dazzler

Please ignore previous grammar, typing on the run lol

Scotty1

I would agree with Dazzler - tell them the landlord is being unreasonable and you elect to go to tribunal.
They are likely to then come back with a more reasonable suggestion and then up to you - but I would not be paying more than a proportion of the cost. Don't refuse to pay anything - just that the benchtop is elderly and you should only be paying a proportion.
It is likely that they will have landlord insurance (or they should have).
Good luck

mcv

Hi all,

Thanks guys for your comments and suggestions,I will email the agent and ask for a breakdown of the estimate that they have asked us to pay.Im sure they just plucked this figure out of the sky.Then i will see what they say and take it from there.

Thanks Richard

Siren & Brian

Its accidental damage not malicious. Wont effect the policy

bra_boy

The landlord will have to replace the surface, but he can do it far more cheaply than the quoted price. Take it to the tribunal, but before you do, make them a fair offer in writing, say $400. If they turn it down, then it will go against them when the tribunal considers the case.

Zen10

I would have offered to replace the section that was damaged but before the inspection. Now, I would try and negotiate to pay for the separate section only. The problem you have is that if the kitchen is as old as you say it is it might not be possible for them to get a matching section, which is why they want the whole thing replaced. And let's face it, most landlords take every opportunity they can to have their tenants pay for their properties, it's just human nature.

I am renting at the moment and anticipate similar issues when I leave, only in our case the problems really are wear and tear, and no problems caused by negligence, etc. My assessment of the landlord's character leads me to believe she will attempt to withhold the money from our bond to pay for the issues. To deal with this in advance, I am contacting them every few months with a few of the problems for them to come over and fix as is their responsibility as the landlord in law, and this will mean the place is faultless when it comes to the final inspection, and there will be no cause for them to withhold any part of the bond.

If you can't negotiate below the price of the bond - and I suspect they will make sure it is cheaper for you to pay than lose your bond - then the nuclear option is to walk away and lose the bond.

Big Galah

This is good advice. Any landlord SHOULD know that tribunals tend to favour the tenant in these kinds of disputes, as sadly there are two many landlords who treat their tenants with contempt and try to screw them for as much as possible. (Okay, there may be some nightmare tenants too, but as a percentage I think the landlords have it.)

In your situation I would recognise that damage has been done and offer what I feel to be a fair amount by way of compensation and goodwill - NOT replacement cost though, given its age. (I don't know the extent of the damage, but I would probably offer around $250) The amount quoted definitely looks like someone trying to screw you.

When I rented in NSW, if the rental was arranged through an agent (or the proper method), a government agency held the bond. What no one ever tells you is that THE TENANT can apply for return of the bond once they've given notice. This puts you in a far better position, as the agency then receives notice that you've applied, and it's up to them and/or the landlord to contest the return of the full amount if they feel they should be compensated for damage. I don't know if this applies in other states/territories.

Good luck.

Big.

Zen10

This is really interesting information. I just checked and this is the same for South Australia at least. Nowhere on the SA government website page where it says this does it say the tenant can apply for it when they give notice though.

"Bonds are lodged with Consumer and Business Services (CBS) who keep it until the end of the tenancy.

All or part of the bond can be claimed by the landlord if you:

cause property damage

are in rent arrears

breach other conditions in the lease agreement.

If no claims are made the bond will be returned to you, your guarantor or to Housing SA if they provided a bond on your behalf.

If you think a bond is being claimed unfairly you can dispute it - see Disputing a bond claim."

Looks like the landlord has first claim on the bond?

paularn

This is what I've been told in Queensland. We are having issues at the moment with our real estate agent and we've been waiting on them to fix 2 bedroom air conditioners for 19 months!! I have been in contact with the Tenancy Advice Bureau and they have instructed me on the steps I need to take - I've just told the agent we want a rent decrease with compensation from when the issue was first raised. Wait and see how they react to that one...otherwise its on to QCAT.

Anyway, one of the things they also said was that we are to apply for the bond ahead of the agent...they told me that we are to send the form to the RTA (in QLD) the day before we are to hand back the keys because RTA doesn't want that form until the keys have been returned. So if I send it express mail the day before we vacate, it should arrive to them on the day we move out....beating the agent to the punch, so to speak. Anyway, the Tenancy Advice Bureau have been extremely helpful and have said they want me to ring them when I'm ready to give notice to leave and when we're ready to apply for the bond back.

mcv

Hi All,

so far we have had the agent saying we need to pay the landlord $2200 sent to us via email ,we have now asked for a 2nd quote.which we will then ask for a copy and a breakdown.i suspect the original cost was just made up with no actual quote ever been done.

thanks all for you input

any ideas the costs involved in taking the landlord to tribunal in victoria?

Richard

roaringmouse

Sounds like fair wear & tear to me, particularly if the bench top is by the stove top. There was an article recently in The Age about rental bonds and what can count as wear & tear, which is quite a vague description. Interestingly it also mentioned that steam cleaning carpets at the end of a tenancy isn't required although tenancy agreements normally include the requirement to do so.
Dependent on if this estate agent uses a blacklist register, and if the future agent uses it too. In any case, the agent would need to inform you if they put you on the list, and the reason why - and you would be on there for 3 years. I believe you can also dispute being placed onto the register through VCAT.

chris and farideh

We took our agent & landlord to small claim court you only pay around $100 but that was in Qld I don't think it'll be much more of that in Vic, good luck.

LeeWillo

Hi mcv, if it were me, I would get a joiner round and get my own quote. So you know in your own mind how much you are looking at.

Beoz

The tenant has already admited they damaged the bench top but is desputing the replacement cost. I don't think it would be fair on the landlord if they claimed wear and tear when really it's damage.

Interestingly our landlord has put our property on the market. He wanted to do viewings when it wasn't appropriate (we couldn't decide on amicable times) but as a tenant you've kind of got them over a barrel when you've got 9 months left to run on the lease and you can only sell your property to an investor. The landlord also wasn't prepared to reduce the rent to make up for time lost whilst viewings and after viewing cleaning (cleaning up muddy footprints). So in the end we came to a great agreement of a few weeks free rent in return for moving out early.

You've got to stick to your guns and keep negotiating with these people. Eventually you can bore them into submission.

roaringmouse

That's the issue with the term wear and tear, it's quite vague and can only be tested at VCAT.

A couple of things to note that could be relevant: If there is disagreement on the division of the bond, then the agent needs to apply to VCAT within 10 business days of the tenants vacating the property. Also, If the agent/landlord wishes to claim more than the bond then they must apply to VCAT for this.

So definitely don't claim responsibility to the agent, and also don't pay, or offer to pay, anything on top of the bond as it needs to go to tribunal. This can be found in the booklet you were given by the agent on or before the day you moved in.