Hi Folks,
Long time reader first time poster. Unfortunately it is for advice about a problem.
To make a long story short we have an investment property in Adelaide that we feel has been badly managed by our chosen PM. The property was left in pretty poor condition by the previous tenant and an outgoing inspection was never done between the previous tenant and the new tenant. We still can't believe the PM would let another tenant move into the property in the state it is in!
Basically the first tenant left alot of hard rubbish behind (fishtanks, pallets, building materials etc) and also made unauthorised alterations to our property (unauthorised in the fact the PM never even notified us of them) such us fences erected, digging up the backyard.
We even allowed the PM to make an insurance claim on our behalf and where of the belief that they had taken care of the issues however this was not the case. We also have photographic evidence (from the PM's first inspection compared to the 2nd tenant's ingoing inspection) validating our issues.
We have emailed our claim to the PM along with the photos and have quite reasonably (we think) requested compensation or for the PM for return the property to something like its original state.
Are we being unreasonable in our demands? The PM has flatly refused our requests and we are unsure if we should take it further, also unsure how to take it further?
Any advice will be much appreciated.
PS If I can share any knowledge or wisdom to help anyone I will… don't want to be one of those forum users that just asks for help then vanishes.
Thanks
Adam
Adk, this sounds complicated. Why did you let the PM take out an insurance claim on your behalf? What does that mean?
What was the money used for? Or what did you think it was used for?
It makes it complicated that there was a second tenant… like can you be sure that the second tenant didn’t make the mess and that they just made the report this way to cover themselves? This part throws doubt on your case.
I am not sure why the PM is responsible here? Or even if they are- it would be a hard case to “get up”.. yes you can prove it with photos and all that but when you face a magistrate its a different kettle of fish.
You need to talk to the equivalent of Consumer Affairs in SA- http://www.ocba.sa.gov.au/ And go from there.
I think there is a body in Victoria – probably Consumer Affairs that you can make a complaint to but it does not do much- they might get the agent to respond but there is no resolution really.Thanks for the feedback
The agent handled the clain for us and they money we got back from insurance company covered loss of rent over 4 weeks, and a few minor repairs considered malicious damage. Further to that the PM claims that the money we received back was to pay for the mess the first tenant left, however we have emails from the PM stating that is would only cover loss of rent etc as above.
It is complicated yes, however the PM didnt do an outgoing inspection when the first tenant was evicted (they even admitted this was a mistake) however we are basing our claim on the first tenants ingoing pre inspection pics vs the 2nd tenants ingoing pre inspection pics so the difference in the condition of our property can only be attributed to the first tenants as the 2nd tenants inspection pics were taken just before they moved in.
I am also a bit annoyed that the PM will not address any of our complaints and has flatly refused to talk any further to us on the issue. This in my mind almost tells me that they may be negligent in their duties and have decided not to comment any further to avoid any liability?
Hi Adk,
I am not sure why the PM is not responding to you. You cant really make assumptions about their liability- not based on whether they respond or not. On the money you received- you say in your opening line that the money was to cover loss of rent but then go on to say that the PM “claims” the money was to cover damage but in the same sentence you again say that the agent emailed you to say that it was for loss of rent?? You have in writing that the agent says the money was for loss of rent- do you have in writing that they also say it was for damage?You either made the claim for loss of rent or you made the claim for repairs. You need to be clear on that for yourself- so that you can pin down the agent on what the money was used for. If you received money back – then that is loss of rent. If the money was spent- then that was to clean up the mess- you need to have had invoices from the companies that cleaned the mess.
So the PM made a mistake in not having an inspection- that is a big call from them and says to me that they are better than to run away from mistakes.
In order to make a claim and so you have the best possible chance of making it succeed- write a list of the things you are claiming for,
make a list of the dates and how it panned out. Speak to SA Consumer Affairs and see where you go from there.
I will say again- the way it seems in law is not always the way it will pan out in court. They might accept the photos as evidence – they might not.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
