Hi everyone. We are currently tenants in a brand new apartment block in an inner Brisbane suburb. The apartment is great, but recently we have been woken every single night by mosquitos buzzing around at 1, 2, 3am (hence my being up at this ridiculous time!). I spoke to the property manager yesterday, requesting that the owners have flyscreens installed so that we can sleep with the windows open and not have to shut everything up and use the a/c. He flatly refused, saying that they don’t have to and that flyscreens just cause further problems down the track with maintenance.
My desparate plea to you is this – in the interests of my wife’s and my future sleep, is there any recourse for us?!? I would have thought that flyscreens are a fairly basic request?
Thanks for any advice you might have (apart from any smart “Aerogard” related comments!).
Cheers,
Adam B-CDon’t let life get in the way of living.
Bizarre!!
They’re a standard inclusion when you build in WA.
Sometimes the tenants ask for the flyscreens to be replaced with security screens ( that also incorporate the flyscreen material)If they won’t supply flyscreens, how about setting up a mozzie net above your bed, and having one of those burning anti mozzie coils in the room. ?
I reckon they smell nicer than the aeroguard.
kp
Hey I’m with you! I am here at 4am after waking up scratching from mossies also. Altho I have screens on most windows, I went to bed with teh unscreened french doors and front door open.
Your property mananger is rude not passing on your request to the owners. I’d put it in writting and demand that the pm pass it on to the owners. I rekkon he is just being lazy.
Then it will be up to the owner. Some are happy to oblige good tennants. Others think ‘well why didnt they check this out before they moved in?”
Landlords don’t have to supply flyscreens, but they are “small minded” if they don’t.
You are more likley to leave when your lease expires and the vacancy will cost them more than the price of some flyscreens.
It will be an ongoing problem as future tenants will also have the same request.
We have never had maintanance problems with fly screens
Michael Yardney
METROPOLE PROPERTIES
Author of Australia’s leading property e-magazine.
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FREE subscription http://www.metropole.com.auThanks very much to all of you who replied. It’s at least a psychological comfort to know that others feel as I do and that I’m not being unreasonable.
I guess I was kind of hoping for someone to get on here and say “oh yes, according to xyz legislation, flyscreens must be installed if requested”(!). Oh well – it still could happen!
Thanks again,
AdamDon’t let life get in the way of living.
As a renter, you won’t believe how many properties I’ve viewed that don’t have flyscreens. So many landlords want to spend the bare minimum and still charge top dollar. While on the subject, why do so many houses have fences that are falling down or non-existant? Don’t landlords think that tenants might want a secure garden for their pets and children? Landlords, just spend a little money and you’ll get a quality tenant! If you don’t care about your property how do you expect the tenant to?
hi sorry i dont know about the legalities, but we did move into a place that had fly screens (thank god) but no airconditioning, so we bought a portable airconditioner that has kept me sane.
The air conditioner needs to feed out an open window and it wasnt possible to do that with the screens on the windows, so we went to the local bunnings and found a very large roll of screen for about $10, we removed the fly screen and stuck the screen to the windowframe ( be carefull we had something that would not leave a mark) and then we were able to cut a hole in it big enough for the air conditioner tube.
This could be a cheap and stress free solution if you like the property and want to stay on. it worked well for us.
Are you kidding me…you want to be wet-nursed by the Owners over some piddly flyscreens ?? C’mon Adam, stand on your own two feet, you don’t need to be held by the Owners hand on this one.
I looked for some xyz legislation where it stated that the Tenant wasn’t allowed to whinge over such minor details, but alas, with residential, there is no such thing.
I must be one of those small minded Owners that Michael refers to because I agree 100% with the Owners response. (I read your post to infer that the Owner flatly refused after being passed on the request from the caretaker, not the caretaker flatly refusing your request directly)…but anyway…
Putting our “what’s in it for me” hat for a minute, as Tenants have a want to do all the time, I don’t understand why you are asking something to be added to the property for your personal benefit after you have signed the lease in it’s current state ??
If you costed it up and it came to say $ 300, would you chip in or be happy to put up with the mozzies ?? Would you pay $ 10 p.w. extra in rent for the Landlord to install them ?? I think, based on my experience with residential Tenants…the answer is always no way on all counts, the Landlord is supposed to just pay for everything and be happy that you even grace his property with your presence.
At the end of the day it’ll boil down to how badly you want to stay in the place. If this very minor detail (compared to location / number of bedrooms / quality of kitchen etc) tips you over the edge you were probably going to leave anyway.
Is there any recourse for you and your wife ?? Absolutely…this can be solved to your utmost satisfaction within the day…pay for flyscreens to be installed out of your hip-pocket and enjoy a pleasant sleep.
Remember, this apartment is a box for the Owner to make money on. As a Tenant, it’s your home…make it your home, don’t sit there and compromise your homelife over a few hundred bucks.
Our group doesn’t invest in this type of money box for this (plus 99 other) similar reasons. This is one of the straws that broke the camel’s back – if you will.
As for the miconception that Landlords always charge top dollar…have an educated guess at what the gross rental yield you are paying on your place. Are you sure you are paying top dollar…try 3.5 or 4% gross, tops ?? She ain’t big bikkies Adam. You are probably renting the brand new apartment for a screaming bargain.
The Lease you signed was a business contract, not some frivolous “click my fingers and the Landlord will come running at his expense”.
Can ya sort of tell I don’t like residential tenants ??
Dazzling, my input was just to give landlords out there an insight from the renter’s perspective. Tenants may gripe about small things but it affects their enjoyment of the property and how they care for it. It influences whether they stay long term or pack up and move. And just remember that some tenants can be quite vindictive when they feel a reasonable request is turned down.
Each time you change tenants you’re going to lose a few weeks rent – that adds up to quite a lot. Just a little compassion from the landlord would be to everyone’s advantage. The things that tenants ask for are usually permanent additions to the property (otherwise why would they be asking?) and would benefit all future tenants as well as making the property more rentable. In a nutshell you’ll have less tenant turnover and less time between tenants.
I’ve got to speak up for the “we hate flyscreens” folk. I grew up with flyscreens in Brisbane and when I married, my husband talked me into living without them. The breeze comes through twice as well without them. We have had NO issues with tenants wanting flyscreens over 25 years in Brisbane. If we need to, we use the little plug in things that don’t smell. Mozzie coils smell foul but the plug ins are great.
We have queenslanders which we rent and have just bought one and ripped all the flyscreens out to let the breezes in. I just cannot believe there is such an issue, but I would not ever flyscreen my own house again. How can you throw open french doors and feel part of the outdoors with flyscreens?
Just my personal view. I’m lonely out here among the flyscreen haters.
Regards, Wylie.
Hey there
Must say that I figure that whatever situation we find ourselves in, its a good question to ask ‘How did I contribute to this situation’ and work on what YOU can do to change things.
A major part of life seems to be negotiation. What do you have to offer for a win win solution?Good luck!!
nah, not an issue – just popped a couple of screens in one of my apartments for a tenant – didn’t worry me, one tenant two years, 8 minutes at Bunnings, $27.85 and 2.5 hrs later = happy tenant (with 12 month lease signed).
if its an issue for your landlord call me – actually don’t call me, i don’t have any vacancies…….
cheers
brahms
Purveyor of Fine Finances
aka Mortgage Broker BrisbaneBrahms,
I totally agree with you there too:) I have been lucky and had the same tenants ( wait for it for 17 yrs ), I have renovated the unit for them in that time, and the last job was fly screens.
[biggrin] Bunnings being my second home, and dont mind getting involved, very easy to knock up fly screens, and keep everyone happy. (tax deduct.)
I read above its a buisness deal, I agree there too, but its also good to crate a win / win situation. And as with business the environment also changes and i.e repairs need to be done.
I believe minor repairs or add ons as such is not really a huge capital expense.
I rent and still do, and also landlord, so have a clear perception of both sides of the fence.
If tennants can make your i/p more homely, and you are responsive to needs within reason, then you are in line for success. i.e. better / long term / respectful tennants.
Cheers
I have read all the postings.
I think…make the screens yourself is the best option. Easy to do, a skill you will use many times over in your life.
Screens also keep out annoying cat, which recalcitrant daughter owns, so I LOVE screens.
Hope you have a good night’s sleep.
I love screens… all those scarey creepy crawlies and mossies should be doing their hunting out of my house!
I just see flyscreens as basic fixtures that should come with every window and door, nothing to stress about. They will last for years and years, and you can depreciate them as well.
I hardly think that a few flyscreens will send a landlord broke.If you have a property that is in an area with lots of mossies, a few mossies a day can send your tenants away!
Celivia
It looks like there are many different experiences with fly screens out there so I thought I would add mine.
I generally have fly screens and air cons already in so my tenants don’t have to ask for them. And, again generally, I don’t have problems with tenants over the fly screens.
Except for those tenants who have cats despite the no pets rule in lease. Or tenants who are “a little” rough going through doors. Ripped screens are common with these tenants. While I will fix once they move out, I draw the line at fixing for people who won’t look after my lovely property.
Screens are easy to fix with the right tools. Even for clumsy me.
I agree with all of the above comments. Most people have rented at some point in their life, so I don’t believe anyone has a monopoly on knowing tenant’s mindsets any better than anyone else.
The task is small, cheap, quick, quite irrelevant but gives enormous comfort to the people who actually get use out of them. All the more reason for adam et al to “Just do it”. If it’s good for the goose, it good for the gander.
My father would love to spend all day and a bit of his money running around doing this for his tenants. One such tenant loaded him up with about 6 or 7 of these minor tasks after breaking things during their 12 month tenancy. Like their lapdog on a string, he diligently did them all…only to have them write 2 letters of complaint to him about access (Tues at 3pm with 3 people home all lying around like sloths) and 2 weeks notification to repair something costing $ 120 (excess on insurance too high on minor item, hence useless as usual) that they destroyed.
At the end of the 12 months he tried to raise the rent from $ 300 p.w. to $ 310 p.w. (3.3% rise…whoopy !!) and they chucked a hissy fit and left, doing about $ 3,000 damage – bond $ 1,200…
He’s very slowly coming around to my way of thinking, of having nothing to do with low paying constantly whinging residential tenants who threaten to wreck the place or not pay rent when they don’t get their frivolous demands met.
Fortunately, this incident and the fact the RTA is heavily weighted against him, has sped up his transition to far more profitable endeavours.
As I said before…the whole deal is very minor in itself, but one of 99 straws. I’m in the process of dumping the whole bale, moving up without them as a burden is soooo exhilirating.
Yes brahms….I’m a scratchy record as you’ve said before, but what a tune…
Wow, a small questions about flyscreens has created quite a furore, I would never have expected it! And I bet Adambc didn’t either…
[surprised]
Hey PK,
I think that’s a bit unfair. Everyone that’s replied to the thread has pretty much stated that the flyscreens in themselves are not a big deal.
The much larger issue in principle about who pays for what and who is responsible for what warrants a healthy debate, surely…and adam’s question definitely asked about this, even to the point of asking for directions to legislation to beat the hapless Landlord around the ears with.
The flyscreens – in themselves – are irrelevant…except of course the tenants lying there getting bitten every night, for the sake of saving a couple of bucks and a couple of hours. Makes no sense to me.
When we finally found a property that we wanted to rent the most obvious problem with it was that there were no fly screens.
I negotiated with the owner through the real estate agent and instead of paying $295 per week rent I pay $310 per week.
I did this so that the owner could pay for the fly screens and not be totally out of pocket. It was worth the $15 a week to me because now I am not bitten or bothered by insects. I was surprised by how much money the landlord wanted though. I was originally thinking about $5 more per week but apparently the fly screens were expensive because they had to be specially made to the window and I wanted a fly screen door as well.
I am unable to find anything in the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic) which makes the landlord responsible for providing flyscreens. Morally and ethically I believe that he should. It makes business sense too. But legally I don’t think he has too.
You are right that unhappy tenants can cause a lot of headaches. The law is in your favour. How about paying the rent 13 days late each month? He can do nothing about that.
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