‘Construction site’: Horror reality for renter
A mum has revealed the “dangerous” situation that appeared in her front yard – at the same time she was slugged with a rent hike.
A mum has documented the horror of having a “construction site” in the front yard of her rental, which she said had left the place in a “disaster” state.
Jessica Mudditt has been shocked to see the front of her Sydney rental turned into a muddy mess with huge slabs of concrete left piled up, “deafening” drilling sounds, diggers parked out the front of her window and no safety barriers installed.
She was also alarmed to receive a rental increase notice just a day before the works started with her rent being pushed up $20 a week to $850 from September.
The single mum also runs her business, publishing company Hembury Books, from home and said she had to shout on a phone call to her accountant just to be heard.
“Its been a disaster as it’s very hard to run a business with deafening sounds,” she told news.com.au.
“They have been drilling up the driveway and there’s been massive trucks parked there and then they leave everything. Then it poured with rain last week and it’s like a swamp. The mud situation is insane. They have never said anything about the works being substantial.”
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The mum of kids, aged three and five, said the works had presented a “dangerous” situation with her daughter slipping and scraping her hand and knee as a result.
“My front pathway has been carved up and the driveway has been ripped up … They left my wheelie bins behind a bulldozer and there are masses of mud and bits of concrete that are stacked on each other and it’s unstable,” she added.
“I had to go through that to drag the wheelie bins out and it’s really slippery.”
Ms Muddit said large pipes were stored in her garage for three weeks, while the workers also used her electricity through the garage until she got fed up and locked it on Tuesday.
“They have been here for 10 hours a day, and connecting their equipment to my garage and door has been open for them,” she said.
“In the end, I just locked it as my electricity bill is going to be massive and I had not been offered a rent reduction.”
She even received a phone call asking her to open the garage at the Condell Park home after she locked it, while workers had used her bins leaving them “overflowing”.
The Sydneysider had been left without any water to the property for hours too.
“They didn’t tell me they were turning it off and I was caught without any water,” explained.
“It was stressing me out and I was sick at home and I couldn’t even flush the toilets or clean. I’m so stressed out. I’m panicking I have to move all of sudden after six months.”
In an email sent last Thursday and seen by news.com.au, Ray White said the owner had asked that Ms Muddit “work with them during this period which should only be another couple days”. The email added the landlord had attended “promptly to all your needs regarding the house”.
But Ms Muddit claimed this was incorrect – saying she has spent six days without hot water prior to the construction work with the whole system needing replacing.
She added the “loss of control” over her home had left her in “shock” as she had no idea how “substantial” the works would be.
“My lip has broken out in cold sores and I’ve never had cold sores, I had bad insomnia, my eye is twitching and I have been physically sick,” she said.
“It’s really taking a big toll on me, My daughter has just settled into school today and my three-year old had just settled into daycare.”
It wasn’t until news.com.au reached out to Ray White real estate agency for comment that a rent reduction of one week was offered – but Ms Mudditt said this wasn’t enough given the impact of the construction work on her family’s living situation.
She also said she has been uncomfortable with the landlord turning up to the property on multiple occasions without any notice.
Ray White Bankstown principal Tony Roumanous said the tenant was clearly informed in advance about the earthworks and subdivision work scheduled to take place.
The tenant was initially informed on July 16 that the subdivision work would soon commence, he said.
The driveway concrete was then cut on Thursday July 25, and the earthworks started on Friday July 26 and were scheduled to last a week, he added.
“The works began last Thursday and were projected to take a week to complete. We regret any inconvenience caused. The tenant has now given notice that she will vacate the house and the owner has offered the tenant a week’s free rent as compensation,” he said.
“The tenant was fully informed in advance of these works, and the owner was also onsite to only check on the progress of the works, which is within his right and not a breach of privacy at all.”
He also said the tenant had agreed to store the pipes in the garage, but Ms Mudditt said this was for a weekend only. A series of emails to Ray White show Ms Mudditt repeatedly asking when the pipes would be removed from the garage.
Mr Roumanous added they were “deeply sorry that the tenant has not enjoyed her home this week but she was told about the work in advance”.
“We are sorry for the inconvenience,” he added.
Ms Mudditt added she was desperate to escape the situation and has now found a new rental.
“I looked at seven places but it has completely up-ended my work and wellbeing and it’s really quite distressing,” she said.
sarah.sharples@news.com.au
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