Boronia Heights landlord recovers $2k after faulty reno dispute
A tribunal has ordered a Yarrabilba-based tradie to repay more than $2500 after defective flooring and garage locks were found at a Boronia Heights rental house.
A Logan-based sole trader has been ordered to repay $2665 after a landlord paid more than $30,000 for renovation works at their Boronia Heights rental property a small portion of which were found to be defective.
The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal heard that the landlord, Chiow Gek Inn, engaged Yarrabilba-based Harlem Jett Kanivatoa, trading as Trend Setter Interiors, to carry out renovations at the Lockerbie Court property.
Between June 2023 and January 2024, the landlord paid a series of deposits and invoices totalling $31,721.
The staged payments included $3000 for painting, $4000 for a kitchen deposit, $3500 for vinyl flooring, $5115 for painting, $4125 for further painting, $9914.50 for flooring, and more than $2000 for doorknobs and sundry works.
The Tribunal heard that some of the work was incomplete or defective, including vinyl plank flooring and garage locks.
To complete the job, the landlord engaged EZPZ Property Maintenance, which issued invoices between late February and March 2024 for flooring, installing a custom kitchen, and rectification of locks and fittings.
Tribunal Member Susan Burke found that while some of EZPZ’s work went beyond the original scope of Trend Setter Interiors, only $2665 in rectification costs could be directly attributed to defective work carried out by Kanivatoa.
On September 1, QCAT ordered Kanivatoa to pay that amount to the landlord on or before October 1.
The Tribunal also noted that no written contract was provided between the parties, and Kanivatoa did not submit any material in response to the landlord’s application.
As a result, the decision was based solely on the landlord’s material, including invoices, payment timelines, and a routine property inspection report.
Before-and-after photos of the property showed the condition of the home before rectification and after the remedial works were completed by EZPZ.
