‘Eviction season’: Real estate’s Christmas email warns renters to ‘pay your rent on time’

Renters are fuming at a “rude and patronising” warning sent out by a property manager this week - but others don’t see an issue.

Renters are fuming at a “rude and patronising” email sent out by an estate agent this week, which warned tenants the holiday period was colloquially known as “eviction season” to property managers.

The email warns tenants to not overspend during the summer break and advises them in bold to “pay your rent on time, every time!”

Agents from a branch of Professionals’ Property Management Department - which has branches all over Australia - said they find evicting tenants “very unpleasant for everyone concerned”, claiming “we all enjoy our Christmases much less because of it”.

Many felt the email was condescending and an insult to the millions of Aussie renters struggling to keep up with the sudden surge in costs. Many renting in capital cities have found their yearly rent increase by thousands in a few short months, forcing those without paid off properties to seriously rethink their budgets.

Professionals CEO Katherine Gonzalaz-Cork told news.com.au the email was sent by an independent office in Taylor Lakes, Victoria and was not endorsed by the entire company.

Images of the email sparked a heated debate online.

“I think people are missing the point of how wrong this is,” one person wrote under a picture of the email posted to Don’t Rent Me, a Facebook group with over 70,000 members.

“Tenants don’t need reminding. They are grown adults. Imagine people struggling to even put damn food on the table, let alone spend the money to buy gifts for their kids to then be reminded hey, we don’t care about anything else in your life, but make sure your landlord is paid because poor them’.”

“Rent, electricity and food should always come first. Unless there are medical needs obviously. Then presents if you have the money to do so. But I find this quite patronising and rude,” another wrote.

But others thought there was nothing wrong with the email.

The email has sparked debate online.

It tells tenants to get ready for “eviction season”.

“I don’t see an issue with that. It’s putting it bluntly cause some people don’t prioritise money effectively,” one person replied.

“I really don’t see this as an issue, some people aren’t great with their finances and spend money without thinking twice. Sometimes a little reminder is all they need to stay on track,” another said.

In a statement provided to news.com.au, CEO Ms Gonzalaz-Cork said: “The content was not endorsed by me or the Board of Professionals and does not represent our company’s expectations of communication with our property renters,”

“On behalf of the Professionals, I wish to apologise to the recipients of the email.”

Some Australians being hit hardest by the cost of living crisis say they’re planning to leave real estate agents behind and live life on the road out of necessity. Rental prices are tipped to continue to increase across Australia throughout next year, as housing availability plummets.

The steepest increase is forecast for Perth, where rents are expected to climb by an average of 9.5 per cent, according to comparison website Finder.

It means the average minimum household income required to afford renting a house in Perth will be just over $108,000 or almost $95,000 for a unit.

Hobart is tipped to experience the smallest increase, with an average rise of three per cent.

It means the average minimum household income needed to rent a house will be $98,000 or $84,000 for a unit.

Finder’s head of consumer research Graham Cooke said Australians with a mortgage were not the only ones strapped for cash.

“Finder’s Consumer Sentiment Tracker shows 42 per cent of renters are currently struggling to pay their rent, which is higher than the 37 per cent of mortgage holders in the same position,” he said.

“Much of the conversation around rate rises focuses on homeowners, but it’s actually renters who are proportionally feeling the impact more, as they deal with flow-on rent increases.

“Further rent increases won’t be welcome news for those struggling.”

Professionals Property Management Department has been contacted for comment.