I have received in today's mail my official termination notice from the Real Estate.
I am required to vacate the premises by 1 October 2008 (a touch over the 60 days required).
The interesting part is that the reason listed for terminating the lease. There are a number of tick boxes and you chose the appropriate one and strike out all the rest.
The reason ticked for terminating the lease is not "sale of premises".
The reason ticked is "No Grounds".
Interesting .... and yet completely legal.
15 comments:
Now that's idiotic... How could "no grounds" be a legal reason to terminate a rental contract?
Especially when the rent has been paid regularly and the property has been kept in good order.
That means it's really important for you to find out soon whether you'll move to Sydney or to Melbourne :-)
Odd for sure.. but at least you have the official notice for sure, I guess. I hope you hear from Melbourne soon! It would be awful to move twice in such a short period of time!
So perhaps she isn't selling it but just wants you out. Maybe to place someone she 'likes better' on the premises?
Wow, *no grounds*?? Why even have anything official if they don't even need a reason? Just wake you up in the middle of the night and kick you out. Sounds like the same thing to me. Hope you get the new position and need to move anyway. Maybe this is just the beginning of a whole new part of your life......
WTF? As if "Just because I feel like it" is a legal reason to terminate a contract. But, I have to say, your landlady is a crackpot anyway. The farther you get away from her and her sneaks looking around your yard with a flashlight, the better!!
Yep, you need to get yourself a better situation - sure seems like this one is going downhill fast! Sounds like you need a couple of "accidental" boobytraps around your place...
Wow, Mel! I cannot imagine getting that kind of a reason for termination of the lease and having it be legal! Aw, well, you're definitely better off without her!!
Well it is a pre-printed form from the Rental Tenancies Act 1987. It gives a list of options and the one they chosen is:
No Grounds
You are required by the landlord to give vacant possession of the premises on ___/___/___ being a date not earlier than 60 days after the date of service of this notice. (Not to be served during the fixed term of the agreement. Refer to s58 of the Residential Tenancies Act).
The date they filled in was 01/10/08 - or otherwise known as 1st of October.
Hmm - interesting ..... I went hunting for the actual text of s58 of the NSW Residential Tenancies act and found this as part of a paper on social welfare in Sydney ....
Australian tenancy law is dealt with on a State by State basis. There are no laws that guarantee tenants security of tenure. In NSW since 1989 a tenant can be evicted for no reason with 60 days notice. This blatant lack of security of tenure is a blatant breach of the International Covenant.
Rent increases are often a reason for a tenancy to be relinquished because the tenant cannot afford the amount of the increase. Currently there are no laws regulating rent levels in Australia, leaving all tenancies potentially insecure. There is no legislative control on the amount rent can be increased. In NSW legislation was introduced in 1987 allowing a landlord to increase rent with 60 days written notice. If a tenant wishes to contest a rent increase they have the onus of proving that the rent is excessive in comparison with the market.26 If the increase isn't 'excessive' in the current market climate it cannot be reviewed.
http://fulltext.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/1999/nsw/p124-128.pdf
OK, here is the relevant section of the actual act as it is currently (last revised May 2008).
Residential Tenancies Act 1987 No 26
58 Notice of termination by landlord without any ground
(1) A landlord may give notice of termination of a residential tenancy agreement without specifying any ground for the termination.
(2) A notice of termination given under this section shall not specify a day earlier than 60 days after the day on which the notice is given as the day on which vacant possession of the residential premises is to be delivered up to the landlord.
(2A) (Repealed)
(3) This section does not apply to a residential tenancy agreement that creates a tenancy for a fixed term during the currency of the term.
http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/viewtop/inforce/act+26+1987+FIRST+0+N/
I have been hearing horror stories from Canberra and Sydney about people being forced out of perfectly good residential properties under this law, then the property goes back on the market in a week or two with a $100 per week increase in the rent asked for.
I pay $230 a week for this place. Looking at the list of available listings provided by the Real Estate agency (yes they want to keep me a tenant) all equivalent sized and located homes in this area are asking for at least $100 more in rent a week. Mind you they could still be on the market *because* they are asking for such high rents but a quick scan online last night shows that this type of dwelling is regularly asking for $330-360 per week.
So I think the landlord is just being greedy. She's turfing out a good tenant to get in more money. I really hope Karma bites her and she gets a really bad tenant next time ....
Hope so.
That wouldn't be too far-fetched - sounds like she's got it coming. How much will she be making if it sits empty because no one wants to fork it over?
and if Australia is anything like the UK then her next tenant will be appalling. Ooooh goodie.
Lets hope that Melbourne will be calling you soon
Post a Comment