We have been in Adelaide since January 30th 2005 and have just finished our 6 month rental. We have had various problems with the real estate agent but have managed to overcome most of them. We were always concerned about leaving and getting our bond back. We are in the Aberfoyle Park area. We arranged for our inspection to be done and left the house immaculate, we even got our Aussie neighbour over to make sure we had some back up and a witness to how we had left the house (immaculate). The estate agent came round and found fault however. Nothing serious the odd small mark behind a door etc. So I returned to the house and did everything. The Estate agent went out again and was not happy and told me that I had left 2 rakes in the garage and could I remove them. They actually belonged to the owner and she had forgot to itemise them on the inventory. She has come out again for the third time and listed at least 8 more problems. One being a small mark on the front door. Well it must be small because neither myself or my neighbour could find it. They are being really awkward for the sake of it. Moral of the story is when you are given an inventory, list every tiny mark and scratch you see. I will not name the estate agent for legal reasons, but am more than happy to discuss it via private e-mail. I will now spend another hour trying to find these tiny microscopic marks to remove them. BEWARE.
Kate Gibbons

Hi Kate

that happens over here to, I think all estate agents are cottoning on to how to earn some extra money!! My sis is in rented at the moment and just moved into her second rental - she lost her whole deposit of around 500pds they wanted money for cleaning the carpet, money for cleaning the curtains etc. the list was endless. She did realise that she might lose some but not the lot!!!! The motto being like u yes - BEWARE, good idea of yrs to have neighbour as witness.

Chris
:chuckle:

Hi,

This might seem like an extreme measure when you first read it but as an added bit of security i'd video the inventory stage and first agreement process, making sure to cover the whole house. It doesn't take long to capture each room. This gives you a very suitable reference log and allows you to carefuly check each claim made. Who can argue with footage.
Graham

You should have done a pre rental inspection with the property manager before you moved in, and filled the first inspection sheet together at that time - and have been given a copy to keep for your records.


http://www.ocba.sa.gov.au/tenancies/leasea...agreements.html

When renting, should I check the condition of the premises?

Yes, definitely. When you enter into a tenancy agreement the landlord must hand you two Inspection Sheets on which they have written their opinion of the condition of the premises. You should check the premises against the landlord's assessment of its condition and make your comments on the sheets. When they have been completed, sign both copies of the sheet and return one to the landlord and retain the other. Keep the inspection sheet in a safe place until your tenancy ends. The landlord must also provide you with an Information Brochure, which tells you what your rights and obligations are under the Act.

What happens when I leave the premises?

Both parties should produce the Inspection Sheet and check the premises. You are responsible for leaving them in a clean and undamaged state. If you have caused any damage make sure it is properly repaired before the inspection, otherwise you may be at risk of an order by the Tribunal for compensation to the landlord. Compensation may be ordered for any losses sustained by the landlord, including damage or cleaning of the premises and/or loss of rent. When you leave the premises in a good condition with rent paid to the date to which your obligation ceases under the agreement, the Commissioner for Consumer Affairs will refund the bond.

Hi

We did everything correctly, all the carpets have been cleaned they have admitted there are no problems, no breakages. They cannot actually find anything wrong and to honest that is why they are so cheesed off. So they are just being awkward on the cleaning issues. I cannot even find half the marks they are on about, it is just a power trip.

Things to make sure you do
Spend extra hours at the beginning listing every mark and scratch
Get somebody else to look round the house with you at the beginning ( a witness)
Don't sign the inventory on departure unless you agree with it.
Make sure the bond form is completed with amount of bond before signing

If you have any problems do go to the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs, we have used them 3 times since we moved in. They have always been very helpful and informative.

Your bond is held by the Tenancies Branch of OCBA, if you continue to have problems with your estate agent, you can apply for return of your bond, directly through them. Just cut the Estate Agent out if you feel they are being unreasonable.

The law is on your side in Australia. Any unresolved problems with an Estate Agent can be taken to Tribunal within weeks. You do not have to pay costs and cannot be liable for any costs. The OCBA will advise you on this.

Don't sit back and let them bully you. We have moved into another rental which is a brand new property. There were a few things unfinished when we moved in (what a surprise). I spoke to the Estate Agent about a refund of rent because of these unfinished jobs. We were told no way this wasn't done over here. I have just been refunded a weeks rent. As long as you are being reasonable and are in the right then fight your cause.

It is certainly no worse than the UK and Estate Agents just seem to be a nightmare where ever you go.

Cheers
Kate

I've been renting in the UK for 11 years. I have never had aproblem until the last house I moved from. They took £1100 damage deposit, compared to a maximum of £20 ever taken from any other house (13 of them) that I have ever rented. I was going to take photos on my digital camera, but ran out of time. If you have one, take photos of marks when you arrive and send copies to the agents. Then take similar photos when you leave.

I guess you get greedy people everywhere. Have sent a pm as be useful to know who to avoid.

All the best

Claire.

Hi

we managed to get all of our bond back from our last rental agent! :sign60:

But, I saw this on another forum from someone in Perth - what a Nightmare! :o

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We built up a great relationship with the Real Estate we rented through.......or so we thought. She often said she felt that she didnt need to undertake her 3 monthly inspections as the house was always in such great condition.
So when we moved out we expected all or our $960 Bond Money returned. WRONG.

We were charged $95 for the inspection that they insist on carrying out.
They then docked us $150 as they said the carpets were not clean enough. We had them steam-cleaned and handed over the certificate from the cleaning company confirming we had paid $100, but no, they said they were not clean enough.

When we took the property on the inspection document clearly stated 'faded marks on carpet in bedroom'. When we left they said that these 'faded' marks were now bleach marks that we had done????????? Another $100 deducted.

We advised them in writing that we were moving out on the 15th July. When Mick went in to hand the keys back on the morning of that day, he was told 'Oh no, you dont have to be out until the 18th July'. So although we had already moved out he used those extra days to repaint the house (not realising just how much they were going to deduct) We then got charged $140 'Over due rent' When I phoned to query it they said we didnt move out until the 18th. I argued that we had told them that we had originally advised them that we were moving out on the 15th and they had made the mistake. They agreed that their had been 'a lack of communnication', (even though I had stated the 15th on the paperwork that we had signed) We still got the $140 deducted.
I then paid a window cleaner $150 to clean all the windows. They then said on their report that there were grubby marks on the windows and deducted a further $100.

The Real Estse left it a week before they did the inspection, from when we moved out. She phoned me at home and asked if I could meet her at the house with some polish and cloths. When I got there she was wiping her finger over the woodwork and windowsills and said how dusty they were. I stated that the house had been empty for over a week and dust does tend to settle. However not wanting to upset the applecart I duly dusted all through (again).
We then got confirmation of how much we were getting back. Just $110!!!
She had made a further deduction for the dust and we had to pay the water bill.

Take into account that we had already paid out $250 for the carpet cleaning and the window cleaning we were out of pocket!!

If I had known this I wouldnt have even made an effort to blitz the place. I nearly had a stroke doing it!!

I wouldnt have minded, but the house is now up for sale with a great big board out side showing Micks lovely decorating.
As we have family here we popped in on the open day to show them our first house in Perth. I was bloody gobsmacked when the Real Estate selling it said the asking price reflected the decor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Those in Kinross............Its number 1 Glencoe Loop!!!!!!!

Hi

Our inspection was completed on Friday and they picked up some cleaning points, which to be honest were a joke. I couldn't find half of them. Anyhow they said you can do them over the weekend, which we did.

This morning I went to retrieve my bond form as they had said the house was now okay, and the are charging me an extra three days rent, because I had the key to do the cleaning (which they told me to do). Make sure the keys are returned on the day or they can charge you rent, even if they say you can go back to amend something.

I have just applied to take them to tribunal.

The Office of Consumer Affairs have said that their actions are outrageous.

Kate

Estate Agent in Aberfoyle Park

Just to add to that:

When we took on a rented property 3 months back the house was absolutely filthy. On the agents inspection report he had put everything clean so we sent the form back saying everything was filthy and the house shouldn't have been left in that state for us to move into. Needless to say we never got a response to this. We found out after that the house had been empty for ages and there must have been years of dust and muck in there. When we first went to inspect the property the agent said he would get a cleaner in and yes he did but she must have been in and out of there in 5 minutes. We borrowed a hoover from someone and I am not joking we had to empty it 9 times. It took my husband a week of non-stop cleaning to get it clean enough for us to move into. I couldn't really do much cos I have a toddler and am expecting again. The carpets hadn't been cleaned which they were supposed to have been and had animal hair all over them. When we asked about the windows being cleaned the agent said there was no point as they would be just as bad the next day! My husband had to clean all the windows inside and out.
Anyway we have just bought a property and when it came to moving out and have the inspection report done - you will never believe what the agent said. He had the flaming cheek to say he had spent two hours there cleaning it himself getting it back up to the standard of cleanliness it was when we moved in. I was hopping mad because to get it back to the standard it was when we moved in would have meant throwing 5 years of muck back in!!! He even said that he had had to clean the oven, racks and trays because they were filthy - to which I replied "exactly they were filthy and we never used the oven for that reason!!!" so that just proved my point.
He knocked $4 off our bond for the time he said he had spent cleaning. Yes $4. We should have charged him $400 for our time not to mention the cleaning products.
We are just glad to be out of there to be honest.
That's my story about renting but I'm sure it's not all bad for everyone.
Joanne

You cant beat a GOOD Digital Camera , i always advise people when moving into rentals photograph all dents scratches etc,........... ;) mm

Top tip MM, I think that this could apply to buying to as some of the agents we dealt with when viewing potential houses were less than scrupulous.

Good idea MM :D

I would say if you have one use a video camera then you can actualy record it all with sound.

Debs xxxx

I put my application into the Office of Consumer Affairs for return of our bond this afternoon. I then e-mailed the Estate agent to confirm this.

When I left the office in Aberfoyle this afternoon, he mockingly said "see you in court, you won't get your money back".

I received a creepy phonecall from his side kick late this afternoon, saying that they will be returning my bond. Now I am not sure what has prompted a change of heart, but it goes to show he was just trying to rip us off. Perhaps he didn't think we'd take it any further.

So the moral of the story is don't take any s**t.

Kate

Kate

good news about yr bond - its give us all food for thought as most of us when arriving will move into rented accommdation and as u say no doubt the Estate Agents are getting wise to this and some attempting to take advantage. I for one will use video/camera evidence of before and after!!!!!

Thanks for the tip,

Chris
:chuckle:

Glad to see you stood your ground & are getting your bond back.
There does seem to be an arrogant stance on the part of some agents - perhaps they think all new arrivals are gullible!


Desiree
:D :D

When we left our rental the agent inspected it on a Sunday teatime, said that the grass needed cutting and if we didn't get it done that night she would charge us another weeks rent. She also complained that the carport door was dusty (huh?). We didn't have a lawnmower (plus we had paid to have it cut the week before!) so I phoned the landlord direct and said 'please come round, your agent is being a complete sh*t, I'd like you to see the house for yourself". They came round, agreed it was spotless and instructed the agent to back off.

Some of you might know that I am a landlord myself nowadays, and all I want at the end of a tenancy is for an easy handover with no bond disputes on either side. I believe that the majority of landlords and agents are honest and fair, but there will always be a couple of bad apples in every bunch.

I would second Mr Mover's tip, when you move in take a digital camera -make sure the date feature is on - and photograph everywhere, inside and out, and every mark or problem area in close-up. adelaidegirl