Tenants with ‘no intentions of moving out’ leaves Melbourne landlord helpless

A Melbourne landlord, who has a medical condition, is calling for landlords to be treated better after VCAT threw out her case.

A landlord is feeling helpess after a tribunal ruled in favour of tenants who won’t vacate her property which she wishes to sell for health reasons.

The landlord, who can’t be named for legal reasons, is a ‘rentvestor’ – someone who purchases an investment property in a suburb they can afford, while renting in another location.

However in this woman’s case, she was forced to move out of her home 72km away from Melbourne into a rental apartment to be closer to her job.

Now the 37-year-old wants to sell her investment property because she has a medical condition that requires her gallbladder to be removed in a high-risk surgery.

She said selling the home will help her afford a slightly bigger home, closer to work, that will enable a carer to live with her post-surgery.

“I need funds to buy another home closer to my workplace. If visitors or friends look after me after my surgery, it will give me some space for them, so that I can live with peace and stability,” she told news.com.au.

“My current place is a one-bedroom apartment, so I can’t get another person to stay overnight.”

The landlord wants to sell her property so she could buy a home that’s suitable for her recovery post-surgery. Picture: Aaron Francis/NCA NewsWire

Despite issuing her renters a notice to vacate the property and attending the property with an agent last August to notify them they would be required to leave, the landlord claims the rent-paying tenants are yet to vacate the home and have “no intentions of moving out”.

Consequently, the landlord took the case to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) this year, however her case was thrown out on the basis that the “grounds relied upon for the application have not been proved”.

In Victoria, landlords must provide tenants who are on a periodic lease agreement with 60 days’ written notice stating they have intentions of selling the property.

The landlord sent the notice on August 17, last year with the tenants expected to leave by October 24, however this did not happen with the tenants remaining in the house.

“Last year in August my previous agent sent the documents (with) Australia Post, took photos and put everything in an envelope,” the landlord said.

“The tenants said to (the tribunal) they didn’t receive the sales contract and they didn’t know that I would sell my house.

“I don’t know why the court procedure is so tough for the landlord.”

Now the landlord has to wait for at least another six months for her case to be reheard with the support of a different real estate agent.

The landlord tried to come to a compromise by increasing the rent to market price so her tenants could stay in the home at a rate the healthcare worker could afford, however this also failed with the tenants allegedly getting Consumer Affairs involved.

The landlord’s lease agreement for the property she’s renting is close to ending and she fears she’ll be unable to afford the next rental contract.

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The landlord’s hopes of selling her home are fading, with her tenants showing no signs of moving out. Picture: iStock

The landlord now feels powerless and is unsure about what more she can do. She also fears if she stays without her surgery any longer, her health will simply deteriorate.

“With my current rent going up, I’m facing a lot of uncertainty and challenges as well,” she said.

“I don’t want to hold up my medical treatment for too long, it could develop into life-threatening status.”

The landlord is now using her story to call on the government to revise how situations like hers are regulated so the outcome is fair for both landlords and tenants.

“It’s so unfair … especially if you have a medical condition, it can be a nightmare,” she claimed.

Her story comes after news.com.au reported on a rise in “rogue renters” taking advantage of VCAT’s case backlog to stay in rental properties rent-free for extended periods of time.

Wayne Tseng lost over $16,000 to rogue renters and is now advocating for change.

Landlords say current legislation favours tenants, and is unfair to landlords.

President of the Chinese Precinct Chamber of Commerce, Wayne Tseng, lost $16,000 in rent and almost had his home repossessed by the bank, after one of his tenants failed to pay the lease on his property for over 209 days.

“There is an epidemic of rogue renters who are leveraging the rental law to stay rent free,” Mr Tseng told news.com.au.

“And with VCAT in tatters, it now takes up to three months to get a hearing. Other cases drag on longer, so renters can get up to one year of free rent.”

Now that he’s shared his story, Mr Tseng plans to write an open-letter to both sides of government in a bid to bring change in the system.

“There are so many gaps in the law … the government needs to revisit and strengthen it so people can have more confidence in the property market,” he said.