Pius asked his landlord for a rent discount after part of his North Bondi unit was deemed unusable. Their shocking response has sparked a bitter legal row
A tenant has taken legal action against his landlord after he was evicted when he asked for a discount because his apartment’s two balconies were deemed unusable.
Pius Binder revealed he and his housemates had asked for a rent reduction on their North Bondi flat in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Their request came after the balcony separated from the wall of their apartment building in October and was deemed unusable along with the second.
Mr Binder asked for a 40 percent reduction – which amounted to $364 per week – on his rent, but was given a reduction of only $50 per week.
Just days later, he and two other tenants faced immediate lease terminations under the ‘frustration clause’ of the Residential Tenancies Act.
Pius Binder says his landlord hit him and two other tenants with ‘retaliatory eviction’ after asking for a 40 percent rent reduction due to broken balconies at his apartment
The frustrated businessman has since taken the matter to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Mr Binder claimed in court documents that he only made the rent reduction request after the incident on the balcony last year.
“Two people were present the night before and they could have been injured,” he said in the documents.
“Luckily nothing happened.”
The balcony and a second one near the unit were deemed unusable by Christmas.
Tenants of the same apartment complex were also unable to use their balconies.
Mr Binder was one of many tenants who asked their landlord for a rent reduction under the law.
He claimed in documents that the landlord sent an eviction notice to him and two other tenants within days of the request.
The termination letter stated that because the balconies were deemed unsafe, the North Bondi property was made ‘partly uninhabitable’.
Mr Binder and the other tenant who invoked their legal right to a rent reduction claimed they were being targeted by retaliatory evictions.
Leo Patterson Ross, CEO of Tenants Union, said landlords could use safety hazards to claim their property was uninhabitable.
Businessman Pius Binder claims he was evicted from his North Bondi unit after invoking his legal right to a rent reduction for two broken balconies (pictured is the block of units)
However, this argument is void if the safety risk is caused by breach of contract by one of the parties, which includes adequate repairs to the property.
Mr Binder’s case will be heard at NCAT later this month.
He will have to prove that his landlord was at least partially motivated to give notice after he requested a rent reduction.
The action is defended by the other party.