Landlords cop backlash after telling ‘their side’ of the story amid rental crisis

A group of Aussie landlords have been absolutely roasted after they complained about the difficulties of owning and renting out multiple properties.

A group of landlords have aired their complaints about the difficulties of owning and renting out multiple properties in Australia, but their stories have been met with little sympathy from struggling tenants.

The ABC published a story over the weekend looking at why landlords are selling their properties after a number contacted the publication wanting to “tell their side of the story”.

Alison Dougherty said she had been forced to sell up after more than a decade as a landlord due to changing regulations around renters.

New minimum standards were introduced in Victoria in 2021 included changes such as an annual smoke alarm check, a gas and electrical safety check every two years, a requirement to adhere to ventilation standards and heating rules.

Queues at rental property in Melbourne’s south. Picture: Declanmartin75/Twitter

Despite getting good returns from her two Bendigo investment properties, Ms Dougherty said she found it “quite complicated” with the new changes being brought in, and claiming there were “more costs being put on the owner”.

“[The tenants] could do things without even asking me and in the longer term, it felt like I didn’t have control over my property anymore,” she said.

Another landlord, Branko Kovac, owns an investment property that he rents to a single mother, along with a holiday home and a farm in Sunbury, Victoria.

Though Mr Kovac has paid off the rental property, he recently increased the rent for the first time in seven years from $345 to $400 per week, blaming rising rates and the lowering of the land tax threshold.

Mr Kovac said he empathised with people who have been forced to rent due to the exorbitant costs of home ownership, but said, on the other hand, “we’re giving them a house to live in”.

He blamed the government for making “things so difficult” that the tenants now have to “absorb the costs”.

Landlords have revealed they are selling their investment properties due to rising costs. Picture: iStock

Dean Campion told the ABC that he decided to sell off some of his properties after discovering that regular inspection requirements were going cost him $1200 per property, which he thought was “getting too much”.

“The government can change the rules, but they can’t force you to keep being a landlord,” he said.

But many renters were left less than impressed after hearing the “other side” of the rental debate.

Jordie van den Berg, a tenant advocate who is known for exposing the reality of renting in Australia, was quick to jump on the story, branding the landlords “greedy”.

“Spoiler, their side of the story is just that their unbridled greed and hunger for control is the *tiniest* bit harder today and they are SO mad about it,” he said.

Spoiler, their side of the story is just that their unbridled greed and hunger for control is the *tiniest* bit harder today and they are SO mad about it #ALABpic.twitter.com/7BaR0Wztj2

— Purplepingers (@purplepingers) October 22, 2023

Others were quick to join in on the commentary, with many taking issue with the “bizarre” thinking from some of the landlords that it is the government’s fault that they had to sell their investment properties.

“To be fair to the ABC it is pretty funny that their renter coverage is like ‘I have medical problems you usual see in Victorian orphans’ and the best the landlords could come up with is like ‘they wanted working smoke alarms’,” one person wrote.

Another said: “‘We’re giving them a house to live in’ is the best part. They think they are a community service.”

Some accused the landlords of “selfish” behaviour and branded their comments “ludicrous”, while others pointed out they seemed to not understand the risk factors involved in property investment.

“What I find really frustrating about these ‘landlord side’ stories is they never get pulled up that it’s an investment, which carries risk. Sometimes you loose money (which you claim anyway on tax). It’s not the renter’s responsibility to cover every expense of your investment,” one person wrote.

There were a few commenters who came to the defence of investment property owners, with one urging renters to “try being a landlord for one minute”, claiming they “wouldn’t survive”.

“If tenants treated it like it was their home they might get landlord compassion. Most don’t. So they have to pay through the nose,” another said.

Thousands of Aussies are struggling due to the worsening rental crisis. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

This comes amid an “urgent” call to tackle the power imbalance between tenants and landlords.

Last month, a senate committee examining the rental crunch handed down its interim report, which called for the federal government to take a co-ordinating role to implement stronger rental rights and invest more into public, social and genuinely affordable housing.

The report also stressed reforming rental regulations is a priority and the “urgent need” to address the power imbalance between renters and landlords.

Almost one-third (31 per cent) of Australians rent their home, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The committee’s recommendations fall well short of a push from the Greens to adopt rental caps, or a rent freeze, to dull the sting of the cost of living crisis.

A rent freeze occurs when landlords are prohibited by law from increasing rents for tenants. Conversely, a rent cap restricts how often, and by what amount, rents can be increased.

In evidence to the committee, the Productivity Commission said, while such reform could increase renter autonomy, it might also increase costs and risks for landlords.

However, committee chair senator Janet Rice urged the government to put aside its objection to caps and freezes in her additional comments to the report.

“Urgent action is needed to alleviate the burdens placed on renters by ongoing rent hikes that are largely a product of a lack of investment by governments in public and community housing over the decades,” she said.

“The Commonwealth government must listen to the powerful evidence provided by renters at this inquiry and immediately work with states and territories to freeze and cap rental increases.”

– with NCA NewsWire