for all you landlords out there

[teresa]

we moved interstate in jan last year. anyway we went back to Adelaide last weekend and did an inspection of our house to check on how it was going. plus our accountant said that we claim one persons flight in our tax this year if we do an inspection of the property as we can claim it on tax itms.

anyway we got to the property and the tenant was home. first time meeting them. not an issue at all. did an inspection of the property and was not impressed with how the tenants are keeping the backyard. plus you would have thought that if the landlords were coming, even the property manager, you would want your house to be clean right? well the house hadn't been mopped or vacuumed (no biggie really) but in the main toilet there was faeces all over the toilet and floor. not a good look! the walls had dirt streaked over them too in some places.

outside they had this big dog (we were ok with dogs being there). the dog started having a go at DS through the screen door causing DS to freak out and start screaming! the dog hadn't even been chained up for the inspection! I stayed inside while DH and the property manager went outside. in the march of 2011 we put up a new outdoor verandah with new fluoro lights. anyway all the lights were smashed and the covers sitting on the ground broken. we had also put in 2 5000L rain water tanks prior to leaving. one had shifted and wasn't even getting any water overflow from the other one (tenants neglected to let PM know), the back lawn was dead, holes everywhere from dog digging. overall DH was not happy about state of back yard. he does think tho that they are keeping inside clean so outside doesn't matter too much.

my honest opinion is I am not happy with the state of things. i am not overall happy with the tenants anyway as they think paying rent is optional ( yeah seriously i have a child in daycare, paying rent, mortgage, kinda need that money). the rent money doesn't even cover the mortgage repayment. we fall short by a few hundred dollars. so yeah that money comes in handy.

i haven't spoken to the PM yet. have no idea what to say.

anyone else have issues with their tenants? i know some people aren't gardening people, but you would at least expect someone to look after the garden right?

[black_rose]

Check your rental agreement, it could have that they have to look after the back yard and they need to pay for the repair of the lights too, they don't sound like good tenants at all!

[teresa]

thanks black_rose! no I don't think they are. they are now 3 weeks behind in rent again, plus they also owe us for 2 previous water bills. we pay for supply, they just need to pay for usage. whenever they request a repair we always get it done immediately so there is never a delay. I think we are good landlords! might call the PM in the morning and have a chat with her too.

[Teeki]

Wow, that sounds awful! If the house comes with a yard, the tenants are either expected to look after it, pay someone to look after it, or their rent is increased to cover the cost of a gardener. In any case, I expect our tenants to look after the place as if they owned it, it is their home while they're there after all.

I've been quite lucky, never any of the issues you've described even with them having a large dog there. When we went to inspect the plumbing they took the dog for a walk. It was a kind of late notice inspection but the place was neat. The front and back yards look better now than when we lived there!

If I were you I'd be complaining about the general condition of the place, especially the toilet, and give them until the next pm inspection to have the back yard back in order.

[Trillian]

You really need to talk to them and get some things sorted out quickly! I wouldn't tolerate that. I wouldn't care if they weren't green thumbs or anything, but it sounds like they have just been totally inattentive and actually destructive. Even though the house may be OK inside, the outside is just as important. If they left tomorrow and you had to get new tenants in, it's going to be even harder with the yard looking the way it does kwim? It's still something you are going to have to fix that you shouldn't even have to fix.

[Amity]

I'd look at giving them a notice to vacate for no reason. I think in Victoria it's a 90 or 120 day notice. And then have a barney about what needs fixing.

But before I did that, I'd ensure that there was actually a "market" for the property - is it easy to let? In a good area? Will people be interested? How long will the place be vacant, and is it worth kicking out (non-paying) tenants for the possibility of paying tenants?

[~clover~]

Is your house being inspected by the PM regularly? If not maybe its time to start 3 monthly inspections? You have the right to send out a list of things you want done for the next inspection. You can ask for the floors to be mopped etc & the toilet to be cleaned. You also have the right to ask that the holes in the yard be filled in & anything else to be fixed.

Personally if the dog is a risk to people, they should tie him up, but as it is their home, they likely have him there to protect the yard, so he really was just doing his job (I had to lock my dog up for repairs etc to be done for that reason).

You also can ask that the arrears in rent be paid up within a certain amount of time (not sure legally how much time you need to give), & if it doesn't happen they have broken the contract & you can terminate the lease.

Your PM should know all the legalities & should do all this for you. I definetely recommend regular inspections. At least every 6 months. I've never been a LL, but I've rented for about 12 years, & it definetely keeps me in line. I do get slack sometimes with the lawns etc (not easy with noone else around to do it ). It also gets me doing things I wouldn't usually do, like cleaning walls & skirting boards.

ETA - My house was inspected while I was away for 2 months. There were things that needed doing (it was dusty, needed vaccing & mopping, & the yard needed mowing. All just because I wasn't here to do it), they did another inspection 4 weeks later to make sure it was all done. A little bit tough IMO, since they knew I was away & had no control over that stuff, but I assume that means you have the right to do a follow up inspection in less that 3 months (thats in WA. All my rentals before now were NSW & most other rules are the same).

[Joeve]

We have had a few rental properties and I always found the ones that had previously been our home the hardest. Because it's a bit emotional and not just financial.
I think you need to state your concerns and have them convey to your tenants key points. I am curious about the feedback from the real estate on the property condition
We have a rental at the moment that is treated quite badly however, financially we are not ready to spend money on it so the tenants stay. It still erks me that they don't look after things.

[teresa]

thank you ladies! I was starting to think I was being unreasonable in what I was thinking!

the only reason we are renting our house out is due to DH relocating for work (he is in the RAAF and we didn't want to sell as we want to go back eventually).

[teresa]

they have 3 monthly inspections and we get a report and photos. but the outside has never really been mentioned nor has photos been given either.

the rainwater tanks are hooked up to a sprinkler system for the backyard which we put in to help water the lawn especially during the water restrictions.

[Traveller]

I'd be requesting action over the yard and the non payment of rent before kicking them out. Approach the PM and state your concerns and see what they can come up with. You can ask for the property to be cleaned before you inspect but he prepared that your idea of clean and theirs may differ dramatically.

Not chaining up a dog is a non issue, I wouldn't chain mine up. However I would move him into another room during an inspection just to be polite but I don't actually have anywhere he could be chained up and maybe they don't either. Sorry to be blunt but your child being afraid of their dog is not really a big problem (for them). They have the right as tenants to expect an inspection will be done by adults and no kids will be brought uninvited into their home, which it is for the duration of their tenancy. I say this as both a tenant in the past and as a landlord now. I would not take my kids with me to inspect a property.

[Kazzo]

I would be giving notice to them.

We recently moved out of our house and kept it as a rental. We gave the tenants the option of having the lawn/gardening taken care of every fortnight over summer/spring and every month in winter/autumn for $10 a week added to the rent or they had to to the up keep themselves to a set out standard. They are doing it themselves and so far doing a great job. Might be an option you can have if you get new tenents in or give to these tenents if you don't evict them.

[teresa]

we took our son to the inspection as we had no one at that time of day who could look after him for the half hour needed. plus if someone was coming to my house for what ever reason, I always chain my dogs up out of respect for others.

[sangie]

they have 3 monthly inspections and we get a report and photos. but the outside has never really been mentioned nor has photos been given either.

Sounds like your property manager may not be doing their job properly. I'd have a serious chat to them about your expectations and if they can't meet them then it may be time for a new PM.
I'm not sure how it works outside of VIC, but I'd start court proceedings to evict them now if you are legally able to do so. These things can take weeks and better to get the ball rolling sooner rather than later. To be honest I wouldn't be too worried about cleanliness but more about anything they have damaged (yeah its disgusting if its not cleaned but a pretty easy fix once they've moved out). They should definitely be held accountable for the broken lights and the holes in the yard etc.

[Peace]

Wow how disappointing for you. It sounds like the Property Manager isn't doing his/her job properly. The entire property should be inspected at routine inspections, not just the inside. Letting them get behind on rent repeatedly is unacceptable too. If I were in your shoes, I would address these concerns with the PM and request that the tenants be served a termination order on the grounds of unpaid rent. Then I would change agencies. Your paying your current agency to manage the lease on your property, and they just aren't up to scratch by the sounds of it.

[teresa]

I have had a chat about the rent being behind repeatedly. from what I can understand they have to be 30 days behind before the PM can start proceedings to take them to the tribunal. but when they start that the tenants pay some rent. so the 30 day count starts again. will be calling the PM tomorrow and having a good chat about things.

thank you everyone!

[chody47]

I wouldn't just be concerned with the outside. The state of the bathroom makes me think they're not caring for the inside well either. I don't think it's a coincidence they didn't vacuum or mop for the inspection....I wouldn't be surprised if they never do!

If that were my rental I'd be wanting them out sooner rather than later. If they were paying rent consistently is consider giving them a chance to rectify things, but since they're not I think out is the way to go.

[Marley&Me]

Wow, that is unacceptable. We are still renting and I have seen the state of some houses in open for inspections. One house smelled of human urine. The house we are in now was actually pretty dirty. I was cleaning for days. It's usually in the lease terms that you maintain the gardens, so they should be looking after that. Sounds like the PM is a bit slack too.

I'd look at giving them a notice to vacate for no reason. I think in Victoria it's a 90 or 120 day notice. And then have a barney about what needs fixing

Divvy, do you know if if a notice to vacate for no reason is usually because the landlord doesn't like the tenants. We have never met our landlord, but we have just been served with one of these 'no reason' vacate notices. We have been late with rent twice in 2 years but never more than 5 days. We have kept this place in excellent condition, so we are confused.