Hi there sisters š· Seeking wisdom and insight from those who have fought a Landlord/agent through the RTA/tribunal for price gouging with rental increases. We live in a nice and relatively new town house complex in north Brisbane. 12 months ago it was going for $610 (we offered $650 as we werenāt getting anything!!) and secured the property. We are extremely tidy and always punctual with payments. 12 months on, the greedy landlord/agent are asking for $750ā¦.! Thatās a 23% hike from the original asking price!
We built a very detailed case on why the property isnāt worth $750, using RTA median prices as well as drawing comparisons with others online, but what REALLY enraged us was when we learnt our neighbour on one said (exact same property) has just signed for $650 for 18 months and the other neighbour (again, same property!) for $630!!
We feel discriminated against and absolutely unsupported by the agent who should be aiming for a degree of equality across the houses. I understand itās a hard time for owners too, but for goodnessā sakeā¦. The greed is phenomenal. Weāve decided to take it through the dispute system and the RTA feel we have a decent case. I know this sector is unregulated and anything can happenā¦. But would love to hear stories of your experiences. We want to buy in around a year, so arenāt too fussed about getting a reference off this greedy person!! TIA!! šš¦šššš
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22 Replies
Unfortunately even though you offered higher to get it, they can still increase on that each renewal. I hope you win or can negotiate something fair, it would be better for you to stay there and have a good relationship so they help you when you buy and are ready to move out as those dates can be messy.
Yesā¦. I do hope we can keep everything civil. We are certainly always polite and respectful with the property manager. Hopefully we can have a more realistic price agreed upon and things donāt get too messy!
Thank you
whilst you think that this is unfair and it is unfair. most Landlords are not greedy. I am a landlord myself & I rent a property. Itās so hard on both but you wonāt win on this one.
Itās either pay the rent increase or move to a cheaper area.
Yes it sux! I donāt like it either. Landlord have a lot to pay out. I hesitantly put my tenants rent up $20 a week, my expenses had gone up a lot more but $20 was fine at the time prior to interest rate increases and my own rent increase but now itās all changed.
2 weeks Later my own rent where I am living went up $100 per week, I was shocked but there is nothing I can do.
I now have to put my own tenants rent up $100 a week or I will need to move back there or sell the house. My tenants rent is much cheaper compared to yours and is a 4 bedroom.
My rates, water charges and real estate fees have all gone up, which is a killer .
We have to sacrifice a lot to keep the home for this family to live in. We could sell it right now and have them move out, something I donāt want to do.
Interest rates at the moment continue to keep going up, no one expected this so soon after getting back on their feet from covid.
Itās been a struggle for many landlords and tenants. We are all in the same boat.
Yes some landlords are rich but so are some tenants. Bring a landlord is hard. Not to mention maintenance but there is some greedy ones unfortunately and they wonāt budge.
We are all doing the best we can to live each day and keep a roof over our heads.
What I suggest you do, send a nice email to the owners via the agent prior to signing the new lease and ask if they could possible decease the rent to $70 a week increase instead, based on your affordability and shock at such an increase. Explain that you have medical expenses etc and if they could kindy consider$60- $70 instead. Tell them how you would love to stay long term, you look after the place, keep it clean and treat it like your own and would hate to have to move because you can no longer afford it.
I said $60- 70 because itās probably around the amount that they would be likely to accept. You could try less but it probably wonāt work.
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Itās so hard to rent right now and basically we all have no choice to pay the rent or move . I had to stay where I was and pay the extra rent because, I had no time or money come up with a new bond to move at such short notice and there is no where to go.
It sux, I agree but until there is some law in place, nothing will change and I hardly doubt any new laws will be brought in, itās way too late for that.
I would also say, if they are being this way, theyād more than likely let you move out.
I honestly donāt want to increase my tenants rent but I have no choice.
I believe rent should be capped at a max of $50 - $70 per week at each lease renewal period.
The only thing we can do is keep writing to the government for change.
Yesā¦ I appreciate there are many issues at stake and itās not always black and white. We did write quite a detailed letter, explaining how we support 5 children between us, one with a disability, the other unable to workā¦. We keep the home immaculately presented and the agent knows this. Stability for my 3 children is key and we stated how unsettling it would be for them to have to moveā¦ not to mention having schools, therapy appointments, their father nearby. The response from the agent is always āWe have achieved $750 in the complexā, as itās some sort of trophy to get the most amount of money out of the tenantā¦. I just donāt believe in this case itās purely driven by hardship. The landlordās registered company name is something along the lines of āIām Rich Nowāā¦ which probably gave us the preconceived notion there was some greed in there somewhere!
I guess the hard thing is that rents wonāt go downā¦. Interest rates are looking to plateau very soon and potentially start to head back downā¦ but where does that leave the rental marketā¦.? Like a bubble set to explodeā¦.
I hope you get some relief soon and you sound like a good landlord, as least your heart is in the right place! ā¤ļøšš¾ā¤ļø
Wow this is terrible, I really feel for you and your family. They donāt sound like the type of people who will drop it. I guess because you have kids, they know you will be homeless and canāt risk it. I have a child with medical needs too, itās hard. This landlord sounds like the type, to not care, as long as he is making extra money. Itās so wrong. Your agent should have suggested less, if there are others around for less. It needs to be capped, they canāt keep getting away with it. The agents are big winners here too. Higher the rent, higher their percentage in fees.
Yes, agree with you on all fronts. And double yes regarding the agent - I can really feel he's done nothing to try to keep our rent at a fair and equitable price, like the other neighbours. I just can't believe there's no cap either.... they really need to do more to protect the tenant and build some decent legislation around this!
Something should have been in place during covid for increases to be capped at least for 2-3 years to stop this, so people can get back on their feet. Iād be happy to cop $50 a week but anything more is beyond ridiculous.
Totally agreeā¦.. also Air BnB isnāt helpingā¦. Apparently lost of the available rental market is now on Air BnB as landlords want even more rentā¦. So that just spikes demand even further š
Just keep fighting it. Give them a counter offer and hopefully they accept. There isnāt any winners in this for tenants. What a shame he didnāt like yours in for 18 months.
Thank you. Yesā¦ I was surprised the landlord wouldnāt accept our offer and doesnāt seem to want to budgeā¦. The worst that can happen is being forced to pay the new rateā¦. š„“
Good luck, hope you win x
Thank you! I feel itās something we need to doā¦. Not just for us, but for tenants everywhereā¦.
Have you asked about same price as the neighbour locked in for 18 months.? Offer $50 less with an 18 month lease. See what they come back with. You will need to move if you canāt agree on it sadly.
Yepā¦. Landlord will only take 12 month contract unfortunatelyā¦. We even asked if we could have 18 months for $710 ($60 hike on current rates) and landlord said noā¦.
Thatās crazy! Keep fighting it. I think they wonāt renew your lease in a year but best to keep fighting it and stand your ground.
Thanks for the encouragement.... I hope it's worth the energy!
I live in a gorgeous apartment complex with a gym, pool, spa , underground parking, etc in a high end area among parks, wildlife, and everything at your fingertips . It's a 2 bed , 2 bath, teeny place . I moved in here 4 yrs ago at $340pw. Now it's $450pw . The ppl above me in the identical apartment are $600pw . The ones beside me are $500pw. The ones on my other side are $430.
The market is whatever the landlords wants it to be, unfortunately. They can get someone else in happy to pay your price , and they will. Rest assured, this won't continue forever. It'll balance out eventually. You'll just have to weather the storm for a while.
The worst that can happen is you risk a no grounds eviction, and end up somewhere else paying a lot more . Pick your battles . This probably isn't it right now . Also you can negotiate rent increases with the owner/ agent but instead you're going to straight to a legal tribunal. This is only asking for a storm, and you'll probably get one.
And if you're buying in a year, why bother arguing this issue. Your mortgage will be higher anyway, albeit yours, but it's still going to be more .
On what grounds can they serve us a 'no grounds eviction'? That possibility hasn't come up in any of the several conversations I've had with the RTA thus far.
Surely if you're in a dispute with the RTA (and this takes place after signing the renewal contract, which we already have received) an eviction wouldn't be legal? We have negotiated with the agent already, of course... we wouldn't take this straight to a legal tribunal without first building a case and asking for consideration. In fact, we submitted a 5 page case study, which was incredibly detailed, only to receive no feedback to any of our questions. So in this case, it's the agent/owner who won't give us the decency of responding to our request for feedback. The worst thing that can happen from this point is no agreement through the dispute, then the judge at the tribunal stating the current price is appropriate in his/her opinion, leaving us to continue for another 12 months in the same property paying the new, higher price.
I don't see a storm coming from this. We work too hard for our money to take this lying down. If we lose, so be it, but it's worth trying.
Depending on your City/ State, no grounds evictions are unfortunately, legal and can, and do happen . Hopefully it won't be something you need to consider in your situation. It's even possible the Agents haven't even told the Owners, hence the delay of response. Good Luck , but you know your rights, so it's unlikely you'll need luck. Xx
Thank you. Yesā¦. Totally agree that itās highly possible the agent is doing all of this without the landlordās knowledgeā¦.
I donāt think he likes us much as we were so detailed on the entry report and found lots of things he hadnāt picked up onā¦. Letās see what happensā¦. š¤·š»āāļøš¤š½ šš¾ā¤ļø
You need to go through dispute resolution first to show you have attempted to negotiate and come to an agreement, before you lodge with QCAT.
I would also consider asking an agent to provide a rent appraisal to back up your dispute that the increase is excessive.
Contact QSTARS they are proper legal advice for renters in Queensland.
They will give you the right advice and help you fight this and itās a free service