A young tenant who was slammed with a $350-a-week rent increase is taking her fight to court after her landlord refused to negotiate the rate increase.
Chantelle Schmidt, a writer from Redfern, a Sydney suburb, received an email from her landlord in February advising her to increase her rent from $1,900 to $2,600 every two weeks.
Mrs. Schmidt has a monthly contract, which means that the landlord can raise her rent at any time without limit.
The frustrated Sydneysider tried to negotiate the “aggressive” increase of nearly 37 percent with her landlord and estate agent, only to be told “we won’t budge.”
Ms Schmidt shared an update on her rental crisis in a TikTok video on Saturday, telling her followers she was taking the matter to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Chantelle Schmidt (pictured) received an email from her landlord advising that her fortnightly rent would increase from $1,900 to $2,600
“We were actually trying to negotiate with the landlord and real estate agent and just trying to find a happy median or middle ground that wasn’t as aggressive as $350 a week,” Ms. Schmidt said.
“Essentially, we were told this was non-negotiable. Obviously as a household we panicked. We had to sit down and talk about our limited options in this market.
“Because the realtor and landlord had said ‘we’re not going to budge on this $350 a week figure’… after much deliberation we decide we need to take this to court.”
The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal is an independent body that hears and decides disputes between tenants and landlords.
The tribunal may adjudicate on disputes, including security deposit payments, rent increases, unpaid rent, termination of lease, damages, repairs and other violations of the residential tenancy agreement.
Ms Schmidt said she was hesitant to take the matter to court, but she is confident it will be resolved.
“Actually, it was very stressful at first, like no one wants to go down this road,” Ms. Schmidt said.
“We’ve tried not to, but right now we feel really confident and really good about taking this to court. So, fingers crossed.’
The writer (pictured), who is based in Redfern, a suburb in southern Sydney, is challenging the $350-a-week rent increase at the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal
The video has received more than 2,900 comments, many praising Ms Schmidt for taking the case to the tribunal.
Good on you for fighting the good fight! Give ’em hell,” one wrote.
“Landlord here. You’re right. If the landlord can’t come up with an extra $18,000 a year, how does he expect you to? Good luck,’ remarked another.
A third agreed: “That is absolutely insane. Pure greed. That’s why we need rental limits in Australia. There is no tenant protection. Good on you for fighting it!’
“It’s very amicable that you’re taking it to court and good luck,” a fourth added.
In another video, Ms. Schmidt shared a message she received from one of her followers claiming to be experiencing a rent increase with striking similarities.
The anonymous tenant said they lived in the same suburb as Ms. Schmidt and their rent was also increased to $2,600 a fortnight.
Ms Schmidt said it was “wild” when the couple found out they shared the same property manager.
It comes as Australia is grappling with a rental crunch with national vacancy rates remaining at an all-time low of 1 percent in February, according to SQM Research.
It comes as the country’s rental vacancy rate remained at a low of 1 percent in February (pictured shows tenants lining up for an open house)
In the past 28 days to March 12, asking rents in the capital rose another 2.6 percent, up 21.4 percent in 12 months, according to SQM Research.
The national median weekly rent for a home is recorded at $567 per week, while Sydney records the highest weekly rent for a home at $936 per week.
Adelaide units offered the best rent of any capital city at $406 per week.
Weekly rents in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Darwin rose to $561, $600, $594 and $555 respectively.
While the average asking price for weekly rentals in Canberra and Hobart fell to $655 and $522.