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Delinquent tenants put state's landlords in red
DISGRACE: Part of a damage bill of $20,641 left by a 60-year-old woman in a Shepparton townhouse. Source: The Courier-Mail
RECKLESS tenants are running riot in Queensland rental properties, costing some landlords tens of thousands of dollars in repairs.
Shocking cases fielded by the nation's biggest tenant database, TICA, revealed instances where houses were strewn with rubbish, walls and ceilings were left with gaping holes and marijuana was found growing in rooms.
Agents inspecting newly vacated rental properties also found washing machines, fridges, window furnishings and even an entire kitchen missing.
One tenant repeatedly threw a ball dipped in faeces at the ceiling.
TICA managing director Philip Nonnis said about three million Australian renters at some time had bad records for incurring damage or refusing to pay rent.
"It's malicious, it's vindictive, it's just terrible and no landlord should have to put up with it," he said.
"What's frightening is these people are now living in someone else's house."
Mr Nonnis said many mum and dad investors ended up selling their badly damaged rental properties rather than fixing them.
"We've known many a time where they've sold a property for substantially less than what they've paid for it," he said.
The State Government introduced tenancy legislation in 2003, with other states following, to create a national "black list" naming people who breached tenancy agreements, which stands for seven years.
Tenants can apply to the Queensland Civil Administrative Tribunal to be removed from the list if they consider it unfair or if it prevents them from renting another property.
But Mr Nonnis said magistrates were too lenient and delisted bad tenants even if they still owed landlords money.
He cited a recent case in which a tenant owed $6000 in rental debt and damages.
"The tribunal allowed the tenant to pay that off at $20 a week, with no interest, but ordered that the tenant's name be removed from the database," he said.
"So a landlord is going to end up taking on a tenant not knowing that the tenant owes another landlord $6000.
"The scales of justice are so unevenly balanced in a tenant's favour."
Real Estate Institute of Queensland managing director Dan Molloy agreed there were "settling-in problems" with QCAT, which took over from the Small Claims Tribunal last December.
Mr Molloy said agents had also highlighted a loophole in the laws because a person could only be blacklisted once a lease had terminated.
"They might have damaged the first property and in the time it's taken the first agent to pursue that through the tribunal, they've moved on to another property and could be doing the same thing again," he said.
But Mr Molloy said most tenants "do the right thing".
- Koren Helbig
- From: The Courier-Mail
- October 31, 2010 8:16PM
DISGRACE: Part of a damage bill of $20,641 left by a 60-year-old woman in a Shepparton townhouse. Source: The Courier-Mail
RECKLESS tenants are running riot in Queensland rental properties, costing some landlords tens of thousands of dollars in repairs.
Shocking cases fielded by the nation's biggest tenant database, TICA, revealed instances where houses were strewn with rubbish, walls and ceilings were left with gaping holes and marijuana was found growing in rooms.
Agents inspecting newly vacated rental properties also found washing machines, fridges, window furnishings and even an entire kitchen missing.
One tenant repeatedly threw a ball dipped in faeces at the ceiling.
TICA managing director Philip Nonnis said about three million Australian renters at some time had bad records for incurring damage or refusing to pay rent.
"It's malicious, it's vindictive, it's just terrible and no landlord should have to put up with it," he said.
"What's frightening is these people are now living in someone else's house."
Mr Nonnis said many mum and dad investors ended up selling their badly damaged rental properties rather than fixing them.
"We've known many a time where they've sold a property for substantially less than what they've paid for it," he said.
The State Government introduced tenancy legislation in 2003, with other states following, to create a national "black list" naming people who breached tenancy agreements, which stands for seven years.
Tenants can apply to the Queensland Civil Administrative Tribunal to be removed from the list if they consider it unfair or if it prevents them from renting another property.
But Mr Nonnis said magistrates were too lenient and delisted bad tenants even if they still owed landlords money.
He cited a recent case in which a tenant owed $6000 in rental debt and damages.
"The tribunal allowed the tenant to pay that off at $20 a week, with no interest, but ordered that the tenant's name be removed from the database," he said.
"So a landlord is going to end up taking on a tenant not knowing that the tenant owes another landlord $6000.
"The scales of justice are so unevenly balanced in a tenant's favour."
Real Estate Institute of Queensland managing director Dan Molloy agreed there were "settling-in problems" with QCAT, which took over from the Small Claims Tribunal last December.
Mr Molloy said agents had also highlighted a loophole in the laws because a person could only be blacklisted once a lease had terminated.
"They might have damaged the first property and in the time it's taken the first agent to pursue that through the tribunal, they've moved on to another property and could be doing the same thing again," he said.
But Mr Molloy said most tenants "do the right thing".
