How to deal with a bad landlord.

It's been a little while since we shared some stories about landlords - it's important to poke fun at ourselves from time to time. 

There was a real doozy of a landlord that was doing the rounds back in January - you've probably seen it - the one with a list of 31 demands, right down to having no pork in the fridge and no personal belongings left out. This was obviously more for a group of flatmates than tenants of a property.

But in all seriousness what happens if you have a landlord who really is not playing the game? Who is lazy and really needs to become more responsible. Of course all of our landlords we work with are beyond reproach, but what if you have a landlord who spins lines, spends less and less time and money on the property you're living in and becomes more unavailable by the day?

Well you need to pay attention and know your rights, so that you can tell if the landlord is full of hot air. If you feel your tenancy rights have been breached  and your landlord is not interested at all, then get in touch with Consumer Affairs, and they will advise on the next step.

So lets get into it. If a landlord is saying some of these things, you can fight back a little with words:

1 - The Landlord claims: "I own the property I can come and go as I please. I don't need to warn you!" 

Your response: "You may be paying the mortgage, but I"m paying you to live here. So unless it's a serious emergency then you need to set up a time BEFORE coming over."

It's a legal fact that landlords have to give written or at least verbal notice. Check with your state to find out how much notice landlords need to give. Usually it's 48 hours.

2 - The landlord says: "Oh, by the way we're renting out the property for the Melbourne Cup, so you'll have to leave. But it's OK you can come back after the festivities."

Your response: "Ah, NO, my lease isn't up. I have 6 more months until renewal!" 

It is very unlikely that your landlord can get away with this, but there are some states in the U.S. where the law states that the landlord can take possession of the property -  in the middle of a lease - as long as the landlord provides a month of free rent and has spelled it out in the lease. But in Australia, I highly doubt that you can do that. Fill me in if I'm wrong.

3 - The landlord says: "No need to look over the lease, it's just standard"

Your response: "Excellent, well it won't take me long to read it then. Where is it?"

There really is no standard lease, every property is different. Yes, there will most likely be clauses that you will find in pretty much all leases, but you still need to read and approve it before signing.

4 - The landlord says: "My other tenants don't complain about their air-conditioning (insert appliance) not working."

Your Response: "Well excellent, then that means you have more time to fix the one I'm paying you for."

This is a variation of "No one else complains". It doesn't matter what the landlord's other tenants do, the lease you have is between you and the landlord, what other tenants do is irrelevant. It's basic contract law.

5 -The landlord says: "The paint is peeling off, you must have done it!"

Your response: "Ah no! I didn't spend my time picking the paint off the house! So please return my bond."

Yip, this is the most common complaint. The 'normal wear and tear' vs 'damage' issue. So your best bet is to take photos, or even video your walk through before you move in. That way you are covered.

6 - The landlord says: "No worries, we'll have the garage door fixed in 2 weeks then you can move your stuff back in"

Your response: "Great, so that means I get a deduction on my rent for 2 weeks while it's unusable?"

So this happens a lot, unfortunately, promises to fix something major that never eventuates. You may have grounds for breaking the lease without penalty, if the reason you're breaking the lease is because the landlord is not delivering what they promised.

If you do have major issues with your landlord, get in touch with Consumer Affairs. The sooner you get it resolved, the happier everyone will be.

Have you had dealings with a landlord who didn't play the game?