Can somebody help?
I have new tenants living in IP for more than 20 weeks. They always paid rent in time and looked after the property well. The problem started a few weeks ago when he ran away and she is still living in the house with two kids, but struggling to continue paying the rent.
I spoke to her a few times and she promised to fix it, but already 3 weeks behind.
Contract is under his name for another 6 months as well as 4 weeks bond.
What shall I do?
I would lodge a Notice to Evict forthwith as this gives you the legal leg to stand on. – then go and talk to her again. Tell her “you are really sorry shes in this position, realise she’s waiting till guy might decide to return but you are in a real pickle and rely on her rent to pay mortgage and you are getting behind, will lose the house etc. etc. What can you work out together? She can go to the Dept Human Services and they will pay her rent for a while, can she borrow money from someone (Mum/Dad) for a while, or (my choice)
could she get a border in to help with the rent
but you really need some decisions on her part quickly” Then you have to realise you are not St Vinnies. My second motto is -if it comes to this – “either you can be happy or I can be happy, I’d rather I be happy.Fern
Good advice Fern
Terryw
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Thank you Fern for a good advice. I will action today.
Gamay
gamay Posted – 28/12/2005 : 23:22:37
Contract is under his name for another 6 months as well as 4 weeks bondForgive my naiivety, but does this not give you the legal right to charge him the rent until another tennant is found that can pay the rent???
Cheers
C@34Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to always try something one more time.
– Thomas EdisonDon’t let reality be the benchmark for your Dreams
I would definately start the eviction process as this takes a little bit of time.
The tribunal may not be able to hear your case for another week or two (with the holidays).
Do you have a real estate agent managing the property? Once the tenant were behind in their rent by 14 days, you are then allowed to give them notice.
Kind regards,
Smart CookieLegal rights are all very well and good. Actually getting your money is a whole other ballgame. Get the rent happening again first priority and then ttttrrrryyyy to get whatever else you can
Fern
I am managing this property myself.
She paid last week’s rent and promised to pay for previous two weeks last Wednesday, but didn’t and also skipped this week rent again.
I tried to be reasonable and avoid the legal process, but looks like have no options. I issued an eviction notice.
Gamay
Gamay,
Happy New Year and good luck with it. Hope it all turns out well.
Sometimes it’s better leaving your property to be managed by a GOOD property manager.
Kind regards,
Smart CookieOriginally posted by gamay:I am managing this property myself.
She paid last week’s rent and promised to pay for previous two weeks last Wednesday, but didn’t and also skipped this week rent again.
I tried to be reasonable and avoid the legal process, but looks like have no options. I issued an eviction notice.
Gamay
There can be no such thing as paying last week’s rent when earlier weeks remain unpaid. It causes confusion and difficulty in writing rent receipts because you don’t know what paid periods to put on the rent receipts . Also, if the tenant owes say 3 weeks, and you give her a rent receipt showing last week’s rent is paid, she can use it in a tenancy application else where to show that she is paid up to date.
Best to be firm and not be the soft touch, as you’ve probably noticed, the soft touch gets the squeeze. She must assess her situation, and arrange payment or move into more affordable accommodation. Whoever said “issue the notice to vacate immediately” is correct, then start discussions. Unless you enjoy doing social work and making large charitable contributions.thecrest
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Thecrest,
He was paying rent directly into my bank account. It is very clear in the bank statement when the rent was paid and when not.
She is now arranging the rent assistance from the Centerlink and paid 2 weeks rent today, but still 3 weeks behind, but obviously trying to catch up.
I am also helping her to arrange the direct rent payment by the Centrelink into my account.
In terms of re-paying the 3 weeks debt she is offering $20 – 30/week extra on the top of normal rent until the debt is cleared.
I think in my situation there is a good chance to resolve the matter peacefully without going into the full legal battle.
Usually I don’t kick out my tenats when they have problems, but willing to resolve them. Being reasonable does not mean being soft.
Regards
Gamay
Hi Gamay
You obviously have all the info to make an assessment, so I hope it is a success for you.
BTW, not sure about other states, but in NSW, the Dept of Housing can assist. It goes like this. Tenant is in arrears not more than 4 weeks. Landlord issues a termination notice. Tenant asks DOH for help, attends an appointment at DOH & provides Bank Statements etc. DOH will give landlord up to 4 weeks rent gratis, not repayable by tenant or landlord, in order to rescue the tenancy and keep a roof over the tenant’s head so the tenant does not become a bigger problem and require emergency housing. Landlord must provide written confirmation to DOH that if the rent arrears are paid, this current matter of arrears and breach of lease is resolved and the Termination Notice becomes invalid. This help is available to that tenant once per calendar year. Nice to see our taxes hard at work.
If you need to access the fled tenant’s bond, do so, because the DOH will also provide 4 weeks bond for your remaining tenant if necessary. Keep paying your taxes everybody, we can use these safety nets ourselves sometimes. [thumbsupanim]
cheers
thecrestthecrest | Tony Neale - Statewide Motel Brokers
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Email Me | Phone Meselling motels in NSW
Excellent post The Crest![thumbsupanim][thumbsup2]
Cheers
C@34Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to always try something one more time.
– Thomas EdisonDon’t let reality be the benchmark for your Dreams
Great work Gamay!
It sounds like you are resolving it by being firm but gracious.
Some of these situations in life are an oportunity to show grace to others.
It is nice to hear that not all these situations come about through victim mindsetted people,
some tenants are understanding to us landlords!All the best
Dematio.We’ve got 70 yrs on planet earth,Lets make the most of every day!
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Could I just say a big thank you for being so considerate? I know you had a lot to risk and that it was a financial strain but sometimes people can’t help the situations they are in. Treating the tenant the way you did is likely to foster a postive relationship … however did have the potential to blow up. I’m not saying you should always act like this though. I lived in an area that was full of low income couples spliting and kids moving out of home and they made excuses similar to the one your tenants were making, but didn’t fulfill there promises.
I picked up in steves books that the tenants like a landlord that is considerate of the issues that arise. A possible way of resolving hassles like this in the future (especially if you own multiple rental properties) is being able to inform them of the options available to them rather than leave the tenants to search for forms of assistance. While its not your responsibility she is probably trying to make ends meet which could put rent, unfortunately, as a second priority.
Might I recommend familiarising yourself with some of the forms of government assistance available so if this occasion repeats itself with another tenant, your better able to help? There are general things, like bond loans (from the DHS) and advance payments (from centrelink) that might be able to help.
With the advance payments, they deduct a set amount each fornight (with me, I believe, it was $30) in order to pay the client an upfront loan. Ultimately she is doing the same, losing $30 a week, only this way she would be able to pay you as soon as she gets the money which might mean you’d be able to keep up with bank payements.
I’ve had to move out due to bad circumstances and did a lot of research on the forms of assistance available to me so if you were genuinly interested, I could give you some links. I’m not recommended you do the work for the tenant, but trying to look at it from the viewpoint of having the knowledge to better protect your investment rather than hoping the tenant will come up with a situation.
And, in response to ‘thecrest’, that safety net sure does come in handy; I wouldn’t be able to attend uni otherwise. I consider it to be an investment in my future and will be glad to pay taxes (at least for the first year or so, lol) in order to help out.
Hope your tenant treats you well in the future!
JadeJade,
It is good for the landlord to know what assistance is available to tenants. I am not going to do all the leg work for tenant, however at least I can suggest what options are available, as I am sure most tenants don’t know this.
I would greatly appreciate if you could send me some links; this is the area I feel I need to learn a bit more.
Regards
Gamay
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