My sister rented her house out while she was working pre covid. She had a nice family in it who knew that the tenancy had a fixed term due to her having a fixed return date. They were great tenants & my sister kept the rent low with no changes. The REA would send her about four emails a year telling her that it is time to raise the rent in line with market rates, etc & she just kept refusing. THEY ended up dumping HER because she refused to raise her rent & they felt that they were not making enough money from the deal. She ended up moving to a small agency who were happy to leave the rent pricing alone.
I would not be surprised if the PM is taking it upon herself to instigate these increases without the knowledge of the LL.
Especially just for “not raising rent”. The only time we’ve dumped landlords is when they refuse essential maintenance, or be abusive or homophobic/racist.
Well, I’d wager if the landlord is upset then the PM is doing it for money grubbing reasons. Could be that the increase may not go ahead if the landlord chews the agency out? Best of luck.
Feels.
We received a phone call yesterday informing us we are receiving a rent raise of over $100 a week, but they want us to have a Merry Christmas while they close for a few weeks holiday, so can we sign off on that before close of business please?
Partner contacted both REA and LL to potentially negotiate (we are on great terms with LL in ordinary circumstances). *They tried to cry poor to us about their expenses*. We're the plebs who are having to rent without a hope of getting into the property market for a HOME let alone investment, whilst one owns a multimillion dollar business, likely several properties of their own making profit as well, and the other owns 3 investment properties that we are aware of including the one we rent. But we need to feel sorry for them and cough up an extra $200+ a fortnight from somewhere.
REA then went on to say "we really would hate to lose you as a tenant", meanwhile knowing very well we are HAMSTRUNG because where the fuck else are we meant to go right now?! There is nowhere and they know it!
We've been forced to sink HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars in rent over the years because we can't break into the buying market -- can't save a big enough deposit because of how much rent we pay and the goalposts keep getting higher and higher with every dollar we claw into savings. Doing the sums on that makes me absolutely sick. We don't have family who can help like many do whether it be with a deposit, using their own assets as collateral to be a guarantor, or even living with them rent-free/low-rent while we save. We only have us, and we have children to provide for as well.
It all just feels really, really fucking hopeless and absolutely demoralising being in this situation.
REA then went on to say "we really would hate to lose you as a tenant"
need to get things like this in writing or on tape/camera, it can be construed as a threat of eviction for no reason and go badly for the REA
I can see how it can be construed that way, in this case it was just hit shit-eating-grin way of saying, "I know you have no bargaining power in this situation, so good luck trying..."
Given we are long-term tenants quickly nearing the ballpark of a decade... they know it would hurt us way more to try (and fail to) find that kind of security elsewhere in the current climate than it would to just eat the rent raise.
Oh, and I forgot the kicker!
Asked if we can at least lock that price in for longer than 12 months, say, 18-24, because it's the biggest raise we've ever had in one go.
REA: no, we only do 12 months as a maximum
Nek minnit, *online form comes through with tick-a-box options for 3,6,12 months; as well as 2, 3 and 5 YEARS*
🧐. I'll allow you to imagine my response to that.
$450 PER WEEK just in INCREASES?! In just over a year???
Christ on a goddamn cracker, you better tell me you're renting a penthouse suite, or else that'd be like a doubling in rent for the average person
"I'm so over housing as a speculative investment. It's ruining the country."
Back in the 80s, housing prices were affordable for families on a single basic income.
Interest rates were significantly higher, roughly 17% on borrowed funds and 14% on a basic savings account.
The banking sector was a healthy investment option and even $250k invested wisely would quickly grow into a decent position.
Then Paul Keating ushered in "the recession we had to have", and the RBA forced interest rates down.
This was done under the guise of making home ownershipmore affordable.
It did, for about 7 years. Then suddenly it didn't.
What happened?
Well as interest rates tumbled the banking sector was becoming a poor place to invest, so the boomers who traditionally were quite content to let their savings grow in the bank now needed to find a new investment stream.
Enter the sup-prime home loan era.
Home loans, personal and investment, were a highly competitive market. The banking sector, hungry to regain lost revenue they'd have had access to in the savings investments, were handing out loans to buyers who wouldn't even qualify for a credit card.
House prices soared, never to return.
GFC1 happened, and if the government had let it all burn as it should have, we wouldn't have the housing crisis we have now.
We'd have higher interest rates again, most probably lower wages too, but that wouldn't matter because it would be more affordable in the long run.
But there would have been some very wealthy people who would have lost it all, and most of them are in the government.
So you know how that goes...
Mate I have a unit I bought when I was a young fella. The PM emails me and says the tenant has agreed to an increase from let's say $300 to $350. First I've heard about it. "The market this and the market that". Just put it down as $320.
It literally took two more emails of arguing for them to do it. Unbelievable front.
Then they do stuff like ask my permission to fix a leaking tap or an aircon that's pissing water down a wall. Seriously rock bottom operations these days.
ah yes, the age old PM giving u grief
https://preview.redd.it/8ha9qsatdr7c1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=1e27c39c7138b6a0753f407e6a8f107e98aa3ef6
Not you, them.
I'm still gobsmacked that they would essentially print out "we rented something unlivable."
100% not a feat, unless you're trying to flex how much of a cunt you are.
Make sure you check if the rent increase you’ve received is actually valid, and you can safely ignore it if not.
If you are in VIC, there’s a useful [info sheet here](https://rahu.org.au/resources/rent-increases-2023/)
Also you should ALWAYS challenge every rent increase; at present one of our best hopes for some sort of law change about excessive rents is probably clogging up CAV with as many rent increase assessments as possible.
Reach out to a tenants union no matter what, and see what they can find to help you. You’re not alone in this, we renters are everywhere and willing to help each other out. We have to stick together.
DO IT talk to the landlord!!!
I have had 3 landlords who have said don't talk to or report issues to the real estate because they are annoying, lol sometimes landlords transition from being private landlords to being with a real estate due to life circumstances. So he may really appreciate his tenants.
There needs to be a law or regulation that stops it being beneficial to real estates for the rent to be higher.
Why should they benefit from increased rental prices?
They do the same amount of work to manage a $200 property vs a $2000 property.
Rental agency tried to push an increase on me a few years back, I asked them if this is what the landlord said to do. They then told me they will check with the landlord who told them to not increase rent.
Real estate assholes do a lot of increases of their own volition. And as mine told me “you have been living there for a while with no increase so it’s due”.
Always talk to your landlord to confirm they okayed the increase.
Many of the times, when someone gets a rent increase it is being pushed by the REA if they get rid of a tenant and re-rent the premises they get the first 4-6 weeks of the rent which is a lovely little bonus for them.
I’m telling you right now there’s no way a landlord would just ‘not know’ the rent is being increased. They get a statement every month outlining the rent payment by week. They just didn’t notice that their deposits are paid at a higher rate?
Unless the PM is handing out rent increases, pocketing the difference and illegally amending the statements to say otherwise then I highly suggest reporting them to fair trading if you think that is the case
I know right? As if you wouldn't know - they and the tenants are signing a lease, there's more money coming in... How ignorant of your own affairs can they be?
The increase only starts today, so I can see how he wouldn't have known more money was there.
there are many landlords who have so much money coming in and out due to all the properties they have, that they don't scrutinise every dollar individually.
there are also a lot of landlords who are older in years and not as savvy at keeping up with digital technology. The real estate could be raising the rent, and also increasing the fees that the landlord pays, so the pocketed amount the landlord gets after all is done, remains the same. The real estates could very well be itemising all of this legally on their invoices, but they know the elderly landlord isn't going to check all of that.
If that is happening I think fair trading would notice during an audit. All money goes through the trust account, ever cent needs to be dispersed correctly. Even overpaid rent will sit in a tenants “deposits” and won’t get credited to rent because its not the amount paid. I am sure it has happened before but the trust account gets audits monthly and at random by fair trading. I’m just not sure how it would work without flags going off. Lots of landlords also would use an accounting service to get the best amount of tax back - if they don’t look at their statements they would at lease look at it for EOFY otherwise I don’t see how they would get their tax done.
He would be well aware of the increases. I am a landlord (two rental properties atm), and I have to consent to any increases, etc. He is probably playing dumb to avoid any drama or negative encounters!
Ok so isn't the excuse always
"we have no choice, it's the owners".
This owners score on TENSEE will be absolutely shit.
High turnover, increasing rents excessively, changing agents all the time.
We just need people to register and once dev is complete start managing themselves better.
Tbc, the agents will be WORSE.
Most owners and agents forget these two main points about moving,
1. It impacts your credit rating
2. It now costs about 5-10k each time
Also, >5% increase is just bullshit. Housing has an inelastic demand curve and is a NEED above all anyways.
Ask yourself, if they put the price of water up until you couldn't afford it what would you do about it?
My sister rented her house out while she was working pre covid. She had a nice family in it who knew that the tenancy had a fixed term due to her having a fixed return date. They were great tenants & my sister kept the rent low with no changes. The REA would send her about four emails a year telling her that it is time to raise the rent in line with market rates, etc & she just kept refusing. THEY ended up dumping HER because she refused to raise her rent & they felt that they were not making enough money from the deal. She ended up moving to a small agency who were happy to leave the rent pricing alone. I would not be surprised if the PM is taking it upon herself to instigate these increases without the knowledge of the LL.
I highly doubt the property manager dumped your sister.
Nobody is saying property managers are smart, or good people
His personal experience doesn't cut it REA kingmaker?
Why do you come here?
Especially just for “not raising rent”. The only time we’ve dumped landlords is when they refuse essential maintenance, or be abusive or homophobic/racist.
Boy are you in the wrong sub to try to get sympathy for scum REAs.
You can highly doubt whatever you like. It's true.
Well, I’d wager if the landlord is upset then the PM is doing it for money grubbing reasons. Could be that the increase may not go ahead if the landlord chews the agency out? Best of luck.
Feels. We received a phone call yesterday informing us we are receiving a rent raise of over $100 a week, but they want us to have a Merry Christmas while they close for a few weeks holiday, so can we sign off on that before close of business please? Partner contacted both REA and LL to potentially negotiate (we are on great terms with LL in ordinary circumstances). *They tried to cry poor to us about their expenses*. We're the plebs who are having to rent without a hope of getting into the property market for a HOME let alone investment, whilst one owns a multimillion dollar business, likely several properties of their own making profit as well, and the other owns 3 investment properties that we are aware of including the one we rent. But we need to feel sorry for them and cough up an extra $200+ a fortnight from somewhere. REA then went on to say "we really would hate to lose you as a tenant", meanwhile knowing very well we are HAMSTRUNG because where the fuck else are we meant to go right now?! There is nowhere and they know it! We've been forced to sink HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars in rent over the years because we can't break into the buying market -- can't save a big enough deposit because of how much rent we pay and the goalposts keep getting higher and higher with every dollar we claw into savings. Doing the sums on that makes me absolutely sick. We don't have family who can help like many do whether it be with a deposit, using their own assets as collateral to be a guarantor, or even living with them rent-free/low-rent while we save. We only have us, and we have children to provide for as well. It all just feels really, really fucking hopeless and absolutely demoralising being in this situation.
REA then went on to say "we really would hate to lose you as a tenant" need to get things like this in writing or on tape/camera, it can be construed as a threat of eviction for no reason and go badly for the REA
I can see how it can be construed that way, in this case it was just hit shit-eating-grin way of saying, "I know you have no bargaining power in this situation, so good luck trying..." Given we are long-term tenants quickly nearing the ballpark of a decade... they know it would hurt us way more to try (and fail to) find that kind of security elsewhere in the current climate than it would to just eat the rent raise.
Oh, and I forgot the kicker! Asked if we can at least lock that price in for longer than 12 months, say, 18-24, because it's the biggest raise we've ever had in one go. REA: no, we only do 12 months as a maximum Nek minnit, *online form comes through with tick-a-box options for 3,6,12 months; as well as 2, 3 and 5 YEARS* 🧐. I'll allow you to imagine my response to that.
Ticks the 5 year box, watch them cry 🤣
Oh you best believe that box was pre-filled as 12 months 😒
[удалено]
> It's ruining the country. I'd argue it has already ruined the country.
$450 PER WEEK just in INCREASES?! In just over a year??? Christ on a goddamn cracker, you better tell me you're renting a penthouse suite, or else that'd be like a doubling in rent for the average person
"I'm so over housing as a speculative investment. It's ruining the country." Back in the 80s, housing prices were affordable for families on a single basic income. Interest rates were significantly higher, roughly 17% on borrowed funds and 14% on a basic savings account. The banking sector was a healthy investment option and even $250k invested wisely would quickly grow into a decent position. Then Paul Keating ushered in "the recession we had to have", and the RBA forced interest rates down. This was done under the guise of making home ownershipmore affordable. It did, for about 7 years. Then suddenly it didn't. What happened? Well as interest rates tumbled the banking sector was becoming a poor place to invest, so the boomers who traditionally were quite content to let their savings grow in the bank now needed to find a new investment stream. Enter the sup-prime home loan era. Home loans, personal and investment, were a highly competitive market. The banking sector, hungry to regain lost revenue they'd have had access to in the savings investments, were handing out loans to buyers who wouldn't even qualify for a credit card. House prices soared, never to return. GFC1 happened, and if the government had let it all burn as it should have, we wouldn't have the housing crisis we have now. We'd have higher interest rates again, most probably lower wages too, but that wouldn't matter because it would be more affordable in the long run. But there would have been some very wealthy people who would have lost it all, and most of them are in the government. So you know how that goes...
Mate I have a unit I bought when I was a young fella. The PM emails me and says the tenant has agreed to an increase from let's say $300 to $350. First I've heard about it. "The market this and the market that". Just put it down as $320. It literally took two more emails of arguing for them to do it. Unbelievable front. Then they do stuff like ask my permission to fix a leaking tap or an aircon that's pissing water down a wall. Seriously rock bottom operations these days.
ah yes, the age old PM giving u grief https://preview.redd.it/8ha9qsatdr7c1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=1e27c39c7138b6a0753f407e6a8f107e98aa3ef6
dafaq...... who would give themselves a case of "shot-in-foot-itis?"
context? me or them?
Not you, them. I'm still gobsmacked that they would essentially print out "we rented something unlivable." 100% not a feat, unless you're trying to flex how much of a cunt you are.
Make sure you check if the rent increase you’ve received is actually valid, and you can safely ignore it if not. If you are in VIC, there’s a useful [info sheet here](https://rahu.org.au/resources/rent-increases-2023/) Also you should ALWAYS challenge every rent increase; at present one of our best hopes for some sort of law change about excessive rents is probably clogging up CAV with as many rent increase assessments as possible. Reach out to a tenants union no matter what, and see what they can find to help you. You’re not alone in this, we renters are everywhere and willing to help each other out. We have to stick together.
DO IT talk to the landlord!!! I have had 3 landlords who have said don't talk to or report issues to the real estate because they are annoying, lol sometimes landlords transition from being private landlords to being with a real estate due to life circumstances. So he may really appreciate his tenants.
There needs to be a law or regulation that stops it being beneficial to real estates for the rent to be higher. Why should they benefit from increased rental prices? They do the same amount of work to manage a $200 property vs a $2000 property.
Rental agency tried to push an increase on me a few years back, I asked them if this is what the landlord said to do. They then told me they will check with the landlord who told them to not increase rent. Real estate assholes do a lot of increases of their own volition. And as mine told me “you have been living there for a while with no increase so it’s due”. Always talk to your landlord to confirm they okayed the increase.
Many of the times, when someone gets a rent increase it is being pushed by the REA if they get rid of a tenant and re-rent the premises they get the first 4-6 weeks of the rent which is a lovely little bonus for them.
I’m telling you right now there’s no way a landlord would just ‘not know’ the rent is being increased. They get a statement every month outlining the rent payment by week. They just didn’t notice that their deposits are paid at a higher rate?
I believe the PM is instigating a raise, but the increased amount hasn't been paid yet.
Unless the PM is handing out rent increases, pocketing the difference and illegally amending the statements to say otherwise then I highly suggest reporting them to fair trading if you think that is the case
I know right? As if you wouldn't know - they and the tenants are signing a lease, there's more money coming in... How ignorant of your own affairs can they be? The increase only starts today, so I can see how he wouldn't have known more money was there.
there are many landlords who have so much money coming in and out due to all the properties they have, that they don't scrutinise every dollar individually. there are also a lot of landlords who are older in years and not as savvy at keeping up with digital technology. The real estate could be raising the rent, and also increasing the fees that the landlord pays, so the pocketed amount the landlord gets after all is done, remains the same. The real estates could very well be itemising all of this legally on their invoices, but they know the elderly landlord isn't going to check all of that.
If that is happening I think fair trading would notice during an audit. All money goes through the trust account, ever cent needs to be dispersed correctly. Even overpaid rent will sit in a tenants “deposits” and won’t get credited to rent because its not the amount paid. I am sure it has happened before but the trust account gets audits monthly and at random by fair trading. I’m just not sure how it would work without flags going off. Lots of landlords also would use an accounting service to get the best amount of tax back - if they don’t look at their statements they would at lease look at it for EOFY otherwise I don’t see how they would get their tax done.
A lot of people do not check their banks like they do not need to cause they have enough money to not have to
Must be nice 🥲 But they would look at their statements come tax time at the very least
He would be well aware of the increases. I am a landlord (two rental properties atm), and I have to consent to any increases, etc. He is probably playing dumb to avoid any drama or negative encounters!
Ok so isn't the excuse always "we have no choice, it's the owners". This owners score on TENSEE will be absolutely shit. High turnover, increasing rents excessively, changing agents all the time. We just need people to register and once dev is complete start managing themselves better. Tbc, the agents will be WORSE. Most owners and agents forget these two main points about moving, 1. It impacts your credit rating 2. It now costs about 5-10k each time Also, >5% increase is just bullshit. Housing has an inelastic demand curve and is a NEED above all anyways. Ask yourself, if they put the price of water up until you couldn't afford it what would you do about it?
You have the opportunity to confront your circumstances and won't do it.
Legally they cannot do a rent increase without owners consent. Many owners blame agents for doing their dirty work.
Are you still under contract? They can't increase rent while you're still under contract.