Perth real estate agent Bronwyn Pollitt, Mavin Real Estate, loses her licence after ‘racist’ email to Indian tenants

An estate agent has been stripped of her license after sending a racist email to tenants comparing the cleanliness of Australians and Indians following a dispute over their bond.

The WA State Administrative Tribunal suspended Bronwyn Pollitt’s license for eight months from Friday, following the dispute two years ago.

The tribunal heard that Ms Pollitt, the director of Perth-based agency Mavin Real Estate, sent the email to former tenants Sandeep Kumar and Ritu Devi Sharma in May 2021 after cleaning fees were debited from their security deposits.

Mr Kumar and Ms Sharma lived in the house in Hocking, north Perth, and left in December 2020.

After the tenants left, Ms. Pollitt made a final inspection of the house and informed Mr. Kumar and Ms. Sharma that the owner did not agree that the bond should be released in full.

After months of ongoing discussions about the security deposit and cleaning fees, Ms. Pollitt sent tenants an email in May 2021 criticizing Indian culture.

“Following my conversation with Ritu about cleaning, I’ve been reflecting on the cultural differences and attitudes toward cleaning expressed by my Indian tenants,” Ms. Pollitt wrote.

‘Me and my English family have been in Australia for generations, going back to the first settlement.

“Our standard of living, our quality of life and our expectations are very different from the overcrowded, overcrowded, dirty squaller (sic) of many other countries, including India.

‘Therefore it is impossible to have a discussion about what is clean when I and most Australians have an expectation of what is clean and you talk as you normally would.

Me and most Australians have an expectation of what is clean and you talk like you used to.

“There is no comparison, there can be no discussion, because you are not used to our cultural way of life.

‘I as a white Australian believe that you and the others who come to Australia want to enjoy the beautiful way of life we ​​enjoy, clean, fresh air, jobs or if you can’t get a job, social support, medical care and no overcrowding .

“Hopefully, the massive influx of Indian people will not turn our beautiful country into the filth of India, where bodies lie in the streets, half-burnt bodies lie in the river and people climb over each other for medical attention.

‘While you live in absolute slums. However, it all starts with cleaning the rental properties and thinking about what you have left, and knowing that India will become Perth if you don’t change your attitude.’

Ms Pollitt said she hoped an influx of Indian people ‘will not turn the beautiful country into filth’

Ms. Pollitt said general cleaning costs after tenants are evicted is usually around $1,000. Obviously the dispute was over the $200 cleaning fee.

The agent had offered to pay the $200, but Mr. Kumar and Ms. Sharma declined the offer.

“And a white Australian expects them to move to an Australian standard clean, not an Indian standard clean,” Ms Pollitt continued in the email.

‘It would be different if we moved to India, we would have to accept the Indian standard.

“You are entitled to your culture as we are, and property cleaning cannot be reduced to fit another culture. I hire from many different cultures and they are expected to leave the premises completely clean.’

Ms Pollitt sent the couple an apology email a few weeks later in June 2021, saying she ‘never meant to be racist’.

“First of all, I apologize if you think I have been racist towards you. That was never my intention,” she wrote.

“I compared the incoming state report and photos to the way the property was returned, as it is for any tenant.

“After you left more than six months ago, you have both spoken out strongly about the process.

Every attempt to resolve the issues was an argument until I realized it was a result of the different points of view I tried to explain in my last email that are not racist, nor were they ever meant to be racist to be.

“(It was) simply the result of differences in culture and different life experiences of each party, meaning the situation is viewed through different lenses.”

The tribunal ruled that Ms Pollitt was under pressure at the time of the email as this was during the peak of the Covid pandemic prompting many changes to the rental rules.

Ms Pollitt has agreed to receive training and guidance and has made ‘internal changes’ to prevent a similar situation from happening again.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Pollitt for comment.