the roof on the outside of the house at least because the rain made the leak worse, but the issue has persisted.

Yesterday the landlord and real estate agent came to inspect the leak. The landlord has said that we have two options:
1- He re-waterproofs the upstairs bathroom, cleans up the mould in the downstairs bathroom and paints over it.
2- He ends our tenancy early to fully gut the bathrooms due to the severity of the leak and damage caused.

It seems like the landlord just doesn’t want to be responsible for such a large fix right now and so we have to put up with a bathroom that has a rotting ceiling otherwise we get booted. Is there a way to move out during the renovation period and move back in once it’s fixed? No tradesman was present during the visit yesterday either, so should we get a second opinion?

My wife and I have just moved into a rental property. Bit of background, I don’t make much as an apprentice and she currently doesn’t work and receives no centre link income. Somehow we were accepted for a rental and I applied for the Victorian housing bond loan to help us move in.

They accepted the application and the real estate were happy with it too. Turns out it somewhere, somehow was cancelled. I tried calling them a few times and only ever got through once. The lady on the other end was very unhelpful so I hung up.

At this moment, the real estate doesn’t know it’s been cancelled. All I want to know is what should I do? What will the real estate do once the lease is up? I know they’ll want it or evict us if they find out before hand. But I doubt they will if they haven’t for over a month

Having been involved in thousands of end-of-lease cleans across NSW and ACT, I’ve seen firsthand exactly what property managers look for during final inspections.

If you are moving out soon and trying to secure your full bond back, these are the top 5 areas that consistently get flagged and lead to claims:

1. The Oven: A "mostly clean" oven is a failed inspection. Property managers look at the glass tracks, the wire racks, and the back heating element. It essentially needs to look brand new.
2. Carpet Stains: If you’ve lived with a minor high-traffic stain for two years, you might look past it, but the agent will spot it immediately.
3. Window Tracks and Blinds: People clean the glass but forget the tracks. If there is dead dust or bugs in the sliding tracks, it’s an automatic item on the fix-it list. Dusting individual blind slats is also frequently missed.
4. Bathroom Grout & Exhaust Fans: Standard wiping doesn't cut it here. If the exhaust fan is furry with dust or the grout has slight discoloration, it gets noted.
5. Light Switches and Door Frames: Look around eye level near handles. Built-up oils and handprints on high-touch surfaces are classic final-minute deductions.

For those DIYing their exit clean, focus heavily on these five spots. If anyone has questions about what standard agents usually expect for specific fixtures, ask away and I'll do my best to answer based on what I see pass or fail inspections daily.

I had my second baby 12 days ago so yesterday I had a home visit from the Maternal Child Health Nurse, she told me she's seeing more and more clients who don't have any heating at all in their rentals or who are not using their heaters due to the cost of living. She saw a 10 day old baby in the appointment before us who is living in a rental without heating and the landlord has no intention of providing heating and the family is too scared of eviction to push back on the LL again.

This shouldn't be happening in 2026 in a country like Australia but it is and its heartbreaking. I'm holding my baby and thinking of all the little babies and kids living without heating right now.

New research shows more than half no longer view property as a path to generational wealth amid policy changes

My moron landlord came onto the property unauthorised with a tradesmen to try have work done because hes trying to do dodgy insurance stuff from the sounds of things. Have it on ring camera, abused them and will now breach them. Not asking for advice, just thought it would be a funny story for you all.