Curious details revealed after woman challenges $350 a week rental increase with tribunal

A woman who went viral for suing her landlord over a rent increase has stumbled across a new bombshell.

The woman who documented the dramatic fallout of her insane weekly rent increase by $350 has shared telling insight into her tribunal dispute and her decision to ultimately cut her losses and leave.

Chantelle Schmidt was living in a three-bedroom home in Redfern, in inner Sydney, when in February, she received a notice that her rent would jump by a staggering $350 per week, from $950 to $1300.

Ms Schmidt went viral on TikTok after posting about the increase, which she was told was “to bring rent in line with what the current market is achieving”.

She challenged the increase, but her landlord only agreed to reduce the increased rent by $50 a week, to $1250, which was still an enormous jump from the previous $950.

Chantelle Schmidt has revealed insight into a shift in price of a neighbouring property. Picture: TikTok/chantellecschmidt

So she took it to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), which rejected most of her claims and affirmed the new rent of $1250.

Ms Schmidt has since revealed curious details about the neighbouring property, which had the same landlord and property manager, and was identical to the one she and her housemate had been living in.

@chantellecschmidt Why have two houses online for $1300 when you can’t move the first one at $1200? 😂 #rentincrease#costofliving#rentalcrisis#movinghome♬ original sound - Chantelle Schmidt

After connecting with the tenant, who reached out after seeing her on TikTok, she learned his rent had gone up to the same new price of $1300 at the exact time hers did.

He decided against challenging the increase and opted to move out back in April, and since then, the home has sat empty and continued to be advertised for $1300 a week throughout Ms Schmidt’s tribunal proceedings.

Only once the proceedings had concluded did she notice the neighbouring property’s online rental ad had reduced in price to $1200 per week.

“I think they could have changed the price of next door earlier, but in my mind, they were probably waiting until after the tribunal was over to do that,” Ms Schmidt, who was moving to live with her mum, said.

She accepted the theory was only speculative but argued the “timing is interesting”.

While she was suspicious of the decision, she considered it unlikely a property manager would move the neighbouring property’s price during the tribunal.

“Because they’re going to use it as a comparable property, so why would they drop it?” she said.

Ms Schmidt was suspicious of the timing concerning the neighbouring home’s rent reduction. Picture: TikTok/chantellecschmidt

The neighbouring property was used as a point of reference in the tribunal’s decision, which Ms Schmidt read out in a previous TikTok video.

In part, it stated: “On the other hand, Miss [property manager] confidently asserted that the figure of $1300 pw was well within the market range for the area. She noted that an identical but vacant property next door was for rent at $1300. I accept that Miss [property manager] is well qualified to assess market rents in the area but her evidence must be somewhat discounted as she is the landlord’s agent”.

Ms Schmidt described the turn of events as “very interesting”, particularly concerning the drop in price of the neighbouring home a week after the tribunal.

“Seeing the property cheaper than what I’ve just been through the tribunal process to argue is a bit of a kick in the guts.”