Melbourne tenant divides internet after charged $120 real estate fee for wall marks
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Outraged Tenants Receive Huge Bill From Landlord After Final Inspection Of Property They Had Been Leasing For Two Years: “Scam”
- Estate agents charged tenant a fee for vacating after leaving wall damage
- He took to Reddit to ask if the $120 charge was a scam, sparking a debate.
- Many said the fee was reasonable, others believed it should be normal wear and tear.
A tenant’s outrage when his real estate agent charged him a fee to remove marks from a wall has divided the internet.
The Melbourne tenant was initially angered by the $120 damage bill after vacating a property they had rented for two years.
They took to Reddit this week seeking input from other tenants.
‘He just moved in, and the agent asked for $120 to fix the injuries. Tear?’ they captioned the photo of the damage on a wall in the living room.
The tenant admitted that they caused damage to the wall.
A tenant who vacated in Melbourne was charged $120 for this damage to a wall (pictured)
Some argued that the landlord should have paid for the damage as it was “normal wear and tear on the property” that tenants are not required to pay under residential tenancy laws.
But many others jumped to the owner’s defense and insisted that $120 was too fair.
“Plaster needs patching and then painting, probably the whole wall so it doesn’t look like it’s been patched up,” one wrote.
Another added: ‘Paying a painter to do that plus traveling to and from other work. $120 won’t come close. Hopefully the real estate agent has a handyman to do it.
Some suggested that the tenant got away with it lightly.
“Curious why he felt this was a scam, it’s really just the cost of living in a country with a fair minimum wage,” another posted.
Others suggested that the tenant could have easily repaired the damage themselves.
A bit of toothpaste and a putty knife will take care of scratches (but even Polyfilla is about $6 a jar). Then you just need a bit of touch up paint to cover it up. It’s a 15-minute touch-up,” posted a longtime tenant.
Another added: ‘Easy to do yourself if you want to save money. Plaster, sand and paint.
A third wrote: ‘Why didn’t you fill it out yourself before they saw it?’
Tenant’s post about being charged $120 prompted a divided response online
Many believed that $120 to repair the wall was reasonable, given the lengthy process
Some people said that it would have been cheaper and easier for the tenant to repair the wall.
Others argued that the damage should have been considered normal wear and tear.
“I might have been misinformed, but a previous agent told us that something like this would wear off if it had been five years or more since the wall was painted,” one wrote.
Another added: “If the rest of the place is fine and this person has at least a 12 month lease, that’s normal wear and tear.”
The Reddit author then thanked everyone for their input and acknowledged that the fee was fair.
“As someone with no experience in handyman services, the $120 cost came as a surprise for small cuts, not knowing the cost of materials and the amount of work required,” they said.
Some argued that the property manager should have considered the damage as normal wear and tear (file image of real estate agent with tenants)