Renter’s major win against landlord
A bitter dispute has emerged between a young woman and her rental agency over repairs and a rental increase that left her with $18 a week for food.
A young Melbourne woman who felt she had won the jackpot when she secured a rental was shocked with a huge rent hike that left her with just $18 a week for food, despite her apartment being hit by flooding and repairs taking months.
The woman, referred to as Anna to protect her privacy, claimed her rent jumped from $260 to $450 in June despite the apartment being “flooded and partially destroyed” for months.
In September last year, one of the fire sprinklers on the level above her apartment “exploded” at 4.30am flooding the fire escape and damaging apartments below.
It resulted in water coming through the walls, ceiling and floor of her rental, Anna said.
Yet, despite multiple attempts to contact the real estate manager through emails and phone calls, she says the water damage continued to damage the apartment.
Three days after the incident, Anna claimed she finally heard from the property management company, Ironfish, where she said she was told to just “mop up the water” – a claim Ironfish denied.
Ironfish claimed the agency called Anna on the Monday after the flooding occurred.
The spokeswoman said Ironfish then made “numerous calls” to the owner’s corporation to understand the plan of action on addressing the source of the leak, the damage and restoration.
Yet, Anna spent a number of months waiting for repairs.
Later she learned through emails inadvertently sent to her and seen by news.com.au that the insurers were waiting for Ironfish to grant access to the apartment to schedule in repairs.
Ironfish did not respond to the claim that they were difficult to get in contact when insurers were seeking access.
“During this time the water damage continued, with water seeping out between the wall and the floorboards, blistering the paint, and separating the skirting boards from the wall,” Anna said.
“The wall was damp to the touch, and was malleable enough to be dented by pressing it.”
The floorboards also began to warp, which was a substantial tripping hazard, Anna, who lives with a disability, said.
A repair team turned up at the end of November to fix her apartment, “expecting the flat to be empty and ready for them tear apart” and were “unimpressed” she was still inside and her belongings hadn’t been removed, she said.
But she had no idea they were coming and was forced to send them away.
A series of emails to Ironfish show Anna chasing the property agency on when the repairs would be rescheduled.
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The team returned again in December after Anna directly arranged it with the restoration team herself, text messages revealed.
Anna was shocked to learn the extent of the repairs, which she claimed would leave her unable to use cooling or heating.
Emails to Anna from Ironfish stated the builder had said the apartment would still be habitable.
Then at the end of March, the rental increase notice dropped into her inbox.
“This is despite having a damp apartment from September to December, against minimum rental standards, and being unable to use half the apartment since December,” Anna said.
“All my living area furniture, office furniture, kitchen furniture, and hall furniture was crammed into my bedroom, except for the fridge which has been in my bathroom.
“When I also had a large guinea pig cage it was particularly difficult to move around or work in my room, but since euthanising the last one in February it’s been a little better.”
Anna claimed she couldn’t return her apartment fully back to normal living arrangements until June.
‘Unacceptable amount of time’
An Ironfish spokeswoman said they shared Anna’s “frustration at the inordinate length of time it has taken to complete repairs, to her and others’ apartments”.
She agreed the repairs had taken an “unacceptable amount of time”.
But Ironfish does not manage or control the apartment building, she added, with matters concerning the repairs for flood damage decided by the building’s owners’ corporation.
“Given the impact on multiple units, the owner’s corporation (OC) assumed control of incident management,” she said.
“This included organising tradespeople, assessment teams, flood response units, and co-ordinating with the insurance company. Individual owners were not permitted to arrange their own repairs independently, as this could void the insurance claim being processed by the OC.”
The Ironfish spokeswoman said they had challenged the “findings on this property being habitable and pushed for further clarification”.
She said they were told having the flooring “removed does not deem a property uninhabitable and they “requested this be reconsidered”.
Despite ongoing “advocacy” they were not able to facilitate repairs to Anna’s unit faster, but as it wasn’t the landlord’s insurer they could not influence the work to “move faster”, the spokeswoman said, adding they were frustrated with the response to the damage to the apartment.
She claimed the owner’s corporation had often been unresponsive to Ironfish’s communications.
Ironfish, however, had been available and communicative, she added.
News.com.au reached out to the owner’s corporation for comment but they did not respond by deadline.
Renter wins $6500 in compensation
The spokeswoman said Ironfish had communicated extensively with all parties involved throughout the process.
“We acknowledge that in some instances, we haven’t included the tenant in every communication, including in our efforts to seek compensation for the tenant – we have asked OC management numerous times for compensation for the tenant, to which we continued to receive no reply,” she said.
She said they had been informing the property owner for “some time” about the need to compensate Anna for the “inconvenience” and discussions were ongoing.
It was only after news.com.au contacted Ironfish that Anna was paid $6500 in compensation “for the inconvenience relating to the repairs of the water damage”.
Potentially only suitable apartment in the country
Anna said Ironfish, the real estate agency, knew the increased rent of $450 was “almost my entire income” because she had to provide bank statements and disability pension statements.
“They likewise know how much I need this apartment and that I can’t move, because this is the only building in the state, possibly the country, that happens to have the unique combination of accessibility features I need to live comfortably, and it’s not like other landlords choose me over literally anyone else,” she said.
“I felt like I won the lottery when I was finally approved for this place in October 2022, right at my most desperate.”
Anna said the apartment was ideal given her health conditions.
“I have a circulatory defect. I can’t walk very far or do anything that’s very physical. The apartment is above a plaza, so I can just walk down the hall and catch the elevator and access the pharmacy and Coles,” she said.
“Across the road is a doctor’s office and pharmacy and public transport and it’s the only place I can live where I don’t have to travel to get what I need and hurt myself trying to get it.”
Anna accessed her rental under the federal government’s National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) but the scheme lapsed in June this year.
$18 a week for food
Anna had seen her rent soar from $1130 a month to $1955 and said the rent hike made it almost impossible to survive.
“I live on a disability pension and it’s not a lot … Generally they increase the pension to be $1 above the poverty line,” she told news.com.au.
“I’m not wealthy. I was able to support myself at the NRAS price but increasing by $200 is really pushing it.
“I did all the budget calculations after rent and the utility bills I have $18 a week for food. These increases do actually genuinely impact people.”
Ironfish strives to act in the interests of both tenants and landlords and is conscious that both groups are impacted by cost of living concerns and high interest rates, the spokeswoman said.
“Previous government decisions to end and restrict the rental affordability scheme have caused difficulties for both tenants and property owners, with many property owners being forced to sell their property or return it to market rates,” she said.
She said Ironfish were informed by the NRAS that the property would no longer be eligible to participate in the scheme from June 2024.
“There is no ability for any landlord or tenant to request an extension to these NRAS incentives and arrangements,” she said.
“Ironfish is conscious of the financial pressure increased rents places on tenants, and has provided assistance in finding alternative, affordable housing. We have successfully done this for a significant number of tenants previously who had rental subsidies under the scheme.”
Anna said fighting the rental hike has become all consuming and caused her extreme stress.
“The fact is were are in a rental crisis but it’s rental extortion crisis – it’s a free for all as basically tenants are ATMS for anyone who owns a home and what they can get out of us in our desperation, that is really terrifying,” she said.
“It just consumes your life as you are wanting to be safe that little bit longer.”
But the Ironfish spokeswoman denied the claims the rent was unreasonable.
“It is palpably false to state that the rent has been raised to an exorbitant and excessive amount,” she said.
“The rent returned to market rates due to the removal of the NRAS subsidies.”
Ironfish added that Anna did not object or respond to the rental increase sent in March.
The agency said it was only contacted about the hike after Anna had engaged with Consumer Affairs Victoria.
An offer to reduce the rental increase to $430 was also not accepted by the tenant in June, who was electing to go to VCAT, they added.
Apartments renting for less with private rooftop pool, gym, spa, sauna, and cinema
A comparable market analysis of similar properties from Ironfish provided to justify the rental increase was flawed, Anna claimed.
The analysis mainly consisted of large apartments with car spaces, extra dining and/or office areas, and city-facing balconies or they had multiple private amenities such as pools, courts, spas, and saunas, she claimed.
“These apartments were still less than the $450 that Ironfish increased my rent to,” she added.
In May, Ironfish also listed a one bed apartment in a resort-style building on the river at $450, with multiple high-class luxury amenities including a private rooftop pool, gym, spa, sauna, and cinema, Anna said.
“Once again they’ve provided a great illustration of how unreasonable my increase is, listing a one bedroom luxury river suite with stunning resort features and amenities for $1 less than they’re charging for my half-demolished one-bedroom apartment with no amenities,” she said.
The property was later leased for $440, Ironfish’s website shows.
But the Ironfish spokeswoman said Consumer Affairs Victoria had inspected the property and examined the proposed increase notice at the tenant’s request.
The government body concluded that the rent increase was reasonable, noting a range of comparable properties in the area for rent at similar or higher rates, she added.
“Other similar properties nearby and in the same building are currently being offered at higher rents,” she said.
“An identical one bedroom property in the same building (without a car space) is currently being advertised for $480 per week, another with a car space is on offer for $530. Similar nearby properties are also being advertised at higher rates.”
A Consumer Affairs Victoria spokesperson said renters can ask the organisation to investigate and provide a report to support an application to VCAT if they believe a rent increase is excessive.
“The report takes into account the statutory criteria, including the rent payable for comparable properties and the state of repair and general condition of the property,” they said.
Rent reduced after media intervention
Despite paying the rental increase since June, the owner has now offered a rent reduction to $430 a week.
The rental hike has also been delayed until October 27 and Ironfish plans to offer a refund for any increased amount already paid.
“We understand the difficulties a rent increase raises for the tenant and have taken steps to halt the increase while we assist her in finding accommodation within her budget,” the Ironfish spokeswoman said.
sarah.sharples@news.com.au
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