the_gripmaster

I live on the top floor of an apartment, 3rd floor to be precise. I am renting the place. There is a gap in the gutter through which possums enter the attic and run around almost every night, causing me to wake up around 2-3am. I have been in contact with my real estate agent for the last 5 months to get this fixed. The real estate agent has been in contact with the muppet strata and so far they have done nothing, except sending a couple of roofers who says it is too high. Is there anywhere I can approach (like an ombudsman) to get this sorted?

Beoz

In NSW you would probably start with Fair Trading. You could always call the strata managers yourself to see if they have been contacted by your RE agent in the first instance.

Sounds like the strata need to spend some money but are unwilling to do so. Perhaps if you hold back the rent, it might force the landlord to act. I have never had a problem in holding back rent for bad service. It usually does the trick.

Lucas_Dad

Just to say, I used NSW Fair Trading last year and they were extremely good. Cost nothing and they were completely fair. Didn't take long either. My issues were with a new house build rather than a rental, but they got me some things fixed that the builder was otherwise not going to act on.

It helped somewhat that I knew my legal rights better than my builder did, all confirmed by the inspector when we met together at our house, so I'd say check the detail of your contract, do a bit of reading on the NSWFT website, and give them a call.