Hi
I am in a situation where I am just not sure what to do next or what my legal rights are.
We recently settled on a property that came with a 2 year lease in place. The contract was subject to this lease being in place prior to settlement and we received a signed copy of the lease contract 2 days before settlement.
1 week after settlement the tenant has claimed hardship and is unable to pay the rent.He has paid his 4 weeks bond money and two weeks rent in advanced but is now in the process of moving out (apparently).
The tenant is also the vendor.
my partner wants to start court proceedings on the grounds of breach of contract but im thinking that it is impossible to get blood out of a stone.
the rental market has apparently slowed down in this area and a new tenant is not looking promising, which is why i requested a lease in place under the special conditions of the contract.
Has anyone else out there been in a similar situation that may be able to offer some advice here.
Thanx in advance
i am in the process of purchasing a property (god willing) that has a lease in place also, and i will only settle if the lease is extended by 3 years. luckily it is a govt department which has been there for years already. i wish you all the best sorting this out, i am interested to hear the best way to deal with it
good luck bud, do you have insurance on loss of rent? maybe that will help
Ben
Hi Fingerscrossed,
There should be financial repercussions for him voiding the contract. I would go for the money through court on this as you have a signed doc for a two year lease. If he wants out he needs to pay up. It doesn't matter if he is the vendor all the paperwork is to do with the tenancy.
He has obviously told you want he needs to to sell the place and is now getting out. Get a good solicitor, you might need to find where he goes next as well in case of any other problems. Document everything along the way.
Good luck, I hope you can get a resolution to this. Let us know how you go.
D
DWolfe | www.homestagers.com.au
http://www.homestagers.com.au
Email MeHe must know the the event in advance…. I guess that to challenge the case through the court/solicitor will cost you a fortune.
I prefer to settle out of the court if possible
BTW, how much is the rent/rental yield?sounds premeditated to me. If the rent is unsustainable, did you do your due diligence effectively? Ie check what the market rent should be, current vacancies etc? Did you pay the selling agent to set up the lease? Were you relying on poor information?
The sooner you act, the better – probably need to go thru vcat asap to enforce your rights & get a judgement against the tenant.
I just had a meeting with a solicitor RE: the property i am purchasing subject to a lease being extended. she informed that they cant give notice, its a full term lease, and if they want to leave will need to pay up to the agreed date, or i can find tenants that will pay similar money and they must pay the balance.
but in saying that, good luck getting money if they have none, i hope you can find a gun legal expert who can bat for you
Thanx to all the above who have offered advice.
The rent return is $1,200 a week. The tenant is employed with a major mining company who had advised him that they would subsidise his rent then reneged on the deal after he had signed the lease (apparently).
Yes, the selling Agent did set up the lease as part of the sale of contract.
I have owned 2 other properties in this area for 4 years and have been more than happy with them and the management of them. Never had any problems with renting them and have achieved significant capital growth over the 4 years.
At the time of purchase this was the only property for rent which is why the rent negotiated was so high. Houses in inferior condition to ours were getting snapped up by major companies for between $1,200 – $2,000 in the weeks after we purchased ours.
But, as with the highs and lows of mining towns 2 weeks can change everything.
Now there are several properies for rent and no demand
One thing that I have learnt is the value of getting everything in writting.
Yeah, I know, I know Mining Towns are risky.
I am confident that we will get a tenant eventually. Im just really annoyed with how it is all playing out.
I thought I had protected myself by ensuring a lease was in place. I even asked my agent for a copy of the agreement between the tenant and the company. She explained that this couldnt be done and that I had nothing to worry about !!
famous last words !!
You could probably sue him. You may win, but does he have any money or assets which you could seize to satisfy your judgment? If he is a miner he may be on good money, so you could get court orders to guarnish his wages over a certain amount (abt $800pw), but he may just stop working, or make sure he earns less than this so you get nothing.
Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
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