A young couple were hit with a rent increase before being evicted from their home after asking their landlord to repair a defect in the property.
Faizan Ali and Emma Ronca moved into the property in Sydney’s northwest in December 2022.
When the couple first moved in, they noticed some minor damage to the wood floors, but they initially thought about it a lot.
However, the damage to the floorboards soon became worse and they asked the manager to have the problem fixed.
The couple claim a tradie was called to repair the damage and applied tape to keep the floorboards in place.
A Sydney couple (stock image) were told to leave their apartment by their landlord after reporting damage to the home’s floorboards to the property manager
The quick fix only made the problem worse before it became a major health hazard.
“There was water seeping through the bottom of the floorboard, it was ugly,” Mr Ali said realesate.com.au
“I slipped and cut myself, and I bled everywhere.”
Mr Ali said he had no choice but to mop up the water.
The damage was so bad that mold started growing in their living room.
The couple claims they sent several emails and made multiple phone calls to the property manager in an attempt to resolve the problem.
Mr Ali said more tradies passed by the apartment but refused to make repairs due to a sealing problem on the balcony.
While the couple was trying to resolve the issue, they were told their rent would increase from $850 to $920 per week.
The report came ten months after the tenants first reported the problem to the manager.
Mr Ali claimed the property manager told him he could leave if he didn’t like the decision to increase the rent.
He said he was willing to pay more once the damage to the floorboards was repaired.
‘This person was rude to me and shouted at me on the phone. All I asked was that next time you are in the area you could stop by the apartment and see what the problem looked like,” Mr Ali said.
The property manager increased the rent (stock image) before the lease was abruptly terminated
He was unhappy with the way the issue was handled and took his case to NSW Fair Trading and the Tenancy Union.
He also filed a case with the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal on January 24 after taking photographs of the damage and emails he sent to the property manager.
The next day, the property manager sent the couple an email informing them that their lease had been canceled and that they had less than 30 days to pack up and move out.
Mr Ali said the termination notice at the end of the lease claims the damage is now emergency repairs.
The couple is now looking for a new place to live and claims the property manager wanted to repair the damage while they were still living in the apartment.
Mr Ali said the couple always paid rent on time and took care of the property.
He said they have been treated unfairly and feel let down by the way their case was handled.
A spokesperson for the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal told Daily Mail Australia the tribunal does not comment on ongoing cases.