Landlord with terminal illness is dealt a brutal $6,500 blow after lengthy battle with tenants
A landlord who was undergoing treatment cancer was left more than $6,500 out of pocket after heartless tenants stopped paying rent.
The landlord, a father in his 50s, was being treated for brain cancer when he decided to sell an investment property he owned in Clyde, California. Melbourne‘s southeast in June 2023.
The four-bedroom house had been rented to a family since 2020 and the tenants had to pay $430 per week in rent, which they often did not pay on time.
The landlord put the property up for sale in an attempt to support his family due to the continued enormous costs of his treatment.
The tenants were given 60 days to find new housing after receiving a notice to vacate the house.
But they refused to leave and in September last year stopped paying rent, sparking a protracted battle at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal (VCAT).
A Melbourne landlord had to pay more than $6,500 out of pocket after tenants living in an investment property he owned stopped paying rent (photo stock image)
VCAT ruled that the tenants did not have to move, even though they had stopped paying rent and the property was for sale.
The tenants argued that it was ‘their home’ and that their children attended a school nearby, so they would be inconvenienced.
The landlord was therefore not allowed to take back the property and was forced to sell it while the lease was still in force and the tenants were still living in the property.
The property was eventually sold, forcing the tenants to move out before a settlement could be reached with the new owners, but they still haven’t paid the hefty $6,500 rent arrears.
Ray White property manager Hannah Taylor said her client went through an exhaustive regulatory process to get his case resolved.
“We have had numerous VCAT hearings to recover the arrears but unfortunately the member continued to side with the tenants,” Ms Taylor said. Yahoo News.
‘The landlord underwent treatment. To prove this, we even had to provide medical documents to the court, while the tenant did not provide any documents and was dismissed.’
The landlord eventually became embroiled in an eight-month battle with the tribunal before a possession order was finally granted.
When the police executed the search warrant, the tenants had already left the home and rent was due the next day.
Ms Taylor said she was forced to take time off after the properties were settled.
Ray White property manager Hannah Taylor (pictured) said her client went through an exhaustive regulatory process to get his case resolved
“Even as a property manager, it was huge for them to take on that stress. I had to take mental health days to deal with it all because we weren’t getting the outcome we needed,” she said.
The unaccounted costs forced the landlord to finance the mortgage repayments themselves.
His insurance could not cover the cost of the refunds due to a loophole in the law.
He also had to pay the costs of the tribunal’s hearing of his case, including almost $400 in court costs and $500 for the tribunal hearings.
Ms Taylor urged financial support for landlords and property owners who are struggling to make their repayments.
She said landlords do not have the same access to funds to meet their financial obligations as tenants.
Ms Taylor also said tribunals should take into account a landlord’s situation in a tenancy agreement and should have the right to evict a tenant who fails to pay their rent.
Landlords in Victoria can give tenants 14 days’ notice to vacate the property if their rent is two weeks late.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the VCAT for comment.
