Landlord, real estate agent call for inquiry into laws protecting owners from dodgy tenants

Two renters have been accused of rorting the court system to live rent free in a property in Derrimut.

Two “tenants from hell” who lived rent free in a Melbourne home for almost a year have been given their marching orders by the Supreme Court.

A real estate agent and a landlord are now calling for an inquiry to establish greater protections for landlords against dodgy tenants on the back of the decision.

Landlord Kevin Mulvahil told the Herald Sun outside court on Thursday he was glad to see the back of his tenants, who cannot be named.

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He claimed earlier they had “basically stolen” his Derrimut investment property after moving in last May.

Mr Mulvahil, an agriculture business owner, estimated he was $25,000 out of pocket in legal fees and unpaid rent. He said he was at his wits’ end after being hauled through the courts and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for the better part of a year.

He said the couple “knew the law so well” they were able to exploit the court process by seeking adjournments, stays and appeals to keep his and his agent’s hands tied so they couldn’t evict them.

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Derrimut landlord Kevin Mulvahil said he’d been dragged through the court system for a year by his dodgy tenants. Picture: Penny Stephens

“I can’t just go in (and throw them out). I’d like to go in and smash the place about, but I’m worried if I do the consequences will be far greater,” Mr Mulvahil said prior to Thursday’s hearing.

“I’ve had it for 10 years. I don’t have to sell it, but every time I think of the property it nearly puts me on the floor in the foetal position.

“This was going to be part of my superannuation for my retirement. Now I’m going to sell all four (of my investment properties) because I can’t go through this ever again.”

Matthew O’Brien, of Homes Group Estate Agents, also attended Thursday’s court hearing.

He told the Herald Sun the couple leased another property through his agency immediately prior to moving into Mr Mulvahil’s home, living there from March 2019 until they were evicted after a long legal battle in April 2020.

The pair only paid $11,299 in rent during that time, he said. And his client, who’d since sold the home due to financial troubles caused by the lease, was owed $15,016 in unpaid rent and had to fork out $6000 to clean the home after they left.

“There was rotting fast food and packets everywhere,” Mr O’Brien said.

He added the pair provided false references when they moved into the home, meaning background checks by the property manager failed to reveal anything untoward.

Mr Mulvahil said he dreaded to see what condition his property would be in once the pair vacated, and the council had already been forced to take action to trim overgrown grass and weeds.

“They blame COVID (for not being able to pay their rent), which I’m pretty sympathetic to.

But it’s not COVID when they’ve done the same thing to somebody else,” Mr Mulvahil said.

“I’m calling for a royal commission into VCAT and how they deal with landlords.”

He said greater protections were needed to safeguard landlords’ interests.

Judicial Registrar Martin Keith on Thursday rejected the couple’s application for a further stay on a warrant of possession granted to Mr Mulvahil by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Mr Keith told the court the pair had failed to comply with a previous order by the court to pay money owed to Mr Mulvahil.

Mr Keith said he had “no confidence” they would comply with the conditions of a further order.

He said while he understood the couple said they were experiencing financial hardship, they had ample opportunity to get their affairs in order after first being told to vacate by January.

Their inability to pay had also caused hardship for Mr Mulvahil, he said, and the pair had lived “rent free” at the home for almost a year.

“I can only encourage you to take immediate steps to make arrangements to vacate the premises,” Mr Keith said.

Mr Mulvahil told the court he’d been left in “extreme” financial and emotional distress.

Allowances needed to be made for tenants who couldn’t pay their rent due to financial hardship, he added outside court.

But courts should keep records of every application tenants made against landlords in order to identify patterns of behaviour and crack down on those gaming the system.

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