Olivia was forced to use public bathrooms when her landlord refused to repair her toilet. What happened next will leave you fuming
A tenant has had a heated argument with her landlord after she stopped paying rent because he refused to fix her broken toilet.
Olivia had gone to public toilets after her landlord Damian ignored her emails about urgent repairs to her rental property.
After struggling with an unusable toilet for two months, the tenant decided not to pay her rent until the problem was resolved.
However, after deliberately falling three weeks behind on her rent, Olivia received an email from Damian with the subject line: “Time to go.”
“Olivia, pack your things and leave my house. You have 24 hours,” the landlord said in the email.
Confused, Olivia replied, “Dear Damian. Sorry, what? Why am I being asked to leave? How long until I can come back?”
The landlord indicated that she was three weeks late in paying the rent and that he therefore wanted her evicted from the property immediately.
“I want you to leave now, but since it’s late, tomorrow will do,” Damian said.
Tenant Olivia was forced to move after she stopped paying rent because her landlord refused to fix her broken toilet, forcing her to resort to public restrooms
After living with an unusable toilet for over two months, the tenant decided to withhold her rent until the problem was resolved, but Damian demanded that she leave immediately
Olivia didn’t give up and said she wouldn’t pay any more rent until the toilet was fixed.
“As I have previously emailed (which you have ignored)… This has been an issue for over two months, I have had to use public toilets all the time. I want this addressed,” she said.
However, Damian claimed that not paying the rent on time was a ‘breach of contract’ and that was why he wanted her ‘out tomorrow’.
After reviewing the lease, the tenant found a clause that “clearly stated” that maintenance of the plumbing in the property was the landlord’s responsibility.
“I’ll pay the rent as soon as the toilet is fixed,” Olivia said, to which Damian replied, “Okay, fine. If I fix the toilet, will you pay the rent? Okay, I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Excited by the update, Olivia replied, “That’s perfect! Thank you Damian. I’m at work but back at 5pm. Maybe someone can come over earlier?”
She never received a response from the landlord, assuming the toilet would be fixed by the time she got home from work.
Although the landlord had agreed to “fix” the toilet, Olivia was embarrassed when she walked into the bathroom the next evening and discovered the toilet was gone.
“I just came in and I saw this. I need an explanation for what is happening here, this is not okay,” the furious tenant said in an email.
The landlord agreed to fix the toilet, but while Olivia was working, Damien had other plans
Olivia was shocked when she came home from work the next day to find her toilet missing
The landlord responded, “I said I would fix the toilet problem. No toilet, no problem. Get off my property now.”
Olivia threatened to call the authorities, saying “removing essential services to force eviction” was illegal.
The ‘wild’ email exchange was re-shared via a video on social media by British property advisor Jack Rooke.
“I’m really speechless. I don’t understand (the landlord’s) thought process. He cuts off your nose to spite your face. He causes more damage to his property just to prove a point,” Jack said.
“I contacted Olivia after this. She said that although she had to move, the landlord had ultimately been convicted of attempted illegal eviction of a tenant. That meant he had to pay a hefty fine.”
Under NSW Fair Trading, if a tenant needs urgent repairs but cannot reach their landlord or agent, they can arrange for a repairman themselves and be reimbursed for the costs of up to $1,000.