Tenancy Tribunal case

[Bluecoat]

Tenants needed to get out of their property ASAP (were given 90-day notice). When they viewed the rental renovation was complete, and were advised major works (carpet, painting, new insulation) had been done and that anything that they were not happy with would be remedied on initial inspection. Tenants were happy with the house, two weeks later (had the opportunity to view it again) and entered a fixed-term tenancy for 1 year.
Move-in day was supposed to be on Sunday. They requested keys to be given early Thursday night. They went inside on Thursday/ Friday and advised house was not clean enough upstairs and the garage. Tenants moved some stuff on Saturday.
Folks attended to this on Friday night. The tenants voluntarily vacuumed the upstairs and garage. On Sunday folks arranged for the initial inspection. On the day they advised they were going out. Monday they emailed a 14-day remedy for a list of items. Folks arranged to meet and go through the list.
They were given 5 days of rent-free instead
Instead on Monday, they lodged a claim via tenancy services seeking exemplary damages under healthy homes, ventilation for kitchen and bathrooms - not in working condition and does not have an extractor fan. They would like to be released from the tenancy- claiming the house is moldy, has algae, and is prone to insects. (the house was just renovated) Granted curtains needed cleaning. We were advised they rented a brand new home for less than the current rent (the Place was an hour away)
total compensation claimed $9K including Exemplary Damages 7K
Move-in costs and Groceries - tenants claimed they couldn't cook food (due to the kitchen not being in cooking condition . The Stove was working, and the Rangehood was not extracted outside) which has since been remedial with new and extracted outside. This was at a huge cost to the Landlord as it required duct out over the Lintel pipes and electrical cables. Had copies of tradesmen who advised this should be exempted, despite this. The tenants advised they stayed in another similar house and had it done.
The hearing took place and the Adjudicator noted that all fans in the bathroom are in working condition (the kitchen has a new range and extraction outside)
The final claim by Tenants came down to 5K of compensation, releasing them of a year contract and 2 weeks of notice to vacate once they were ready to move out.
Tenants are now not responding to emails and texts for any work that needs to be done despite the adjudicator asking them to.
The windows and doors are never opened in their one month of tenancy and feel they are doing this deliberately to make their case.
What would be an ideal process we should go through to gain access to any work that is required and prepare for the tribunal?

[donna]

^^ what a nightmare- I’ve never heard of such a rort!

I wonder if they would have pulled such a stunt if there was a 3rd party - ie Property Manager?

regards

Donna

[Sanya]

Its an offence for tenants to deny access to the rental property for maintenance if proper notice of the same was served.

Apply for a Tenancy Tribunal order allowing entry.


In future, make sure prospective tenants have been given a copy of the healthy homes report and acknowledged receipt of the same as part of the application process.

As a matter of process, professional property managers generally also obtain acknowledgement of an pre-entry inspection report prior to move in as well.

This documentation is an effective counter to the dishonest scheming you've described.

[Engineer]

Thinking that you might want to get a written, factual report from a suitably qualified professional that states that the ventilation system in the bathroom and kitchen is in good working order and compliant. As I understand it, there’s an issue with exterior ventilation in the kitchen. Are you going to fix it or not? If you are, you need to come up with a reason why it has taken so long. If you are not, you need the report to state why, and that the fan will still do its job.

Good luck.

[Sanya]

The document was filled out advising it was Healthy Homes compliant. The rnagehood did not have exterior ducting and I understand if it was installed prior to 2019 it didnt need one unless replaced

So you don't have an independent healthy homes assessment report for the property and acknowledged receipt of the same by the tenant?

That leaves you vulnerable to rorts like this.

A report typically costs about $200 from a qualified person and they are worth it.

A qualified person can also document an exemption. For example if an installation poses a structure or water ingress risk an exemption can be justified.