Tenant fights eviction notice after balcony breaks - and wins $7000

Millions of renters have dreamt of taking on their landlord and, even better, scoring cheaper rent. Now one Aussie has revealed how he did it.

A landlord will have to stump up thousands of dollars to a tenant they tried to evict after complaints were lodged about a collapsing balcony at a Sydney unit block.

Sydney start-up founder Pius Binder asked for a rent reduction a few weeks after a balcony at his North Bondi apartment began breaking away in October.

Both it and a second balcony were deemed unusable but the landlord rejected Mr Binder’s request in December for a 40 per cent rent cut – offering just $50 less than the original price instead.

Mr Binder was then issued an immediate lease termination under section 109 of the Residential Tenancies Act’s “frustration” clause, which is usually reserved for when a property is unliveable.

Pius Binder took his fight to the tribunal and won.

Parts of his North Bondi home were deemed unusable.

He took the matter to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal and on Thursday was awarded a 20 per cent rent reduction backdated to October and will now move out in July.

“It’s been pretty stressful,” Mr Binder said after the hearing.

“They tried everything to make it hard for us.”

In documents submitted to NCAT, Mr Binder stated that friends had been out on the balcony the night before its unsteady state was identified.

“Thankfully nothing happened,” he added.

Mr Binder and his partner have remained living in the flat they have rented for four years while the case played out before the tribunal.

They should now receive about $7000 back from the rent they’ve paid during that period.

The apartment block at the centre of the case. Picture: Google

The orders made this week were by consent after a contested hearing between Mr Binder and Sellmall Pty Ltd.

“So in the end it’s pretty fair and I hope that other tenants in Australia are making their voices heard,” he said.

Neighbour Rhett Sampson was also handed an eviction notice by his real estate agency after the balcony issue, and fought the matter.

An engineer by trade, he said his landlord’s approach was “not to pick up the phone” when the situation could have been simple.

“All I wanted was a good amount of time to vacate and a fair rent reduction” Ms Sampson said.

“They picked a fight with the wrong guy.”

Rhett Sampson was also handed an eviction notice.

The balcony at Mr Binder’s apartment.

Mr Sampson said he was disappointed to have to go through the legal process, having rented the unit for five years and paid out more than $200,000 in that time.

He has settled for a compromise on his rent and time to find a new home.

Apartments in the North Bondi apartment block are estimated to be worth up to $1000 in rent per week, according to real estate websites.

Mr Binder, who co-founded tech company Subscribed.fyi, is originally from Vienna in Austria – where a quarter of its residents live in public housing.

The 35-year-old said his experience had shown the power imbalance between renters in Sydney and those of his home city.

“To me it’s kind of crazy what’s happening here because I come from a place where renters are protected,” he said.

Mr Binder did, however, praise the experience he had going through NCAT.