On Friday I sent the following email to the Real Estate Agency.
Hi Amy,
Its
Since then she has rung me directly regarding showing someone through the property "but it is not a viewing" and a termite inspection guy for tomorrow afternoon. After further discussions with the NSW Office of Fair Trading and the Rental Advisory Board I am now going to insist that all communication come via your office.
In the spirit of this, I am hereby asking that you convey the following message to Ms Coyne please.
Dear Ms Coyne,
I have had further discussions with the NSW Office of Fair Trading and the NSW Rental Advisory board and have been informed that your recent communications with me regarding your intention to sell the property at
I hereby rescind my permission for you to enter the property tomorrow or arrange anyone else to enter the property tomorrow. In fact I now give a blanket statement that I hereby rescind all informal arrangements we have had. I now require that all communications with me go via the L J Hooker Real Estate Office Property Manager.
I have not received any formal communication from the Real Estate that you intend to sell the property I am currently tenanting. I will require a formal written posted letter from the Real Estate before I will give permission for any arrangements relating to the eventual sale of the property.
I also request that all communications be made to me via a written posted letter from the Real Estate Property Manager with a minimum of seven days notice from receipt of letter for all requests to enter the property.
Regards
I rang the Real Estate agency and spoke with Amy and discussed the contents of the email before I sent it through. Amy said I was being perfectly reasonable.
Every single time, not usually, but *always* when Veronica arranges someone to come around, she *always* brings them over personally and introduces them and explains what exactly they wish to enter the property to do. I.e. Here's Sam X, he's the plumber and come to fix the leaking toilet. Like I hadn't figured that out from the truck labelled "Sam's Plumbing".
Well this Saturday (the day after the Real Estate agency passed on my message) there was a knock at the door and a man said "Hi I'm the pest inspector. I need to see into your roof." I apologised but informed him that the landlady knew that there was no access into the property today. I am sorry she still made the booking with you.
He said "look love, do it as a favour to me - if I don't see into that ceiling I wont get paid".
Then I suggest you take that up with the person who hired you under false pretences. She got you out here or at least didn't cancel your appointment when she knew you were not allowed access onto the property.
He said "look I'm a working man with a wife and kids to feed - are you going to help me or not?"
I'm sorry - but no. And I shut the door.
He walked across the landing and stared in at the window at me with his arms crossed and just glared at me for over five minutes and then he stalked off back over to the land lady's place. She rung me four times over the next two hours but I refused to answer the phone. I had told her that all communication was to come through the Real Estate - I'm sick of her bullying.
Anyway a couple of hours later he left.
On Sunday Veronica received visitors who spent a lot of time in her garden peering at my front and back yards and at the house - but they did not cross the boundary onto my property.
Tonight I came home late and I saw a bobbing torch/flashlight as someone scampered back over to her place.
This is tiresome. Do I keep all the curtains and blinds closed to ensure privacy, or do I allow Trubs some patches of sunlight in these winter days ....
It is Tuesday night. I have received no emails and no written letters from the Real Estate Agency at all informing me of any of the situation going on. I still have not received any official notification that she is trying to sell the place out from under me.
To be continued .....
11 comments:
One word Mel - harassment! No landlord may harass a tenant, irrespective of the circumstances. If the law in Oz is worded even half as leniently as the UK version, she is on very sticky ground legally. I went through all this with a tenant in a property I was managing. It cost me the sale of the property, a repossession and a small claims court action (ongoing) to recover 5 months rent that is outstanding after two years!
Holy crap! Has she been an ass the whole time you've rented, or is this something new? Do you have any legal recourse to physically keep her out while you are at work - as in, are you allowed to change the locks (which is a stupid expense, but if it keeps strangers out...)? I know where I've rented before, landlords can pretty much just come through whenever they want - no notice, could've been there when you were gone and you'd never know...
What a PITA all around! Sheesh! Are there any sort of actual penalties or actions that the Real Estate Agency can take against her?
I have to prove it was her, call the cops and file an official report of break and enter, have the cops find her guilty, and then take her through the NSW Tenancy tribunal.
The cops do *not* like touching these kinds of situations.
By putting it in writing like I did, I can at least prove that if I do catch her in the act that she was indeed not there at my request - that I did not set her up - that there was no misunderstanding.
This is all new and its all been since the backyard was completed.
I suspect she's been planning this for a few months and had friends and prospective buyers {new tenants maybe} lined up waiting for the backyard to be finished. And she's just steam rolling through plans she made months ago.
Stick to your guns girl. Do not let her harrass you. If you think she is entering the flat while you are not there then lay a trap for her. Put a piece of cotton across the door inside so that if it is broken then you know she has entered. Even better, a pot of paint carefully balanced. But then you may just get clobbered yourself (titters).....
Just dont let her upset you. YOU are in the right. SHE is in the wrong.......
Kay this is *exactly* the reason why I didn't let the pest guy in. Its not that I wanted to hurt him - but I needed to prove a point to her.
Can't imagine dealing with people like this when it involves your home!
Oh my goodness! What a huge pest!! I understand it's her property but she needs to understand that you are the renter and have rights -- including PRIVACY!!
As stated earlier this is all a recent change in behaviour from her. All this stems from since the backyard was finished. I think she had planned this out months ago and is just putting her plans into action and steam rolling her way through. She's a deputy head mistress of a private catholic girls school in Sydney - she's used to getting her own way.
If I remember properly you said earlier that she had to inform the Real Estate people that she wished to sell the property and that THEY had to then send you a notice to quit. Seems to me that while she is playing around at trying to harass you, time is slipping away as far as she is concerned.
She may be a Deputy head mistress but she doesn't have much intellect. All you need to is sit tight and wait for official notification. In the meantime she is going to have to go through Real Estate every time she wants anything ie. access to the property etc.
I'm now convinced she's what I said the first time "Silly Cow".:))
The official notification to move out has arrived. It does not give the reason as "selling the property". She gives the reason as "no reason".
Seeing as she has done this, there is absolutely *no* onus on me whatever to open the house up to prospective buyers or to assist in any way in anything to do with selling the property.
Yup - she's a silly cow.
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