State MP Danielle Green in VCAT stoush over rent, property damage

A state Labor MP, who is accused of skipping rent multiple times and leaving a property damaged, says her landlords “loved” having her as a tenant.

A state Labor MP has been accused of skipping rent and leaving a property damaged, in a legal spat with her former landlords.

Danielle Green, who earns at least $158,555 a year, is set to face the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, where the owners of the Diamond Creek property plan to fight to keep her $2955 bond to cover the repair bill.

The tribunal case file details the landlords are claiming “costs for damage to property during tenancy including damage to carpets and garden works”. It states they need the bond to return the property to a “reasonable condition”.

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The owners are also seeking rent for the two days Ms Green and her partner, Michael McDonald, were late last month in returning the keys at the end of the lease.

Yan Yean state Labor MP Danielle Green and her partner, Michael McDonald, had rented the Mitchell St property for two years. Picture: AAP

Ms Green denies she left the property in such a state.

“I completely reject these claims and will be fighting them vigorously through the VCAT process,” the member for Yan Yean told the Sunday Herald Sun in a statement on Saturday.

Ms Green and Mr McDonald had rented the Mitchell St property for two years. The landlords chose not to renew the lease when it expired on January 13, issuing a notice to vacate.

The case file details the landlords also want costs for a “rent dishonour fee”. Sources have told the Sunday Herald Sun the couple were late paying rent four times throughout the tenancy.

Agent condition reports also revealed the property was not being regularly maintained, the source said.

“There are stains all over the carpet where a dog had urinated. It also chewed out all the irrigation pipe in the garden,” they said.

When contacted last month, Ms Green said allegations she had been evicted were “absolutely not true”. “I have not been evicted. We gave notice. It’s the end of the lease and we moved,” she said.

State MP Danielle Green denies damage to the Diamond Creek home. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

She and Mr McDonald had decided to move to a property closer to a train station because he was in ill health and could no longer drive.

She even went as far as to say the landlords “loved” them as tenants and wanted them to stay in the property.

The application to VCAT had not been filed at that stage.

The Sunday Herald Sun contacted the landlords but they did not wish to comment.

Ray White in Plenty, the agent who has made the application to VCAT on behalf of the landlords, would also not comment. The hearing is expected later this month.

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