Gross issue in rental after just two months

A Melbourne family have revealed the “terrible” consequences of a failure to fix a major issue in their rental.

A Melbourne family was forced to flee their rental after black mould began growing throughout the house after they spent a freezing winter without the heating working.

Harsimaran Singh had lived in the rental in the Melbourne suburb of Ferntree Gully for two and a half years.

At the end of June the heating stopped working and despite following up with the real estate agency Ray White, it was not fixed until the end of August, Mr Singh said.

But by then mould had already started “popping up” throughout the property where the family paid $2173 per month to rent the house, he added.

“I have young kids, two daughters, one is four and another is almost 11 – she is autistic. Even if she is in pain, she struggles to tell as she has a bit of delayed speech and communication,” he told news.com.au.

“I was worried as dark mould was appearing near the kitchen bench and getting behind beds and one bathroom ceiling. We were breathing those spores in so I was worried they would get an infection.”

When the heating was working. Picture: Supplied

The temperature dropped considerably. Picture: Supplied

The software engineer added never in his life has he been that cold.

“In Melbourne, it’s very cold in June and July. My kids had a lot of episodes of falling sick as the heating wasn’t working,” he claimed.

A Ray White spokesperson said the property had alternative heating sources including a split system and a fireplace.

“The rental provider opted to install three split systems using a government grant available. These were installed on the 29th August,” they added.

But Mr Singh said the split system already in the property was located in the hallway and did not provide heat to the rooms.

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A Melbourne home became mouldy after the heating stopped working. Picture: Supplied

He was also critical that Ray White followed up to see if the heating had been fixed on August 20, despite alerting them to the problem a month and a half earlier.

A Ray White spokesperson said they were “simply following up as we had not heard any further from the renter after the tradesman was arranged”.

“The owner had arranged their own preferred trade and was settling the invoice directly,” they added.

Despite Mr Singh informing Ray White Ferntree Gully at the start of August about the mould, nothing was done to address the issue, he said.

He said the real estate agency advertised most of the rentals in the area so he made the difficult choice to give the tenants in his investment property notice to vacate and move the family back in.

“For two months, he real estate agency didn’t send anyone and the property got mould because of damp and moisture,” he noted.

“I couldn't open the doors in the dead cold for airflow and we had to suffer.”

Mould was growing on the carpet. Picture: Supplied

Mould was also on the curtains. Picture: Supplied

A Ray White spokesperson said mould on the window frames was “due to lack of ventilation and condensation on the windows”.

Meanwhile, Mr Singh said there was no offer of any refund for rent despite the lack of heating and mould.

The 39-year-old wanted to move his family out sooner but was forced to stay while his wife recovered from surgery for adenomyosis and endometriosis on August 23.

The keys were then returned on 19 September – moving out before the lease end date of January 20 next year.

“They haven’t refunded our bond of $1825 … I got cleaning done and took pictures of the mould as I know the cleaner would have cleaned it,” he added.

The mould on the window sill. Picture: Supplied

Ray White Ferntree Gully never came back with an explanation on why the mould wasn’t addressed, he added

“I explained on the phone that mould is a serious thing and can cause infection. I don’t want my daughters to get asthma and my wife has fragile health and just came out of surgery and is on medications,” he noted.

Mr Singh gave formal written notice they were leaving on September 9.

But now Ray White Ferntree Gully are chasing him for the costs of breaking the lease including readvertising costs, pro rata letting fees and rent until a new tenancy commences.

He is disputing this as he believes the mould had rendered the property uninhabitable.

“It was so terrible. We thought there will be families coming to look and we have suffered for two months and the real estate agency haven’t done any good gesture,” he claimed.

The mould on the walls. Picture: Supplied

Mr Singh has already lodged an application with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal requesting compensation of $4720.

“It’s for relocating, it cost $1325 and for cleaning the house it cost $770 and we also put in two weeks rent,” he said.

“I have put the $800 approximately for rental relief and $1825 for bond. They were charging us full rent even though heating was not working. I’m not asking for unreasonable costs.”

Mould also formed on appliances. Picture: Supplied

The Ray White spokesperson said the renter failed to give adequate notice to vacate the property.

“Renters must give 28 days notice where on a periodic lease, or pay rent up until a new lease commences in a lease break scenario,” they noted.

“Rent is paid up to 19th September and renters are on a fixed term lease 20th January 2025.”

They added final inspection of the property was done on Wednesday and 14 days had not passed since the family vacated meaning the bond did not need to be returned yet, adding no application had been received from the tenants either.

“The property has been inspected with no mould found, as a precaution a report is being completed to determine if there are any underlying problems,” they added.

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