Rental crisis: Tenant shocked by state of rental after agent's promise
The woman said she was concerned about her family's health and was desperately trying to get out of the lease.
A South Australian tenant is “frantically” trying to back out of her new lease after discovering the property in a “horrific and disgusting” state, despite the real estate agent’s promise the home would be cleaned and repaired before she moved in.
The woman said she “arrived to collect the keys on the first day”, only to find piles of rubbish dumped around the property, “trashed furniture left in the house”, and an interior covered in “absolutely disgusting” dirt and grime.
“No repairs have been done,” she posted in a Facebook group on Sunday dedicated to renters alongside numerous photos of brown stains on the walls and toilet, and dirt accumulated around the toilet and in the window seals — stunning hundreds of group members, some of which deemed the home a “health hazard”.
Other images show an electrical socket hanging off the wall, a pile of gardening tools and kids' belongings heaped near the property’s fence, broken security screens on a window and door, and a faulty smoke alarm.
'Desperately want out of this property'
The woman said she was “in the process” of sending an application to the Southern Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT) but wanted to “clarify” some details with other renters.
“What is a ‘reasonable time’ to have faulty smoke alarms replaced? Security screens replaced? Heating replaced because mice have chewed out all the electrical wiring (I’m guessing that’s also why several outlets also don’t work),” she wrote, noting the latter was “not reassuring without working fire alarms”.
“I desperately want out of this property and am frantically trying to find an alternative, but obviously tribunal will take some time and I can’t afford multiple accommodation simultaneously, so I’m not sure what to do,” she added, explaining that she had “reported all maintenance” and contacted the agent but hadn’t heard back.
“I also have now had my insurance company deny my contents insurance at this property, but they will not disclose why,” she said.
Aussies fume over 'hellhole' rental
The “dreadful” and “illegal” condition of the property described as a “hellhole” has left people fuming, one of which joked that they “got hepatitis just looking at that toilet seat”.
“I wouldn’t be paying any rent,” another said, as someone else declared: “Hell no. I would throw the keys back.” “I can’t believe they felt it was acceptable to put anyone in here,” a fourth commented.
Under the South Australian Residential Tenancies Act 1995, landlords are obligated to “ensure that the premises, and ancillary property, are in a reasonable state of cleanliness when the tenant goes into occupation of the premises”.
“The obligation to repair applies even though the tenant had notice of the state of disrepair before entering into occupation,” it states. If a landlord has been notified of the state of disrepair by the tenant but has failed to take reasonable action to remedy it, then the tenant may be entitled to compensation.
Landlord's 'unfair' excuse
The South Australian renter, who is still liable for rent and “has nowhere else to go”, revealed she did inspect the property herself and asked if the issues would be repaired and the home cleaned.
“I was told yes, all the repairs were scheduled and would be finished before I’d be moving in and that professional cleaning would be happening,” she explained. “At the time I felt that was reasonable. I didn’t expect it to be left exactly as it is. I also can’t believe an agency would allow this, they certainly wouldn’t accept a routine inspection of this condition.”
Unfortunately, the tenant said she did not get the promise in writing.
In a comment, the woman said she had since received a reply after quoting the Tenancies Act in an email to their real estate agency.
“But the response I had was that the owner is having a tough time financially so not all maintenance would be attended to,” she said. “I’m sorry but when it comes to my family health and safety and a property that I’m already paying too much for, I really don’t care.
“It is a health hazard and completely unfair that I am responsible for cleaning it to make it a little bit habitable…and paying for the privilege. The issue is though, there's no accountability because everyone is so scared to speak up because of the housing crisis and lack of alternatives,” she argued.
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