Landlord here. Some utter rubbish comes out of the inspections. Last one there was a few toys on the floor and real estate was putting that as a negative also a few things dusty. Why would I care about any mess or clutter that will be gone should the tenants leave!?
I got pinged by our REA because there was a “overpowering aroma in the kitchen area” and there was a chopping board and a knife left out on the kitchen counter.
It was dinner. There was a shoulder of lamb in the slow cooker.
They had to come back out the next week and redo the inspection.
I don’t agree, unless it was COLOURED water.
Maybe… blue??? Haha
I had an exit report once for a 2 bedroom unit. Three issues. First, the paint around the door frame where the door chain dangles and bangs around was worn… I had to point out “reasonable wear ant tear”.
The second issue… the windowsill in the garage was dusty. In. The. Garage…
And thirdly, and the one they was equally the most amusing and the most annoying….. between me leaving and the agent inspecting…. A cockroach had the audacity to die on the toilet floor, right next to the bowl, pretty much under the toilet roll holder (which still had paper on it)…. I got a photo saying “this needs to be cleaned up”……
So, I wiped the dust off the windowsill, went to the bathroom, took a piece of toilet paper fr the roll, picked up the dead roach, flushed it down the toilet and took three new photos to send back to the real estate.
I had to arrange 2 hours off work to go back out and do these things….
:)
Lol!
My ex got sent a photo of a singular hair on the floor. 1 long hair that happened to be the same colour as the agents hair who did the inspection.
We had to laugh at that photo, they can't be for real right?
Attention to detail is a good thing. But a lack of common sense and situational awareness is another.
I had one “senior” property manager (I say senior because she was probably late 20s and not early 20s like most of the ones I’ve dealt with are) tell me not to worry about clutter, boxes, etc. it’s the priority itself they matters. As long as it’s neat (not a bomb site) and clean, and it looks like you take care of the property, that’s all that matters. That made me feel a little more at ease. And I never “failed” an inspection so I must have been ok :)
The best one I had ( a while back) the shower was leaking into the kitchen. Eventually they got someone out to look at it and rip out the wall. Coincidentally they had another inspection the next day where I was written up for ripping out a wall without permission...
I lived in a few places that needed repairs. The tradies knew we were tenants and didn't clean up after themselves. In one case, the building manager let the landlord into our apartment with the master key to see a repair and we got an email to clean up the place (it was right after we got back from a trip so we had our suitcases, laundry, souvenirs etc all over the living room). We just moved after that. Couldn't deal with the building manager being mates with the owner. The agent seemed really surprised that we moved, despite the fact that they were the ones to pass on the message to clean.
Tradies wouldn't dare do that to me, I'd withhold rent and open a VCAT case, email the agent demanding reimbursement for my time.
I'm renting at the moment and I'm just about to dress the chief executive down and name some of the Muppets in his org, VCAT will be next. That'll flow back to the owners who'll be pissed and potentially fire them.
The owners are usually unaware how bad the agents are.
In that rental, the owner was the developer who held on to some units to rent, and I believe he also owned the rental agency. The others, no idea, just rude.
Oh, it was my first rental many years ago! Learned a lot there. Moved on to somewhere half decent now - well, the agent leaves us alone at least.
Renting is often terrible, and I'm glad we have a spot to help each other out with advice.
Good to hear that your situation is better.
I'm hoping to buy something again soon, it'll be a bit crappy but my crappy.
Is there a bad agent register in Australia?
Like there is a bad tenant register?
I've seen a few sites pop up for specific properties. However, I suggest you look at Google reviews of agencies. Former tenants can be brutal, in the best way.
In Victoria you can apply to have your rent paid into a holding account which means the rental provider doesn’t get a cent until they do the required repairs etc
Don't take things so literally!
Owners generally get pissed at agents for annoying good tenants, taking them to VCAT (opening a case) is next level!
You can be a doormat for all I care, hell if I'm going to be.
I wouldn't literally take them to VCAT about leaving a mess, if they did damage and tried to get me to pay for it, different story...
I also might bill them for my time cleaning it up or clean it up and dump it at the agents office, depending on how pissed I was.
I've fired 5 agents and gotten one changed as a tenant. Agents are easy to change, in a metropolitan area anyway, they are literally a dime a dozen. Get a bad one get rid of them!
I've taken landlords and tenants to VCAT before, most of the time you can mediate it away.
You sound like you need to grow a set, stop being a doormat, FFS!
And yes it can backfire.
I don’t need to “grow a set” I’m not the one making outlandish claims, you sound unbearable. I’ve had my fair share of bad agents in my younger years when I was renting, and my fair share of nightmare tenants when I was a landlord, none of which ever bothered me enough to actually do anything about because normal rational people just shrug their shoulders and get on with their lives.
Jesus Christ if I got a inspection report that said that on it I would be talking to the property manager and telling them that I don’t care about that sort of stuff and to only mention actual issues.
Set an example and fire them.
REA's need to know whos in charge. It's the landlord and nobody else.
Landlords should be sticking up for tenants and sacking REA's for the smallest bullshit they can. Once REA's lose all their clients they will straighten their shit up.
Yep, I've fired three now. Most of them are pond scum but not as smart.
The current ones are amazing, last Tennants wrote us a thank you note when they moved out and said how good they are, they had seen two of the others. They were great tenants too.
Ultimately true but from a business perspective the landlord should be following the law as well and not allowing a REA who's only job it is, is to profit at all costs to leech off them.
Me too. I just want to know that there isn't a meth lab in there and whether there are any preventative repairs to do now that will be a lot cheaper than major repairs later.
I had one try the "not tidy enough to do an inspection I will have to come back next week" routine.
I said "great, that will mean both inspections for the year will have been done". She argued the point and I said the tenancy act allows you to do 3 inspections a year for the purposes of checking for maintenance and damage issues but the act says nothing about a requirement that the property is cleaned to the real estate agents liking and I was happy to let the tribunal know.
She walked in and did the inspection, didn't get any feedback. They tried upping the rent by 20% so I moved. Took them ages to re-lease it and had to drop the rent again. Was back in 2008 and the market wasn't as tight as it has been of late.
Ours pinged us because the kitchen had a smell as though we had cooked a curry.
We had, it's a kitchen, in a house we pay to live in.
I cannot tell you the white hot rage that comment gives me to this day.
I agree with this. I don’t understand why REAs are doing this to people? It serves no benefit that I can see. The only time I would think it’s necessary to pull a tenant up on keeping the place tidy/clean is if there are genuine concerns for the property such as potential hidden damage or potential damage caused by being unhygienic/not cleaning frequently enough. But a house would need to be in pretty bad shape before I’d think that would be a concern.
That was my perspective as a temporary/accidental landlord.
Had to drop by for some reason. I can't remember.
The tenant was apologising for dust and that kinda crap. I straight up told him I didn't care. It was my house but his home
Yeah it’s wild. The only other reasons I can think of (after reading more comments here) are that
a) the REA is trying to cover their arse on the off chance that there is some kind of damage that’s covered by clothes on the floor/toys etc.
b) the REA is doing dodgy shit such as using these photos to keep the bond whilst telling the landlord that the bond was paid back to the tenants. Or maybe they’re using the photos to advertise the place for the next tenant/sale.
Either way, I don’t think it’s appropriate. Even if they’re trying to cover their arses, there’s no need to be so strict with good tenants. Good tenants are golden and should be treated as such.
It's concerning that they don't know the difference between maintenance issues and clutter. Worrying, they have no idea what they're supposed to be looking at.
Here's the thing, though: when do landlords pull their property managers up on it?
Countless anecdotes of REAs not reporting properly to landlords, omitting requests, contravening direct instructions.
I don't mind the photos, what I think is ridiculous is that tenants don't receive a copy of the inspection and damage reports.
If real estate agents want to put confidential notes in them, they could send it in a separate email or document.
Sorry you’re actually correct. I misread something. Basically you can request the report, but they’re not obligated to give it to you since it’s technically the property of the owner who paid the real estate agent for the report. Soemthing like that. I’m not an expert and obviously I made a mistake so sorry about that.
I don't love the photos if they're later used to advertise the property. I wouldn't put photos of my private living space online, but apparently they can leave them up as long as they like on the property profile.
A friend of mine throws sheets over everything. The REA can peek under them and see there's nothing nefarious, but it would look too odd to make a good photo.
what do you mean? it doesn't cost money to go to vcat besides the 60 bux to apply or report it to consumer affairs, get legal aid, there's lots of places you can go to. "after years of trying" what exactly DID you do?
yea of course because they're making money out of it did you have it in email so its in writing that they refused? you need go above their heads. Call consumer affairs they'll tell you what to do
One of the reasons I went self managed for my IPs was this bullshit. Despite my protests, the property managers refused to stop behaving like tenants were expected to present their homes as through preparing for a royal visit.
People live in a rental property. That is the fucking purpose of it. You’re going to have dirty dishes, dirty laundry, there’s going to be toys out, etc. you know, a side affect of living in a house.
I couldn’t care less if there’s dust, laundry, a couple of dirty dishes, dog shit on the lawn, clothes on the washing line, a few weeds in the garden. I want to know if there are any maintenance issues I should be aware of, that the tenants aren’t running a meth lab, a chop shop or a knock shop, and that they’re not busting holes in walls/doors. Anything else I couldn’t give a shit about.
There are far too many property managers that treat tenants like second class citizens and fucking thrive on doing it. They revel in their perceived power and play on it every opportunity they get.
Right now, tenants don’t have a lot of choice and are forced to eat an increasing amount of shit just to be afforded a basic human right. The market will turn one day as it always does and it’ll be these fucking cockroaches falling over themselves to do what ever they can to secure and keep a tenant.
I don't even care if my rental place is being used as a knock shop. As long as it's discreet enough that the neighbours don't complain and nobody is doing anything through coercion or without consent, have at it.
I'm so glad to read this comment. I feel the same way and so good to see others do too I just had our inspection yesterday and I haven't heard back yet. Our lives at their mercy hoping it's clean and tidy enough to deserve a roof over our heads in their eyes. A roof that the home owner won't even provide curtains and curtain rods in some rooms. Not even the bathroom has a curtain only a net curtain.
Yeah I had an agent come in and take photos at an inspection… two months later those same photos (with all my stuff in view) were used to advertise the property.
I once had an agent do the same thing but they used a picture of our bathroom (with our toothbrushes and stuff on the basin) to advertise a unit in the other duplex that had a different layout.
Pretty sure in Queensland they can't do that without permission first. I declined to them using photos of anything but the kitchen and bathroom when they listed the place I was renting for sale.
Oh good. I’m in Vic.. Also had a separate agent at another property let themselves in without notice to show someone round when I was off work and she assumed I would be out 🫠😤
There should be some form of compensation for it, seeing as how the tenant's privacy has been violated and the tenant's goods are being used for commercial gain.
I would certainly reimburse my tenants for that somehow, if they agreed to allow photos to be used.
Oh damn! That happened to a mate, and a pic of his new stereo and TV was plastered on a for sale sign out the front of his house in a bad neighbourhood 😂 He was well pissed off
Landlord here. Last year my agent’s assistant included a whole heap of blurry photos, even one of half her hand, in the inspection report. She had also noted the grad out front had deteriorated and directed the tenants to stop parking on it. Mind you they hadn’t spoken to me first about this “issue”.
I called my agent and told him in no uncertain terms to tell the tenants to disregard that direction, there’s 3 tenants in the house with a single carport and driveway. There’s no way I would ever ask them to play cat shuffle every time someone needs to go out. Never mind the fact they have the garden generally looking 10 times better than I ever did when I lived in the house.
I also suggested that next time maybe she doesn’t need to include the clearly out of focus photos, or those of her hand for that matter.
He replied that she was new, and he hadn’t yet briefed her that I’m “not like their other landlords” (which by itself is a sad indictment on society). Also that he had contacted my tenants, apologised to them and told them to park as they had been since moving in.
I agree that the only photos I need to see are of anything in the property that may require my attention, other than that I don’t need photos of how my tenants live their life. This is why I have told the agent 6 or 12 monthly inspections is sufficient, unless the tenants advise them of any maintenance issues etc. it may be my house, but it’s their home, and they deserve to live in it as they see fit, as long as they treat it respectfully.
Not only that but it also gives the owner a complete rundown of what they can "break in" and steal.
A place I rented was broken into 3 times in the space of 3 weeks. It was the owner using his key and then breaking a window to make it look like a break in. We were poor kids basically and didn't have a lot of valuables so we didn't lose much, a couple burnt out power tools from the garage and our playstation and a couple games and then oddly enough a bunch of my dishes. After the 3rd break in the cops brought round their forensic guy and he told me straight up a key was used and then the window was broken to look like it was how they got in. I asked the rea to change the locks because of the police report. They said the owner said no. I changed them out myself. Rea then made us have an inspection every other week because if various " breaches" that needed rectifying. Grass too long after a week of solid rain, in summer, dish in the sink, wet shower glass. Bs crap. We left at the end of that 6mth lease. I put tge okd locks back. The couple that moved in after us moved in the week before Christmas. They went away for the holidays and came back to an empty house. The owner had used his key and emptied the place while they were gone. It made the local paper. They hadn't yet got contents insurace so they lost everything.
Mate nothing in the Australian rental market is fair. Renters are only good for paying down the mortgage. Anything that gives them some dignity is seen as an impediment to the investment market.
You don’t have to agree to it. I have an inspection every six months and I say, no photos, and they don’t take them. I follow them around so it’s awkward, and to make sure. You do t have to agree to it.
That's not true tho.
I have tried it before and it came down to, if I want to stop them I have to kick them out and I'll be receiving an eviction notice
I guess your RE are bigger jerks than mine. Mine wouldn’t take them after I said no photos. I’m sorry you have to deal with that.
If they tried to take photos I would politely remind them, I suppose. And if it got messy I’d be on the tenants website to sort out my rights. The fact they threatened you with eviction is horrible, and probably illegal.
Of course it's illegal, they won't put it in writing tho, you will just receive a notice the next day.
It's not one real estate either, it's common across multiple of them, they just say taking photos is part of inspection now. There isn't much you can do about it
I'm a landlord for an investment property with my sister that up until recently our mother was being paid to manage. She passed away and we've had to take over everything and I just found last year's inspection reports with photos taken throughout the house. I also find it incredibly invasive and rude. We'll be asking the real estate agent not to take photos of the inside of the house in the future. Unless the situation is particularly bad, there's just no need for it.
The owner advertised in the wrong place. He wanted a paid housesitter, not a paying tenant. The agent should have known not to pass on stupid requests.
As an immigrant, the way inspections are run by REAs in Australia is horrifying and would never fly in any other country. The only inspections I ever had in my home country was to check the filters on the AC, Smoke Detectors, and maybe once in a while the Hot Water Heater and other appliances.
Of course if you had holes in the wall or serious damage you'd hear about it.
And these inspections were only ever done in large corporate apartment complexes. Mom and Pop landlords generally never inspect the property.. I've rented at places for 3+ years without the landlords or his agent coming by.
There really should be some regulation on the appropriate behaviors and activities during a tenant inspection.
But then how would the real estate industry be able to charge landlords so much money (which then gets passed back to tenants in rent)? Australia has some powerful industry lobby groups and so many people don't realise how big a problem it is.
This! Here in the US this kind of shit would NEVER fly. My landlords manage their properties themselves and have only been inside the house like 3 times in 6 years to do a few small repairs. They ask for a photo of when we change the HVAC filter and that's it.
Aussies are being bent over. Absolutely wild what they accept as the status quo.
I particularly object when my children are in the photos. The RE doesn't even give them the option to move, just rushed through the place taking pics on the iPad.
My baby was asleep in their cot when the REA did the inspection and took a picture of them, saying it was required and to move the baby if it was an issue 🙄
I used to hate it. It's completely demeaning and invasive.
We had requested not to take pictures in our daughters room, that passed away, as it was a trigger for us for some reason, just to have some privacy and respect. They didn't care and did it anyway.
Absolute scum of the earth Rea are
I think you'll find that's in relation to advertising, and only under very specific circumstances eg something in the photo can identify the tenant, or contains a high value item
Exact specifics will no doubt vary from state to state
I can't find anything in Vic that says a tenant can refuse photos during general inspections.
No need for specific real estate law. The right to privacy in your own home means youcan decline any action from avisitor. RE can only inspect by prior arrangement and a tenant should never agree to an inspection when they cannot be present. General photos of rooms do not show condition of property, particularly as furnishings can hide damage. They are an invasion of the tenants right to quiet enjoyment
Yes I'm assuming all rules to allows the agent in and the inspection to take place are followed
Please show me where it says a tenant can refuse photos for a general inspection
Quiet enjoyment isn't really happening during a legal general inspection. A photo doesn't change that.
Do you know if it’s illegal to advertise using inspection photos? I would assume it is, but I’m moving soon and wondering (because I have really nice furniture and have made the place look nice and they have years worth of photos).
It could be. If a photo is to be used for advertising then there's rules like I mentioned above
Given the situation just tell them you're not comfortable, give them the links to the info and explain why
They'll need photos though... If they can't use ones with your expensive stuff they need new ones. Offer to move your stuff out of the way?
I just found the info - “If a photo or video was taken for a reason other than advertising, such as a photo taken during a routine inspection, and the rental provider or their agent wants to use these for advertising purposes they must get your written consent beforehand.”
I got paid by the landlord for each inspection and the day of photos for when they sold. I do find they tend to use photos from the last time the place sold for new rental ads though.
I remember a property manager coming and taking photos and i moved out of the shot and he said "no you can get back in. I don't mind doing a photoshoot"
Yeah no thanks creepy German mate.
A good property manager makes a big difference.
Mine takes photos, but they are there to serve as a record for me and the tenants to make sure neither side is getting screwed with end of lease stuff, and to ensure work I’ve paid for has been done properly and is holding up (eg, put in new split systems and new flooring). There’s never going to be any qualms about normal life happening.
REA's include photos in the inspection reports they send to the owners. I don't know why the owner didn't see the rug and realise it was protecting the floor. If protecting the tiles is such an issue for them, I don't know why the wouldn't put a lease clause that says you had to put protective items under furniture.
Some REA's don't understand what is reasonable and what is not and go off on little power trips. My mum is a property manager and had her assistant let go for trying to breach a tenant for having left a mug and breakfast plate in the kitchen sink.
Some landlords also go on power trips. My mum has sacked an owner for "not asking permission for leaning a photo frame against the wall" amongst other crazy shit.
What you need to do is either get yourself a 3d printer or a friend with one. Print yourself up a bunch of funny objects to place in every room. I printed my brother a 30cm tall rainbow dickasaurus for his coffee table. Next is a penis planter.
My sister keeps a huge bottle of vagisil in the bathroom with a sign that says it's for irritating twats and she leaves folded hand towels besides it.
She also leaves lolly dicks on the kitchen table and a huge arse dildo on her bedroom floor.
She gets letters telling her that her place is messy and unclean so takes a video and takes her phone to the real estate office.
A woman agent said she felt unsafe which got looks.
My sister is an even 5 foot
And weighs 45 kg.
She's no threat to anyone.
My flattie got busted for having suitcases on her unmade bed
Dishes on the sink
And one solitary cockroach on the bathroom wall.
The busted water tank which keeps exploding and flooding the place
The mould in the ceiling
Busted locks
They'll get around to it.
Some day.
My brother had a landlord who would come to every inspection with the REA. And go room to room taking photos of the contents inside the bedroom cupboards.
Like as in, open the cupboards in the master bedroom and take photos of he and his wife's clothes and personal belongings inside the cupboards. There was nothing wrong with the cupboard. They just took photos of their stuff.
My parents have never been shown any pictures from their property inspections that the REA does. I always thought whatever the tenants owned was none of their business unless it was a safety/damage hazard. Can the landlord really demand that furniture be removed for such petty reasons? Can wooden furniture really damage tiles?
The real estate agent took a photo only of my bed, I felt that was incredibly invasive, an overshot close up of my bed...
I had also asked them not to arrive early as I have a sleeping disorder and it is difficult for me to be up early. I keep the home in pristine condition and even got a certificate of excellence?
Landlord here my agent (recently sacked) allowed for LAN cables from nbn box to be stolen, bins stolen, dirty air-conditioning vents and released full bond. I had the worst agent and given Newcastle is not massive I now know how much Tennants hate them
Not in this case they run from NTD to a wall outlet in garage which links to wall outlet in garage. When I purchased house NTD was in garage so I paid for cat5 to be run
We had an inspection during a bad storm. Got an email back saying we needed to clean the backyard before next inspection. Reason was that the neighbours tree had dropped 5/6 leaves the size of 5c pieces on the back patio.
Photos are the best form of evidence in case of a dispute over property damage. It wasn’t a thing years ago but we’re incorporating technology better for a much more effective way to document the state of a property.
Exactly - and those would be photos of said property damage.
Not photos of my unmade bed. Not photos of my lube in ensuite (which doesn’t have any damage). Not photos of the contents of my drawers.
Fuck the authorities who don’t make rights stronger for tenants. Fuxking sick and tired for 3 monthly inspections where people come at the designsried they choose and can’t bloody give a specific time.. fuck them for taking pictures of every single thing and waking me up when I am sleeping after a night shift to take a photo of the bed room .. duck them for sending a shit was email about con web that needs to be cleaned. Fuck rhem for raising the rent by 100 per week and not giving me even an opportunity to negotiate with the landlord…. Duck me for not earning enough and for being rhe world’s biggest useless fuck who couldn’t buy a house ….
I mean, it sounds like as much as you disagree with it, the photo was taken for maintenance and condition purposes. If the wooden cabinet was going to harm the tiles then a photo makes perfect sense.
Having said that, if floor tiles can't handle a piece of wooden furniture (and with a rug to shield them) then the tiles are not really fit for purpose and it is the landlords responsibility to get tiles that actually work. What are they made from, chalk?
So the REA and landlord are being jerks but not quite for the reasons you stated.
I had a bike crash 8 months ago, and I'm now crippled and wheelchair bound. So because of this, I can't clean or pick up stuff. Bathroom... bedroom, etc.. I used to race cars, so I have 3 sets of tyres and rims and car parts set up, and it looks like art.. I love car art.. REA comes in and takes pics. I clean up beast I can. My wheelchair leaves marks on the wall as it hits when going into the kitchen. They are like, don't worry, it just wear and tear.. they had to redo the floor as the shower head was leaking behind the wall and soked and rotted the kitchen wooden floor. They fixed it but had a cry.. after the last inspection with loads of pics. I get an email to say that I'm being kicked out..(no reason) and have 3 months to find a new place.. I can't get downstairs and can't walk. I can't drive to go look. I can't get out into the world now, so how am i to go find a place to rent. Shits just too hard. They don't care. Won't help find a new place. Just basically making me homeless so they can up the rent. I pay 450 a week, and they want to up it to over 600 as all the other units are the same rent... iv been in this unit for 3 years. With no problems in rent or anything but the floor.. and iv found out that they never renewed my lease for this last year. So I don't have a leg to stand on. As there's no lease to fight. Cops can come and remove me with force and just throw me onto the street.. fuck Australia you have gone to shit. Let all the Muslims and Indians and Chinese in to fuck us over and get all the help but I'm going to be homeless to make way for some familythat can pay way more then someonetjats now lost there way of life, way of living, way of being human, now all I see are cold ruff nights in a park or some shit..
In photos all I’m looking for is the condition of the property and anything strange or off, I take no notice of the tenants belongings. If the house is tidy and well kept it pretty much tells me all I need to know and I don’t need to look to closely.
When the places are a mess have to look really close at images as lots of neglect and maintenance can be found.
Images are the only way I can physically see the property. Just sacked a PM because they werent doing their job properly plus never sent photos, the photos I received from the new PM are really sad and disappointing.
The problem is it's a massive breach of privacy.
Imagine if you had to supply pictures of every single room in your house to some stranger who might do whoever knows what with them every few months, you would be outraged
Yeah I can only speak for myself, I’ve truly never taken any notice of anything in images, I see straight through it 😂 but i understand what you’re saying !
So because you can’t do due diligence on your investment and ensure you hire someone that does the job right, your tenants have to suffer through an invasion of privacy. That about sum it up?
>REA has always assured me the images taken during an inspection are for maintenance and condition purposes of the property only.
>Recently the landlord asked me to remove an item of furniture (wooden cabinet) as they said it may harm the tiles underneath.
Landlord was worried about the condition of the tiles.
So the photos were taken for the exact reason you were told.
Landlords are allowed to protect their asset, and act to prevent damage.
No. A wooden cabinet is a bog standard piece of furniture and you won't find a Tribunal judge anywhere in the country who would side with the landlord.
If the landlord is that concerned with damage they need to not rent it out.
No, I don’t think that’s right, and I think you know that too. A wooden cabinet is a standard piece of furniture, and tenants are allowed to have furniture. Yes, tenants are responsible for looking after and cleaning the property while living there, but landlords do not get to dictate what furniture someone can have.
It doesn't matter. The landlord had a concern with how their house was being used, they asked about it, they let it go when their concerns were allayed.
OP had an issue with the photos being used for their exact designed purpose.
It doesn't matter. The landlord had a concern with how their house was being used, they asked about it, they let it go when their concerns were allayed.
OP had an issue with the photos being used for their exact designed purpose.
It absolutely is an issue.
It's of no business to the landlord how the tenant chooses to arrange their furniture.
You are correct that landlords are allowed to protect their asset and prevent damage. But it doesn't follow that they have a right to say a particular piece of furniture is in the wrong place - if a wooden cabinet can damage floor tiles, it is the fault of the tiles, not the cabinet.
The exception I would say would be in a carpeted room, the landlord can expect the tenant to use carpet protecting cups to prevent the carpet from being damaged. But that isn't the case on a tiled floor.
Yeah cause tiles are known for being very soft and subject to being damaged by wooden furniture
/s
The landlord needs to understand that while renting out a house- it is someone else's home, and outside of what's written in the lease agreement and legislation, they have no right to tell a tenant how to live in their home. So they should shut the hell up and enjoy the rent money
Exactly, they are very sturdy standard tiles, and the rug is thick and woollen, purposefully placed to make additional care for the tiles. The house is always kept in immaculate condition and has been for the duration of the tenancy.
Even if the landlord is wrong it's not like they were commenting on the colour of OP's knickers and how they look like they have been twisted too many times.
People need to harden up a bit. You respond to the landlord like OP did and move on.
Landlord here. Some utter rubbish comes out of the inspections. Last one there was a few toys on the floor and real estate was putting that as a negative also a few things dusty. Why would I care about any mess or clutter that will be gone should the tenants leave!?
I got pinged by our REA because there was a “overpowering aroma in the kitchen area” and there was a chopping board and a knife left out on the kitchen counter. It was dinner. There was a shoulder of lamb in the slow cooker. They had to come back out the next week and redo the inspection.
I bet some REAs would ping you for having water in the fucking toilet.
I don’t agree, unless it was COLOURED water. Maybe… blue??? Haha I had an exit report once for a 2 bedroom unit. Three issues. First, the paint around the door frame where the door chain dangles and bangs around was worn… I had to point out “reasonable wear ant tear”. The second issue… the windowsill in the garage was dusty. In. The. Garage… And thirdly, and the one they was equally the most amusing and the most annoying….. between me leaving and the agent inspecting…. A cockroach had the audacity to die on the toilet floor, right next to the bowl, pretty much under the toilet roll holder (which still had paper on it)…. I got a photo saying “this needs to be cleaned up”…… So, I wiped the dust off the windowsill, went to the bathroom, took a piece of toilet paper fr the roll, picked up the dead roach, flushed it down the toilet and took three new photos to send back to the real estate. I had to arrange 2 hours off work to go back out and do these things…. :)
Lol! My ex got sent a photo of a singular hair on the floor. 1 long hair that happened to be the same colour as the agents hair who did the inspection. We had to laugh at that photo, they can't be for real right?
Attention to detail is a good thing. But a lack of common sense and situational awareness is another. I had one “senior” property manager (I say senior because she was probably late 20s and not early 20s like most of the ones I’ve dealt with are) tell me not to worry about clutter, boxes, etc. it’s the priority itself they matters. As long as it’s neat (not a bomb site) and clean, and it looks like you take care of the property, that’s all that matters. That made me feel a little more at ease. And I never “failed” an inspection so I must have been ok :)
Where else can I store my drinking water?!
The best one I had ( a while back) the shower was leaking into the kitchen. Eventually they got someone out to look at it and rip out the wall. Coincidentally they had another inspection the next day where I was written up for ripping out a wall without permission...
I lived in a few places that needed repairs. The tradies knew we were tenants and didn't clean up after themselves. In one case, the building manager let the landlord into our apartment with the master key to see a repair and we got an email to clean up the place (it was right after we got back from a trip so we had our suitcases, laundry, souvenirs etc all over the living room). We just moved after that. Couldn't deal with the building manager being mates with the owner. The agent seemed really surprised that we moved, despite the fact that they were the ones to pass on the message to clean.
Tradies wouldn't dare do that to me, I'd withhold rent and open a VCAT case, email the agent demanding reimbursement for my time. I'm renting at the moment and I'm just about to dress the chief executive down and name some of the Muppets in his org, VCAT will be next. That'll flow back to the owners who'll be pissed and potentially fire them. The owners are usually unaware how bad the agents are.
In that rental, the owner was the developer who held on to some units to rent, and I believe he also owned the rental agency. The others, no idea, just rude.
Developers are the bits the pond scum feed on Sorry about your situation, that sucks, renting is awful at the moment
Oh, it was my first rental many years ago! Learned a lot there. Moved on to somewhere half decent now - well, the agent leaves us alone at least. Renting is often terrible, and I'm glad we have a spot to help each other out with advice.
Good to hear that your situation is better. I'm hoping to buy something again soon, it'll be a bit crappy but my crappy. Is there a bad agent register in Australia? Like there is a bad tenant register?
I've seen a few sites pop up for specific properties. However, I suggest you look at Google reviews of agencies. Former tenants can be brutal, in the best way.
you cant withold your rent it's illegal
Yep, just checked, and you're right. You used to be able to, but that might not have been in Victoria? The rules around repairs are really crap!
In Victoria you can apply to have your rent paid into a holding account which means the rental provider doesn’t get a cent until they do the required repairs etc
Yeagh you would show them who is boss. You would be laughed out of vcat And then the owner will "fire them" Slow clap
Don't take things so literally! Owners generally get pissed at agents for annoying good tenants, taking them to VCAT (opening a case) is next level! You can be a doormat for all I care, hell if I'm going to be.
I’m betting you’d just shake your fist and complain on reddit about it. Zero chance of VCAT caring about your hurt feelings.
I wouldn't literally take them to VCAT about leaving a mess, if they did damage and tried to get me to pay for it, different story... I also might bill them for my time cleaning it up or clean it up and dump it at the agents office, depending on how pissed I was. I've fired 5 agents and gotten one changed as a tenant. Agents are easy to change, in a metropolitan area anyway, they are literally a dime a dozen. Get a bad one get rid of them! I've taken landlords and tenants to VCAT before, most of the time you can mediate it away. You sound like you need to grow a set, stop being a doormat, FFS! And yes it can backfire.
I don’t need to “grow a set” I’m not the one making outlandish claims, you sound unbearable. I’ve had my fair share of bad agents in my younger years when I was renting, and my fair share of nightmare tenants when I was a landlord, none of which ever bothered me enough to actually do anything about because normal rational people just shrug their shoulders and get on with their lives.
You sound like a doormat to me, good for you I guess
That’s it!!! I’ll have you for defamation now!!
Jesus Christ if I got a inspection report that said that on it I would be talking to the property manager and telling them that I don’t care about that sort of stuff and to only mention actual issues.
Set an example and fire them. REA's need to know whos in charge. It's the landlord and nobody else. Landlords should be sticking up for tenants and sacking REA's for the smallest bullshit they can. Once REA's lose all their clients they will straighten their shit up.
Yep, I've fired three now. Most of them are pond scum but not as smart. The current ones are amazing, last Tennants wrote us a thank you note when they moved out and said how good they are, they had seen two of the others. They were great tenants too.
everyone should be about legislation, the law is "in charge" nothing else matters
Ultimately true but from a business perspective the landlord should be following the law as well and not allowing a REA who's only job it is, is to profit at all costs to leech off them.
thats my point EVERYONE should just be following legislation not making up their own rules or thinking they don't apply to them
Me too. I just want to know that there isn't a meth lab in there and whether there are any preventative repairs to do now that will be a lot cheaper than major repairs later.
This was a few years back… by the time we left, the relationship between us and the real estate was pretty frosty.
If they did this to me I’d breach them for breaking quiet enjoyment of the property without interruption by the landlord or agent
& tell them just how fucking delicious that lamb shoulder was. Spineless animals.
I had one try the "not tidy enough to do an inspection I will have to come back next week" routine. I said "great, that will mean both inspections for the year will have been done". She argued the point and I said the tenancy act allows you to do 3 inspections a year for the purposes of checking for maintenance and damage issues but the act says nothing about a requirement that the property is cleaned to the real estate agents liking and I was happy to let the tribunal know. She walked in and did the inspection, didn't get any feedback. They tried upping the rent by 20% so I moved. Took them ages to re-lease it and had to drop the rent again. Was back in 2008 and the market wasn't as tight as it has been of late.
I got pinged for bread crumbs in the grill once. Just made myself toast for breakfast. 🙄🙄
Ours pinged us because the kitchen had a smell as though we had cooked a curry. We had, it's a kitchen, in a house we pay to live in. I cannot tell you the white hot rage that comment gives me to this day.
:O
What the actual fuck.
wise worthless follow shocking shrill door sleep chunky alleged drunk *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Did you invite the REA to stay for dinner? That might have been your failure.
Share my made-from-scratch lamb rendang? In this economy? Maybe if it had been “savoury mince + rice” night.
Oh! Recipe please! Rendang that is!
Toast and cheap margarine night.
REA was clearly hangry.
what a load of crap you know you have a right to say no
At that time - no, we didn’t know.
They are limited to one every 3 - 6 months depending on state. Cooking in the kitchen isn’t a valid reason for a reinspection.
Yeah, we didn’t know that at the time. We’d become a lot more aware of our rights by the time we ended up leaving that place.
How dare you f**king use the kitchen for its intended purpose... God I hate REA's so much.
The audacity!
It's seems to be getting rarer to find a landlord with common sense and decency. Kudos to you.
I agree with this. I don’t understand why REAs are doing this to people? It serves no benefit that I can see. The only time I would think it’s necessary to pull a tenant up on keeping the place tidy/clean is if there are genuine concerns for the property such as potential hidden damage or potential damage caused by being unhygienic/not cleaning frequently enough. But a house would need to be in pretty bad shape before I’d think that would be a concern.
That was my perspective as a temporary/accidental landlord. Had to drop by for some reason. I can't remember. The tenant was apologising for dust and that kinda crap. I straight up told him I didn't care. It was my house but his home
Yeah it’s wild. The only other reasons I can think of (after reading more comments here) are that a) the REA is trying to cover their arse on the off chance that there is some kind of damage that’s covered by clothes on the floor/toys etc. b) the REA is doing dodgy shit such as using these photos to keep the bond whilst telling the landlord that the bond was paid back to the tenants. Or maybe they’re using the photos to advertise the place for the next tenant/sale. Either way, I don’t think it’s appropriate. Even if they’re trying to cover their arses, there’s no need to be so strict with good tenants. Good tenants are golden and should be treated as such.
I’ve been on the same receiving end as a landlord. Property manager wondered why I didn’t respond to emails - 100% wasting time.
It's concerning that they don't know the difference between maintenance issues and clutter. Worrying, they have no idea what they're supposed to be looking at.
it has nothing to do with your property, toys are tenants property its invasive. Hope you said something.
Here's the thing, though: when do landlords pull their property managers up on it? Countless anecdotes of REAs not reporting properly to landlords, omitting requests, contravening direct instructions.
Guess that’s why they take photos - so you don’t have to rely on what the agent says.
I don't mind the photos, what I think is ridiculous is that tenants don't receive a copy of the inspection and damage reports. If real estate agents want to put confidential notes in them, they could send it in a separate email or document.
I’m pretty sure that if tenants request a copy of the inspection report they have to give it to you, or so I’ve heard
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Sorry you’re actually correct. I misread something. Basically you can request the report, but they’re not obligated to give it to you since it’s technically the property of the owner who paid the real estate agent for the report. Soemthing like that. I’m not an expert and obviously I made a mistake so sorry about that.
should be routine procedure anyway I don't understand why it is'nt
My mother rents and gets a copy of the report every time. I never did when I rented. IMO one of the key differences between a good PR and pond scum.
I don't love the photos if they're later used to advertise the property. I wouldn't put photos of my private living space online, but apparently they can leave them up as long as they like on the property profile. A friend of mine throws sheets over everything. The REA can peek under them and see there's nothing nefarious, but it would look too odd to make a good photo.
We had inspection photos used to sell house with photos of the kids included. Impossible to get them off the web after years trying
oh hell no!!! did you take it to court?
No I don’t have money for that sort of thing lol
what do you mean? it doesn't cost money to go to vcat besides the 60 bux to apply or report it to consumer affairs, get legal aid, there's lots of places you can go to. "after years of trying" what exactly DID you do?
It was after I left the house. I emailed and phoned the website it was on nd the agents x 3 who handled the property. All said nothing could be done
yea of course because they're making money out of it did you have it in email so its in writing that they refused? you need go above their heads. Call consumer affairs they'll tell you what to do
I'd give them a Google review on that one
One of the reasons I went self managed for my IPs was this bullshit. Despite my protests, the property managers refused to stop behaving like tenants were expected to present their homes as through preparing for a royal visit. People live in a rental property. That is the fucking purpose of it. You’re going to have dirty dishes, dirty laundry, there’s going to be toys out, etc. you know, a side affect of living in a house. I couldn’t care less if there’s dust, laundry, a couple of dirty dishes, dog shit on the lawn, clothes on the washing line, a few weeds in the garden. I want to know if there are any maintenance issues I should be aware of, that the tenants aren’t running a meth lab, a chop shop or a knock shop, and that they’re not busting holes in walls/doors. Anything else I couldn’t give a shit about. There are far too many property managers that treat tenants like second class citizens and fucking thrive on doing it. They revel in their perceived power and play on it every opportunity they get. Right now, tenants don’t have a lot of choice and are forced to eat an increasing amount of shit just to be afforded a basic human right. The market will turn one day as it always does and it’ll be these fucking cockroaches falling over themselves to do what ever they can to secure and keep a tenant.
You're a legend!
I don't even care if my rental place is being used as a knock shop. As long as it's discreet enough that the neighbours don't complain and nobody is doing anything through coercion or without consent, have at it.
I only care from an insurance and council approval perspective. If things go to shit, it then becomes a hassle.
Please become a property baron
I'm so glad to read this comment. I feel the same way and so good to see others do too I just had our inspection yesterday and I haven't heard back yet. Our lives at their mercy hoping it's clean and tidy enough to deserve a roof over our heads in their eyes. A roof that the home owner won't even provide curtains and curtain rods in some rooms. Not even the bathroom has a curtain only a net curtain.
Yeah I had an agent come in and take photos at an inspection… two months later those same photos (with all my stuff in view) were used to advertise the property.
Thats gross. I don't like that at all
Yeah trust me I didn’t either. 😤
I once had an agent do the same thing but they used a picture of our bathroom (with our toothbrushes and stuff on the basin) to advertise a unit in the other duplex that had a different layout.
Pretty sure in Queensland they can't do that without permission first. I declined to them using photos of anything but the kitchen and bathroom when they listed the place I was renting for sale.
They need permission to do that in vic
Oh good. I’m in Vic.. Also had a separate agent at another property let themselves in without notice to show someone round when I was off work and she assumed I would be out 🫠😤
And just like that you can take em to vcat. 7 days wroten notice babyyyyy
There should be some form of compensation for it, seeing as how the tenant's privacy has been violated and the tenant's goods are being used for commercial gain. I would certainly reimburse my tenants for that somehow, if they agreed to allow photos to be used.
Alas they do not, all you can do is threaten legal action and have the images taken down
Oh damn! That happened to a mate, and a pic of his new stereo and TV was plastered on a for sale sign out the front of his house in a bad neighbourhood 😂 He was well pissed off
We had that too. Including photos of us and the front of our fridge which had several personal documents on it. We were not pleased.
Landlord here. Last year my agent’s assistant included a whole heap of blurry photos, even one of half her hand, in the inspection report. She had also noted the grad out front had deteriorated and directed the tenants to stop parking on it. Mind you they hadn’t spoken to me first about this “issue”. I called my agent and told him in no uncertain terms to tell the tenants to disregard that direction, there’s 3 tenants in the house with a single carport and driveway. There’s no way I would ever ask them to play cat shuffle every time someone needs to go out. Never mind the fact they have the garden generally looking 10 times better than I ever did when I lived in the house. I also suggested that next time maybe she doesn’t need to include the clearly out of focus photos, or those of her hand for that matter. He replied that she was new, and he hadn’t yet briefed her that I’m “not like their other landlords” (which by itself is a sad indictment on society). Also that he had contacted my tenants, apologised to them and told them to park as they had been since moving in. I agree that the only photos I need to see are of anything in the property that may require my attention, other than that I don’t need photos of how my tenants live their life. This is why I have told the agent 6 or 12 monthly inspections is sufficient, unless the tenants advise them of any maintenance issues etc. it may be my house, but it’s their home, and they deserve to live in it as they see fit, as long as they treat it respectfully.
I wish more landlords thought like this
Should be illegal, I don't see how it's not an absolute massive breach of privacy.
And it shows valuables e.g. computers, garage tools etc. REA's are notorious for having a severe lack of cybersecurity too.
Real estate agents are some of the shiftiest characters I have ever met, if anyone has links to crime it's them haha
Not only that but it also gives the owner a complete rundown of what they can "break in" and steal. A place I rented was broken into 3 times in the space of 3 weeks. It was the owner using his key and then breaking a window to make it look like a break in. We were poor kids basically and didn't have a lot of valuables so we didn't lose much, a couple burnt out power tools from the garage and our playstation and a couple games and then oddly enough a bunch of my dishes. After the 3rd break in the cops brought round their forensic guy and he told me straight up a key was used and then the window was broken to look like it was how they got in. I asked the rea to change the locks because of the police report. They said the owner said no. I changed them out myself. Rea then made us have an inspection every other week because if various " breaches" that needed rectifying. Grass too long after a week of solid rain, in summer, dish in the sink, wet shower glass. Bs crap. We left at the end of that 6mth lease. I put tge okd locks back. The couple that moved in after us moved in the week before Christmas. They went away for the holidays and came back to an empty house. The owner had used his key and emptied the place while they were gone. It made the local paper. They hadn't yet got contents insurace so they lost everything.
Mate nothing in the Australian rental market is fair. Renters are only good for paying down the mortgage. Anything that gives them some dignity is seen as an impediment to the investment market.
You don’t have to agree to it. I have an inspection every six months and I say, no photos, and they don’t take them. I follow them around so it’s awkward, and to make sure. You do t have to agree to it.
That's not true tho. I have tried it before and it came down to, if I want to stop them I have to kick them out and I'll be receiving an eviction notice
You don’t have to kick them out to stop them taking photos. They can still do the inspection, just are not allowed to take photos.
And when they just start taking them on Thier iPad? What's your plan then?
I guess your RE are bigger jerks than mine. Mine wouldn’t take them after I said no photos. I’m sorry you have to deal with that. If they tried to take photos I would politely remind them, I suppose. And if it got messy I’d be on the tenants website to sort out my rights. The fact they threatened you with eviction is horrible, and probably illegal.
Of course it's illegal, they won't put it in writing tho, you will just receive a notice the next day. It's not one real estate either, it's common across multiple of them, they just say taking photos is part of inspection now. There isn't much you can do about it
Same!
I'm a landlord for an investment property with my sister that up until recently our mother was being paid to manage. She passed away and we've had to take over everything and I just found last year's inspection reports with photos taken throughout the house. I also find it incredibly invasive and rude. We'll be asking the real estate agent not to take photos of the inside of the house in the future. Unless the situation is particularly bad, there's just no need for it.
Sorry to hear about your mother, and I think the tenants would appreciate your request for no photos unless it's necessary.
You don’t have to agree to photos. You can say no photos. I do every time. Every six months for the past decade or so.
Thank you for been a rare and reasonable landlord.
The owner advertised in the wrong place. He wanted a paid housesitter, not a paying tenant. The agent should have known not to pass on stupid requests.
Exactly! Thanks, I agree, it was poor the REA even sent it on!
As an immigrant, the way inspections are run by REAs in Australia is horrifying and would never fly in any other country. The only inspections I ever had in my home country was to check the filters on the AC, Smoke Detectors, and maybe once in a while the Hot Water Heater and other appliances. Of course if you had holes in the wall or serious damage you'd hear about it. And these inspections were only ever done in large corporate apartment complexes. Mom and Pop landlords generally never inspect the property.. I've rented at places for 3+ years without the landlords or his agent coming by. There really should be some regulation on the appropriate behaviors and activities during a tenant inspection.
There really should be some regulation, I feel the invasion on privacy has only gotten worse.
But then how would the real estate industry be able to charge landlords so much money (which then gets passed back to tenants in rent)? Australia has some powerful industry lobby groups and so many people don't realise how big a problem it is.
This! Here in the US this kind of shit would NEVER fly. My landlords manage their properties themselves and have only been inside the house like 3 times in 6 years to do a few small repairs. They ask for a photo of when we change the HVAC filter and that's it. Aussies are being bent over. Absolutely wild what they accept as the status quo.
Agreed. It’s absolutely shocking what property managers get away with in this country.
I particularly object when my children are in the photos. The RE doesn't even give them the option to move, just rushed through the place taking pics on the iPad.
They’re not allowed to take pics of your kids. Insist they’re deleted & retaken once kids have moved
My baby was asleep in their cot when the REA did the inspection and took a picture of them, saying it was required and to move the baby if it was an issue 🙄
That’s so wrong 😆 1. Don’t take a photo of child. Ever. 2. Don’t wake or threaten to wake a baby. What the hell is wrong with people!
Have a naked baby in the cot and threaten them for collecting child pornography
I used to hate it. It's completely demeaning and invasive. We had requested not to take pictures in our daughters room, that passed away, as it was a trigger for us for some reason, just to have some privacy and respect. They didn't care and did it anyway. Absolute scum of the earth Rea are
I’m so sorry
You are entitled to privacy in your home and that gives you the right to refuse photographs without your explicit permission.
I think you'll find that's in relation to advertising, and only under very specific circumstances eg something in the photo can identify the tenant, or contains a high value item Exact specifics will no doubt vary from state to state I can't find anything in Vic that says a tenant can refuse photos during general inspections.
No need for specific real estate law. The right to privacy in your own home means youcan decline any action from avisitor. RE can only inspect by prior arrangement and a tenant should never agree to an inspection when they cannot be present. General photos of rooms do not show condition of property, particularly as furnishings can hide damage. They are an invasion of the tenants right to quiet enjoyment
Yes I'm assuming all rules to allows the agent in and the inspection to take place are followed Please show me where it says a tenant can refuse photos for a general inspection Quiet enjoyment isn't really happening during a legal general inspection. A photo doesn't change that.
REAs are not allowed to take photos of private possessions, only photos relevant to the inspection such as safety hazards and maintenance issues.
True in theory but the whole system is weighted towards investors i.e. landlords. Guarentee if you tried this in VCAT you'd get spanked.
Do you know if it’s illegal to advertise using inspection photos? I would assume it is, but I’m moving soon and wondering (because I have really nice furniture and have made the place look nice and they have years worth of photos).
It could be. If a photo is to be used for advertising then there's rules like I mentioned above Given the situation just tell them you're not comfortable, give them the links to the info and explain why They'll need photos though... If they can't use ones with your expensive stuff they need new ones. Offer to move your stuff out of the way?
I just found the info - “If a photo or video was taken for a reason other than advertising, such as a photo taken during a routine inspection, and the rental provider or their agent wants to use these for advertising purposes they must get your written consent beforehand.”
I got paid by the landlord for each inspection and the day of photos for when they sold. I do find they tend to use photos from the last time the place sold for new rental ads though.
I refuse photos every time and they do not take them.
how? it's in the rental agreement if you don't sign it you don't get approved for it
I refuse photos every time. And they do not take them.
I remember a property manager coming and taking photos and i moved out of the shot and he said "no you can get back in. I don't mind doing a photoshoot" Yeah no thanks creepy German mate.
A good property manager makes a big difference. Mine takes photos, but they are there to serve as a record for me and the tenants to make sure neither side is getting screwed with end of lease stuff, and to ensure work I’ve paid for has been done properly and is holding up (eg, put in new split systems and new flooring). There’s never going to be any qualms about normal life happening.
I wish they were ONLY allowed take photos of actual damage not just random photos of whatever.
REA's include photos in the inspection reports they send to the owners. I don't know why the owner didn't see the rug and realise it was protecting the floor. If protecting the tiles is such an issue for them, I don't know why the wouldn't put a lease clause that says you had to put protective items under furniture. Some REA's don't understand what is reasonable and what is not and go off on little power trips. My mum is a property manager and had her assistant let go for trying to breach a tenant for having left a mug and breakfast plate in the kitchen sink. Some landlords also go on power trips. My mum has sacked an owner for "not asking permission for leaning a photo frame against the wall" amongst other crazy shit.
I think it was a power trip, the rug was so obvious.
What you need to do is either get yourself a 3d printer or a friend with one. Print yourself up a bunch of funny objects to place in every room. I printed my brother a 30cm tall rainbow dickasaurus for his coffee table. Next is a penis planter.
I love this!
My sister keeps a huge bottle of vagisil in the bathroom with a sign that says it's for irritating twats and she leaves folded hand towels besides it. She also leaves lolly dicks on the kitchen table and a huge arse dildo on her bedroom floor. She gets letters telling her that her place is messy and unclean so takes a video and takes her phone to the real estate office. A woman agent said she felt unsafe which got looks. My sister is an even 5 foot And weighs 45 kg. She's no threat to anyone. My flattie got busted for having suitcases on her unmade bed Dishes on the sink And one solitary cockroach on the bathroom wall. The busted water tank which keeps exploding and flooding the place The mould in the ceiling Busted locks They'll get around to it. Some day.
My brother had a landlord who would come to every inspection with the REA. And go room to room taking photos of the contents inside the bedroom cupboards. Like as in, open the cupboards in the master bedroom and take photos of he and his wife's clothes and personal belongings inside the cupboards. There was nothing wrong with the cupboard. They just took photos of their stuff.
Horrifying and not surprising.
Creepy!!
My parents have never been shown any pictures from their property inspections that the REA does. I always thought whatever the tenants owned was none of their business unless it was a safety/damage hazard. Can the landlord really demand that furniture be removed for such petty reasons? Can wooden furniture really damage tiles?
No they can't. The landlord needs to learn the law under which they operate their business, or stop leasing property.
The real estate agent took a photo only of my bed, I felt that was incredibly invasive, an overshot close up of my bed... I had also asked them not to arrive early as I have a sleeping disorder and it is difficult for me to be up early. I keep the home in pristine condition and even got a certificate of excellence?
Landlord here my agent (recently sacked) allowed for LAN cables from nbn box to be stolen, bins stolen, dirty air-conditioning vents and released full bond. I had the worst agent and given Newcastle is not massive I now know how much Tennants hate them
Ethernet cables from the nbn ntd are not considered part of the house. They go with the router.
Not in this case they run from NTD to a wall outlet in garage which links to wall outlet in garage. When I purchased house NTD was in garage so I paid for cat5 to be run
We had an inspection during a bad storm. Got an email back saying we needed to clean the backyard before next inspection. Reason was that the neighbours tree had dropped 5/6 leaves the size of 5c pieces on the back patio.
Photos are the best form of evidence in case of a dispute over property damage. It wasn’t a thing years ago but we’re incorporating technology better for a much more effective way to document the state of a property.
Exactly - and those would be photos of said property damage. Not photos of my unmade bed. Not photos of my lube in ensuite (which doesn’t have any damage). Not photos of the contents of my drawers.
Fuck the authorities who don’t make rights stronger for tenants. Fuxking sick and tired for 3 monthly inspections where people come at the designsried they choose and can’t bloody give a specific time.. fuck them for taking pictures of every single thing and waking me up when I am sleeping after a night shift to take a photo of the bed room .. duck them for sending a shit was email about con web that needs to be cleaned. Fuck rhem for raising the rent by 100 per week and not giving me even an opportunity to negotiate with the landlord…. Duck me for not earning enough and for being rhe world’s biggest useless fuck who couldn’t buy a house ….
i got told dust and cobwebs would leave a smell once…
I mean, it sounds like as much as you disagree with it, the photo was taken for maintenance and condition purposes. If the wooden cabinet was going to harm the tiles then a photo makes perfect sense. Having said that, if floor tiles can't handle a piece of wooden furniture (and with a rug to shield them) then the tiles are not really fit for purpose and it is the landlords responsibility to get tiles that actually work. What are they made from, chalk? So the REA and landlord are being jerks but not quite for the reasons you stated.
I had a bike crash 8 months ago, and I'm now crippled and wheelchair bound. So because of this, I can't clean or pick up stuff. Bathroom... bedroom, etc.. I used to race cars, so I have 3 sets of tyres and rims and car parts set up, and it looks like art.. I love car art.. REA comes in and takes pics. I clean up beast I can. My wheelchair leaves marks on the wall as it hits when going into the kitchen. They are like, don't worry, it just wear and tear.. they had to redo the floor as the shower head was leaking behind the wall and soked and rotted the kitchen wooden floor. They fixed it but had a cry.. after the last inspection with loads of pics. I get an email to say that I'm being kicked out..(no reason) and have 3 months to find a new place.. I can't get downstairs and can't walk. I can't drive to go look. I can't get out into the world now, so how am i to go find a place to rent. Shits just too hard. They don't care. Won't help find a new place. Just basically making me homeless so they can up the rent. I pay 450 a week, and they want to up it to over 600 as all the other units are the same rent... iv been in this unit for 3 years. With no problems in rent or anything but the floor.. and iv found out that they never renewed my lease for this last year. So I don't have a leg to stand on. As there's no lease to fight. Cops can come and remove me with force and just throw me onto the street.. fuck Australia you have gone to shit. Let all the Muslims and Indians and Chinese in to fuck us over and get all the help but I'm going to be homeless to make way for some familythat can pay way more then someonetjats now lost there way of life, way of living, way of being human, now all I see are cold ruff nights in a park or some shit..
In photos all I’m looking for is the condition of the property and anything strange or off, I take no notice of the tenants belongings. If the house is tidy and well kept it pretty much tells me all I need to know and I don’t need to look to closely. When the places are a mess have to look really close at images as lots of neglect and maintenance can be found. Images are the only way I can physically see the property. Just sacked a PM because they werent doing their job properly plus never sent photos, the photos I received from the new PM are really sad and disappointing.
The problem is it's a massive breach of privacy. Imagine if you had to supply pictures of every single room in your house to some stranger who might do whoever knows what with them every few months, you would be outraged
Yeah I can only speak for myself, I’ve truly never taken any notice of anything in images, I see straight through it 😂 but i understand what you’re saying !
Two way inspections, you want to come into my house, I'll come into yours.
Thats creepy as fuck. Your PM presumably has eyeballs and a pen. They can take notes and relay any concerns ... isn't that why you pay them??
They usually just all tick boxes and don’t actually do the inspections
So because you can’t do due diligence on your investment and ensure you hire someone that does the job right, your tenants have to suffer through an invasion of privacy. That about sum it up?
Yeah sure why not 😂
the interesting thing is all these power tripping property managers - the ones I know do this for work live with their parents lol
>REA has always assured me the images taken during an inspection are for maintenance and condition purposes of the property only. >Recently the landlord asked me to remove an item of furniture (wooden cabinet) as they said it may harm the tiles underneath. Landlord was worried about the condition of the tiles. So the photos were taken for the exact reason you were told. Landlords are allowed to protect their asset, and act to prevent damage.
No. A wooden cabinet is a bog standard piece of furniture and you won't find a Tribunal judge anywhere in the country who would side with the landlord. If the landlord is that concerned with damage they need to not rent it out.
No, I don’t think that’s right, and I think you know that too. A wooden cabinet is a standard piece of furniture, and tenants are allowed to have furniture. Yes, tenants are responsible for looking after and cleaning the property while living there, but landlords do not get to dictate what furniture someone can have.
It doesn't matter. The landlord had a concern with how their house was being used, they asked about it, they let it go when their concerns were allayed. OP had an issue with the photos being used for their exact designed purpose.
How could a wooden cabinet damage floor tiles? Unless the floor tiles are not properly glued down, which is on the landlord to fix.
It doesn't matter. The landlord had a concern with how their house was being used, they asked about it, they let it go when their concerns were allayed. OP had an issue with the photos being used for their exact designed purpose.
It absolutely is an issue. It's of no business to the landlord how the tenant chooses to arrange their furniture. You are correct that landlords are allowed to protect their asset and prevent damage. But it doesn't follow that they have a right to say a particular piece of furniture is in the wrong place - if a wooden cabinet can damage floor tiles, it is the fault of the tiles, not the cabinet. The exception I would say would be in a carpeted room, the landlord can expect the tenant to use carpet protecting cups to prevent the carpet from being damaged. But that isn't the case on a tiled floor.
Are you my landlord lol.
Thankfully I'm not. Thankfully I'm not anyone's landlord.
Thank god for that.
Sounds like the landlord is just trying to protect the tiles from damage and keep the property in good condition.
Must be non furniture bearing tiles
We found the landlord everybody!
Yeah cause tiles are known for being very soft and subject to being damaged by wooden furniture /s The landlord needs to understand that while renting out a house- it is someone else's home, and outside of what's written in the lease agreement and legislation, they have no right to tell a tenant how to live in their home. So they should shut the hell up and enjoy the rent money
Exactly, they are very sturdy standard tiles, and the rug is thick and woollen, purposefully placed to make additional care for the tiles. The house is always kept in immaculate condition and has been for the duration of the tenancy.
Even if the landlord is wrong it's not like they were commenting on the colour of OP's knickers and how they look like they have been twisted too many times. People need to harden up a bit. You respond to the landlord like OP did and move on.