Sydney family will never rent again after nightmare experience with landlord
>
A Sydney family of four has revealed why they will never rent again after a series of ‘nightmare’ battles with their landlord.
Faye James, 47, and her husband Darrin, 55, have been forced to uproot their lives in North Curl Curl, on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, and move up the NSW coast after being charged a ‘ridiculous’ amount of rent by their landlord.
The family-of-four was paying $1,450 a week to live in a modern four-bedroom home, complete with a pool and just a short distance from the beach.
On February 2, real estate agents told the couple the owner’s circumstances had changed, and they planned to sell the home.
Faye James, 47, and her husband Darrin, 55, have been forced to uproot their lives in North Curl Curl, on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, and move up the coast after being charged a ‘ridiculous’ amount of rent by their landlord
The family-of-four was paying $1,450 a week to live in a modern four-bedroom home (pictured), complete with a pool and just a short distance from the beach. Pictured – a stock image of a house
Their lease would end on March 4, giving the couple just four weeks to find another property to move their two primary school-aged children and three cats into.
Ms James told Daily Mail Australia she wasted no time starting the painstaking process of finding a new property and began madly applying for properties.
A busy mother-of-two and a businesswoman, she spent every Wednesday and Saturday at inspections but struggled to find anything ‘decent’.
‘The kids were anxious, wondering what was happening and where they were going to live,’ Ms James said.
Just two weeks before their lease was due to end, the owner of the property had a change of heart and said the family could continue to live there.
The only catch – their rent would increase by $200, to $1,650 a week.
‘They knew we were desperate, so we were stuck with no option,’ Ms James said.
On February 2, the couple (pictured) were told the circumstances of the owner had changed and they planned to sell the home – a decision they would pull out of just two weeks later
Mould in the home damaged up to $5,000 worth of Ms James’ designer handbags and clothes (pictured, mould damage to one of her handbags)
The couple agreed ‘under duress’ to the increase but came to regret that decision after the NSW floods that wreaked havoc on hundreds of homes across the state ruined some of their most prized possessions.
Ms James said water that leaked into their garage damaged over $5,000 worth of expensive studio equipment, including camera lights and backdrops.
She said her precious collection of designer clothes and handbags were covered in mould, which also sprouted in her bathroom and her daughter’s bedroom.
She said the agent blamed the mould on the lack of ventilation in the home – which she rejects, saying the windows were always open.
The writer and nutritionist said she had asked her estate agents to fix the leak in the garage multiple times and had been promised it would be fixed.
‘Thankfully, we got some money back from the government flood relief, but the landlord should have reduced the rent, but they didn’t,’ she said.
Ms James said water that leaked into their garage damaged over $5,000 worth of expensive studio equipment, including camera lights and backdrops
She said the agent blamed the mould on the lack of ventilation in the home – which she rejects, saying the windows were open all the time (pictured, mould on a pair of her boots)
Now, the couple have tired of paying ‘ridiculous’ amounts of rent and have decided their money will be better spent paying off a mortgage.
‘We were sick of piling money into our landlord’s pocket,’ Ms James said.
The family bought a home up the NSW coastline where it is ‘much cheaper’ and have given the real estate agency eight weeks notice.
The family bought a home up the NSW coastline where it is ‘much cheaper’ and have given the real estate agency eight weeks notice
Ms James said they even found a family who were looking at moving into the area and have viewed the property and said they would takeover the lease.
She then asked her landlord if they would be kind enough to waive the break lease fee worth two weeks rent ($3,300) – as a gesture of goodwill, but she refused.
Ms James said they are good tenants and had never not paid rent – explaining she had saved the owner money on marketing fees by finding a replacement.
She said she and her husband own an investment property in Queensland and would never treat their tenants like they had been treated.
Pictured is mould growing on the ceiling of the bathroom of their rental property
Now, the couple (pictured) have tired of paying ‘ridiculous’ amounts of rent and have decided their money will be better spent paying off a mortgage
‘It’s been an absolute nightmare,’ she told Daily Mail Australia, adding her two children would be forced to move schools to a completely new area.
The couple have now set their sights on the rental tribunal and will begin to prepare a case to recoup losses on the mould and damaged goods – and highlight the fact they were asked to pay $200 a week ‘under duress’.
‘What upsets me is that we were lucky enough to move somewhere,’ Ms James said.
‘It’s not in the area we want to be, but we could be stuck with these landlords that take advantage of people’s situations’.
Ms James is glad to be leaving the renting world behind and is looking forward to the independence of a mortgage: ‘At least we have security now’.
In a statement provided by Schwarz Real Estate, the property manager for the family’s former rental, a spokeswoman said ‘there was no garage at the property and no leak’.
‘It is an open carport and water entered during unprecedented weather events.’
She said the landlord was not liable for any of the damages, which she said was explained to Ms James, and was clearly stated in the residential tenancy agreement.
‘Mould on personal belongings is also not a landlords responsibility, this could be claimed under tenants content insurance, assuming they did not have this,’ the spokeswoman continued.
‘Lastly, the bathroom is equipped with an exhaust fan.’
The price of everything in Australia is going up including rent – here’s what to do next time your landlord flags another rise
BY PADRAIG COLLINS FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
New research by analysts Compare the Market has found 49 per cent of renters in Australia had their rent increased in the past 12 months, leading many to fear how high the next rent rise will be.
The good news is tenants have legislated protections, though they vary depending on which state or territory you live in.
But it’s an owners’ market at the moment and rent, like everything else, is going up.
Tenants have legislated protections in Australia, though they vary by which state or territory you live in (stock photo)
The national vacancy rate for rental properties is just 1.1 per cent of all properties. In regional areas, the vacancy rate is below 1 per cent. Pictured is a house for lease in Melbourne
Almost half of renters in Australia had their rent increased in the past 12 months (stock photo)
About 41 per cent of all renters said it affected their ability to save, including for a deposit to buy a property of their own.
Rental increases deemed ‘excessive’ are different in each location, but generally, rental bodies deem increases to be excessive if they are too different from similar market rents, if there’s a sizeable difference compared to the current rent, or if the property has outstanding repairs needed.
The national vacancy rate for rental properties is just 1.1 per cent of all properties. In regional areas, the vacancy rate is below 1 per cent.
Compare the Market’s Chris Ford said it is a very tough market for struggling renters.
‘Right now, there simply aren’t enough rentals available,’ he said.
‘Too much demand and not enough supply are among several factors that are pushing prices up, which means low-income renters are the ones who’ll struggle the most.
‘An inability to save puts home ownership further out-of-reach for people who wish to break free of the rental system.’
‘Right now, there simply aren’t enough rentals available,’ he said.
‘Too much demand and not enough supply are among several factors that are pushing prices up, which means low-income renters are the ones who’ll struggle the most.
‘An inability to save puts home ownership further out-of-reach for people who wish to break free of the rental system.’
Mr Ford said while it’s mostly people with a mortgage who will be hit the hardest by rising interest rates, tenants could be hit by landlords recouping costs by increasing their rents.
‘We’re still very much in a landlord’s market at the moment, and we’ve already seen rents on the rise over the past 12 months due to increased competition in tightening markets.