An aggrieved tenant has described the shocking moment when she discovered that the landlord was secretly using their kitchen, bathroom and laundry room when no one was home.
Tahlia Smith thought she and her husband had found the perfect rental property when they first moved to Sydney from Brisbane and believed they were doing the right thing by going through a reputable estate agent.
The unit was cheap, fully furnished and close to the CBD.
The couple endured every tenant’s worst nightmare and left as soon as they discovered that the owner had snuck into their home without their knowledge.
Mrs. Smith broke up the ordeal TikTok hoping that other tenants are not so naive and can learn from her experience.
“We lived in an apartment and the owner lived in the van parked outside the property,” she began.
Tahlia and her husband thought they were doing the right thing when they first found a rental property in Sydney (stock image for rental properties in Sydney)
“When you leave, she uses our bathroom, the kitchen, and she uses our laundry and I don’t know what else, without us knowing.”
“And the real estate somehow allowed this.”
“We thought we were doing the right thing because we were going through a legit, well-known property. We thought we were doing everything right.’
There were red flags from the day the couple picked up the keys to move in.
They arrived at their new home and the screen door was locked but the front door was open, which Mrs. Smith thought was very odd.
“The place smelled like it had just been cleaned about 10 minutes earlier,” she said.
“The fan was on, the lights were on, and the back door was unlocked.”
“I knew it hadn’t been like this earlier in the day because the broker had just done the entry report.”
Bananas and canned food were found in the kitchen.
“It was all very strange and there was a cat that kept trying to get into the unit,” she added.
Tahlia Smith (pictured) was shocked to find her landlord entering their unit while they were away
Ms Smith and her partner ignored it until they started noticing a woman coming into their front yard with her dog and going through the mail and rubbish bins.
They had met all the tenants, so they knew the woman was not one of them.
The last straw was when Mrs. Smith worked from home one day found the woman sitting at the table and chairs in their front yard having a cup of tea with a friend.
She contacted the property, who tried to reassure Mrs. Smith that everything was fine and that the landlord would be moving to Queensland soon.
The answer shocked Mrs. Smith.
‘That is not good! Why is she here? Why does she live in a van for free and use our stuff?’ she remembered.
The couple broke the lease and vowed never to use that property again, which Mrs. Smith preferred not to mention.
In NSW, a landlord, agent or other authorized person acting on behalf of the owner can generally only enter the property without the tenant’s permission if they give the tenant notice.
Tenants are entitled to reasonable rest, comfort and privacy when renting NSW fair trade website state.
“The law limits when and how often landlords, estate agents or their authorized persons may enter the property while it is rented.”
Mrs. Smith hopes other tenants will learn from her nightmare (stock image of potential tenants at a rent inspection)
Tahlia Smith (pictured) was furious when she learned the real estate agent knew what the landlord was doing
Ms. Smith’s rental nightmare shocked viewers on TikTok.
“This is madness, are you kidding me?!! I’m so glad you got out of there!’ one noted
Another one: “Holy f***.”
Another asked if they had complained to the authorities and if they were being compensated for breaking the lease.
“We just asked to break the rent without penalty, the estate agent agreed and we left as soon as possible. Wasn’t worth the legal battle, but we would have won,” Ms Smith replied.