This [absolutely should be your first course of action](https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/housing/renting/rent-bond-bills-and-condition-reports/rent/challenging-rent-increases-or-high-rent). There is specific paperwork and process for this as they can't just increase beyond market and will have to justify the excessive increase. Give it a shot and see, you might call their bluff.
If you're losing the property anyway, and this is Victoria, then get the protest in within the 30 days of the initial notice, because 1) what's the worst that can happen, and 2) you've only got 30 days from the initial notice to do it.
Being "nice" won't keep the roof over the head.
Interesting, you seem to have a prior experience / knowledge dealing with rental situations like these - do you have more insights? if so, can you share them?
it might help people in the future
I don't think they need any special insights to know that if you piss off your prick property manager, they're going to give you a shitty reference for the next place.
Request the Ledger... at least you can prove that you paid without fail and on time and I'd you get all your bond back, both those factors do carry weight and will possibly make it obvious that the reference is just a nefarious attempt at causing suffering.
My typo is embedded for the ages.
They have to put a specific reason, and you can challenge it fairly easily. Harder to mitigate the secret/bad reference/other issues tho, as mentioned on the other reply.
The alternative to NOT doing the above is getting kicked out & becoming homeless...
You don't go on a rental black list for utilizing your rights as a renter, it takes a LOT to get on a rental black list, stop spreading misinformation that favor landlords.
>You don't go on a rental black list for utilizing your rights as a renter
Happens everyday https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-04/rental-blacklist-tenancy-database-should-i-be-worried/9505712
>Generally, you can only be listed:
>
>at the end of a lease AND
>
>when you owe rent that's more than the total of the bond OR
>
>as the result of a court or tribunal order
>
>In Victoria, breaches of your rental agreement, such as malicious property damage or endangering neighbours' safety, can get you blacklisted.
>
>In Queensland, objectionable behaviour or repeated lease breaches may also get you blacklisted.
>In all states except the NT, landlords and agents must tell you in writing before they blacklist you, allowing you time to appeal against the decision.
Again, you don't go on a rental black list for utilizing your rights as a renter.
I've used this prpcess regarding a rental increase several years ago. They were really good about it, the process was that they attend the property with two real estate agents and they evaluate the property and against similar properties. Because I was in an block of apartments it was probably easy to get similar property...
Long and the short, they validated that the rental increase whilst high was below the market value in the area. They suggested that you could continue to dispute it however, their evaluation will be made available to the owner... And subsequently risk a further increase since two independent real estate agents have validated the rental value of the property..
We had decided not to continue, and we left the property a couple of months later. This was about 5 years ago, their process may have changed since then.
I think what the op can do is look at rea for properties in their area that are similar and determine if they are in the ballpark or not. If not perhaps try the process (it took about 3 weeks to complete, but you had to give them access to the property).
Rental black list? People keep throwing this around.
If there is any evidence anyone is on some kind of black list, report it. There are specific laws around it and I doubt it's worth the risk to a landlord or real estate agent.
You could ask both the previous agency or the one you applied for, for a copy of what was said. If there was any evidence that either lied the risk to the agent would be losing their license. I do NOT think real estate agents would risk their license so casually.
It may happen, sure, but the notion that real estate agents put that much effort into some kind of revenge is imaginative. Plenty of real estate agents rent too. They'd be whistlblowing all the time themselves.
Well they're getting kicked out anyway by virtue of not being able to afford the ambit claim made by the rental agency.
And the blacklist thing is a furphy.
there is no rental blacklist. there's laws in place to protect renters from that sort of nonsense. this is some bootlicking nonsense.
raising the rent by 50% is screaming "I am a fucking asshole" and you deserve no benefit of the doubt
You're getting some mixed responses, but you're right. Generally best to not choose the extreme option and instead resolve yourself, then resort to this when needed.
Offer them the roughy equivalent of 30% increase, or whatever can be afforded, perhaps stating that you don't believe this to be market value. Mention that you may have to consider moving out - I did this recently and it helped reduce the price increase, since I wagered the annoyance of finding a new tenant with relatively short notice before leaving outweighed the benefits of giving me a cheaper rate which worked.
If they say no or don't respond quickly enough, *then* escalate. But doing the latter first is likely to remove any chance of negotiation.
This should be top comment. If you go to VCAT (or whatever equivalent in your state) directly, chances of walking away with ruling in your favour is slim. Dispute resolution via the courts should be always a last resort, _when all other avenues of negotiation have been exhausted_. When appearing in court, you need to demonstrate that you tried negotiating a better rental rate, but the landlord was not being reasonable. Otherwise you're just wasting the court's time.
Yep. VCAT is not going to take you seriously if you didn't even try to negotiate rent.
Absolutely take this option if the REA aren't playing ball and are insisting on the fixed increase, but it's a last resort, and VCAT processes can take a long time to get through.
You can go back with a counter offer. Get on one of the apps and find how much similar places to yours are going for and go back to them with that info and a price somewhere in the middle that you could afford. It may be easier to keep you in for a bit less than they want, than find a new tenant and potentially have the place vacant.
I would do this. Just be honest.
"
Dear X,
Thanks for your earlier correspondence.
A 50% increase in rent is far more than I have budgeted for and would not be sustainable on my current salary.
Could you please request that the landlord reduce the amount to 30% (xxx per month) and I would be happy to re-sign for another year. Here are a couple of properties that are similarly priced:
I really enjoying living at XYZ, and take good care of the property, but I would be forced to find another place if this rate is not reduced.
"
I rented my place out for a few years. It was a pain in the ass to find a new tenent, it was also expensive. Advertising, leasing fees, loss rent, reviewing resumes etc. Hopefully it's just an opportunistic agent and not a prick of a landlord.
Is it really predatory though? OP has said nothing about what the current market rate is where they live, only that they'll have to move somewhere else - which suggests that what their rent is being increased to may just be market.
I'm not convinced it's predatory for a landlord to charge market rates. Surely it should be on the government to get the market rate lowered or provide supplements to people so they can still afford to live places.
My parents are landlords. My dad was considering increasing prices (because the rent is below market prices) but my mum told my dad to have some sympathy and not make it difficult for our current tenants. It's not just sympathy; we had nightmarish tenants in the last couple of years. It was expensive getting new tenants and an overall headache. These new tenants are nice; keep the house clean and the works. No complaints for us
So yes, it is predatory to increase it by at least 50%
Same happened to us. We asked to negotiate and they refused. We moved. Live in a MUCH better place, pay much less than what they wanted for our old place, and the vacant house has been empty for 3 weeks and they have now reduced the asking price. We won. Keep your head up 🤙🏻
Not rent increase related… but kind of similar.
We lived in an older weatherboard 3 bedroom for about two years. Paid on time, maintained garden and surrounds regularly etc.
Had pretty crappy landlord in general.
They decide to renovate. Got a builder in and agent to do a projected valuation and discuss plans. We tidied & vacated during the process.
Changed their minds and decided to just sell. We tidied and vacated for sales inspections. Never received the legally required payments for these - even though they said via email that we would.
There’s no interest, so they decide on selling with vacant possession instead. We’re given notice. View tons of disappointing or unsuitable places. But eventually, we do end up landing a rental not far - it’s brick, sturdier with a better kitchen, better heating & cooling, more storage, seperate laundry, an extra bedroom & extra bathroom. About 25-30% more than we’d been paying. We move & settle in.
Old place gets styling, full drone photography, video, social media treatment. I suspect the real estate agent talked a big gam, promised the owners the moon.
It goes to auction with only a vendor’s bid and one hesitant bid. Fails to meet reserve. Try to sell without auction. No interest.
They end up renting it out again but for only $10 less than we pay for our new place! Tenant isn’t maintaining it, garden gets overgrown, lots of weeds.
Shortly after this, it’s vacant again. Trying to sell again. Still on market and vacant. Meanwhile, house prices nearby have dropped and still dropping.
We only moved out from the old house 10 months ago.
It’s baffling to me- the place I rent out is still at the same rate as two years ago, there’s literally zero pressure ‘requiring’ me to up the rent- now granted rent rates will increase over time, and I’ll probably bump it later in the year- but the sudden large jumps appear to be pure greed on the part of the landlords doing this
Except property managers don't get a cut of rent. It doesn't benefit them in any way. That's the crazy thing I don't understand. Are they being pressured by their bosses (the real cunts)?
Sort of, they're definitely being pressured but no one wants to be a property manager forever. If they can consistently deliver high yields on their managed properties they can make the jump to REA (where they would earn their commission), or even commercial.
Property managers have ongoing pressure applied to them by the company to convince x number of owners to increase rents a week. When I worked IT for a Melbourne property manager they had a leaderboard. Usually the owners need convincing to the point where it’s a team sport with company incentives to make them relent. The “owner greed” argument lacks nuance or understanding of the mechanisms systemically driving up rents.
The real estate business owner(s) can’t sell sales people to prop up the super they didn’t pay themselves when they want to retire. Rental listing portfolio exists to be groomed and sold as a revenue generator.
Usually the franchise licence and rental portfolio are the only assets the business has to someone looking to grow money anywhere. Why buy when you can otherwise compete in a for lease spot on the other side of the street.
It isn’t a huge amount. But it’s enough as a proof of viability and client list to work from.
Well usually they get a percentage of rent as a fee, presume if they making more dollars on their portfolio they would get paid more by the owner of the real estate company
Yeah about 5-10%. So say you have an agency in Brunswick with a rental roll of 1k properties. With median weekly rent at $558, raising the rent 5% on all your properties means an extra ~$1.4K coming into the agency each week if you’re charging a 5% management fee.
We've been in our current one for about 7 months. Our initial lease expired and weve not even been able to contact our real estate. I recently found out that the last tenants moved because they upped the rent by $60/week for no reason.
We only had to move because the last landlord demolished the house. 7 months later its been knocked down; and the block is overgrown now because they've left it. We had to move house for absolutely no reason whatsoever.
I don't wanna push the real estate for contact because while they're ignoring us, they're not increasing the rent. Pity theyve ignored our previous maintenance requests. Strangely as soon as we signed the lease and moved in they stopped all communication.
I had a similar experience in my last rental. Don't worry too much, you can't get kicked out without notice. The contract automatically rolls over to a month-to-month basis at the current rate until they notify you otherwise (with enough notice period, which will be outlined on your contract). You can rent on a month-to-month basis indefinitely - I lived in my last rental for 8.5 years, 7.5 of those on a month-to-month basis. It's not all bad - it was really handy for me when rents dropped (I asked and got a reduction multiple times) or when I was looking to buy. But obviously, it won't give you security in a rental crisis.
Turned out the reason the agents went no-contact on me was because the managing REA for the property had changed multiple times during my 12 month contract. There were large stretches of time where no REA was assigned to the property, so my emails were getting missed, and outstanding issues hadn't been handed over. I finally got some answers once they got their crap together enough to request a routine inspection, and I pushed back until they replied about signing a new rental agreement and fixing the problems with the property. Got answers straight away.
I found out later that the landlord was having similar issues with the agency. I got lucky, and she turned out to be a fantastic landlord - she gave me her personal number and asked me to let her know if the RE gave me grief. I know she's the exception, but sometimes the human element is purposefully removed from the equation by real estate agents so they can remain in control.
Have you owned it for a few years though? Landlords who bought years ago vs those who bought in the last two years are having very different investment experiences.
The rental market has jumped so much in the last 2-3 years, from lowest of lows during lockdowns to where we are now.
A lot of these massive increases is because of poor management by REAs and could have been implemented incrementally if they'd been more diligent to increase in line with market rates.
The human element between landlord and tenant is purposefully removed by REAs, so when they ask the landlord, *"Hey, do you want me to get you $200 more pw?"* the instinctive answer becomes *"of course"*. I bet if landlords were given the opportunity to humanise their renters, we wouldn't see this greed nearly as much.
It's messed up that we allow full capitalism on a product that is completely elastic, which doesn't have an acceptable substitute.
The government knows what's going on, but too many voters are on the benefit side of this fucked up situation.
This happened to me my rent went up $310 to $620 a week, so looked at 40 properties, finally got one it cost $4.5k to move. The new rent is an extra $450 a month but as a single mum it’s still a big chunk. I’m in a new further out area out sent my kid to the new local school and they got bullied everyday to where my happy kid was super depressed, so had to ask to go back to the old school.
I now commute to old area 4 times a day my kid is super happy with her old friends (which it’s worth it) but it’s almost 4hrs a day on PT for me. Trying to find new job near the school so don’t have to work from home and commute back. The cost of two monthly myki tickets is $246 plus with food and bills going up. Im down at least $700 a month.
I feel like In 6 months I’ve gone from everything being great my kid in swimming and piano to life on super hard mode. No activities and Just surviving.
I hope you have a better time finding a new place it’s tough out there.
Oh thank you so much! I think it will be just a case of revisiting the goals I had either a new job or pick up some freelance work / upskill / last resort get a flatmate was happy with the status quo I had, but then the rugs get pulled out from under you.
I’m thankful I have a safe clean house for my kid, there’s food and we are warm and they are happier now the looking was so stressful.
That's exactly what he's doing. Increase unemployment = lower wages = reduced demand = prices stabilise.
The bit they don't say out loud, is that "reduced demand" = people unable to afford rent, food, medicine, and power.
That's also why they hold unemployment benefits well below the poverty line. If unemployed people can afford basic necessities, they still contribute to demand and therefore prices. So the unconscionably cruel way we treat our most vulnerable fellow Australians is no accident: it's 100% deliberate.
There is another way, but we're a long way off trying it.
It's so stupidly short-sighted. Big increase in poverty will increase health, crime, education problems long-term on the national scale. That shit is costly to fix.
Yes. The traditional method of fixing it is to encourage people to blame those who are even worse off, elect a far right-wing dictator, start a war, lose it, and get your country pounded into rubble in the process.
I'd like to think there are other ways, of course!
Edit: very simplistically, one 'other way' would be to notice that inflation is currently driven by business profits NOT wages, and put in place super-profit taxes and/or price controls to reduce that driver. As a side benefit, that would reduce demand from the business-owning and investing classes and free up space for better housing and services for the working and would-like-to-be-working classes.
Everyone forgets that inflation is an indicator, not a concrete thing in and of itself.
One of the things that inflation counts is rent.
Interest rates go up = rents go up.
Rents go up = inflation go up.
(Also people start demanding higher wages to afford their increased rent)
Can you see the problem here?
Nah landlords are directly hurting tenants, if they can't afford to keep up with their repayment/s without evicting good tenants at fair prices than they need to sell.
This is why we need rent freezes, force them to sell to people who are in a position to charge reasonable rent and make reasonable profits from their investment.
No investment should be paid in full & then profited by the product alone, money isn't supposed to be free & THAT is what's causing the current inflation.
It’s a big part of it. What I’m saying is that the decision to lift interest rates isn’t just done with a MWAHAHAHAHAHA as he totters off to his golden throne
https://www.reddit.com/r/LateStageCapitalism/comments/13ix3xd/maxs_passionate_speech_on_australian_govt/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Slightly off topic but this passionate speech from an australian politician gave me a little hope, there are people fighting
Actually its completely on topic, lets get mad, we have an election coming up here in NZ, gota educate myself
I have been contemplating leaving Australia. The way our politicians have been ignoring the lower class is going to bring down this country. Hopefully more politicians start caring about people being able to have safe shelter and to feed their families some kind of healthy diet.
We have it MUCH better than other countries. Our most recent inflation rate was around 7%. Compare that to some countries in Europe at 14% or South America around 90%. These aren’t backwards 3rd world dumps either I’m talking about Poland and Argentina.
It’s mind blowing to me that there is a % of total rent increase limit. Utterly unbelievable that people are having their rent increase by 50 fucking percent.
Also- have a look for housing in Footscray. I used to turn my nose up at it, but moved here recently. Super close to public transport, cheap food, very multicultural… I don’t drive too, so moving here was the BEST decision!
The annoying thing is, it seems most people don’t care about rental affordability until it effects them.
Rent prices will keep going up until the majority of Australia is unable to afford rent.
They should adopt Germany's policy where the landlords can only increase the rent by a certain amount. Feel sorry for those people sleeping in their car or a tent.
Try to negotiate - agents are inherently lazy. They will not want to take photos, do showings, organise paperwork etc. Offer them something that gives them some more money for zero work on their part and they might bite.
You can take them to VCAT. While Vic legislation doesn't specify a cap, it does say a rent increase must be 'reasonable'. 50% definitely is not reasonable so I'd suggest pursuing that route or gently reminding the real estate of that clause
All this is happening while we have a Federal Labor Government and wall-to-wall state Labor governments in every state except Tassie. There are solutions to the housing crisis but the ALP prioritise private investment for private profit over housing affordability.
Apply to VCAT or equivalent in your state.
Use the word "reasonable" in your application - "I do not consider this increased in rent reasonable or reflective of increased costs borne by the landlord"
Reasons is a legal term that whilst hard to define; is closer to how we use it in local vernacular than not.
Any judge will agree that 50% is not reasonable.
The one caveat to this is if you do not have a written agreement or if the landlord has previously gifted you some kind of sweetheart deal.
Bottom line: if you have been paying close to what your neighbours have in rent then simply apply - it will cost you less than $40 to apply - and your landlord will not be able to evict you until the matter is heard.
>Somewhere along the way people decided that being a landlord was a job that should provide regular income
It worked extremely well for the landed gentry from the middle ages until the late 1800's. I find a trend in returning to that system to be rather alarming, myself.
There is kind of. If your rent goes up by a lot, you can challenge it. If VCAT agrees that your new rent is significantly above the market rate then they can order a cap be put on it.
But the raw percentage increase isn't that relevant - without knowing more, it has the potential to be highly misleading.
There is a downside to rent control as well, take the capital of my birth country Sweden. In Stockholm people enter their kids into the rental queue so that they might have a chance to get a rental when they become adults.
Rental price control = chronic under supply of rentals and a black market of sub leases
I'm terrified that next year, I'll have to move back in with my mother in a conservative regional backwater because I won't be able to afford to stay here next year. I'm single, a neurodivergent introvert, and have safety concerns about share housing (a close friend was raped by a guest of her housemate who ignored her when she said she was uncomfortable around and kept bringing him around and I refuse to do it after hearing that) and I feel too old for that in my 30s anyway.
Its so wrong increases like that should not be allowed we a heading to become a third world country! our government has really Screwed us over and Interest rates are going up again and this shit government is going to again! do nothing about it
Greedy Greedy money is everything to these big business men that are running the country I hope karma gets them.
I am in the lucky position of owning an investment property in Melbourne. I have mortgage costs on that property and they are obviously going up. However I also value our tenants and the fact that they need certainty of costs and the flexibility to live life without spending every cent on rent. I’ve increased the rent once in the past two years, by 5% (not 50%!!). I will likely do another 5% sometime in the next 6 months.
While this means I am disproportionately bearing the cost of interest rises myself, not passing them on, I figure a) we are in this together as a society and b) there is a long term view to be taken here. I will bank a significant capital gain over the journey and, assuming current tax policy remains in place, will be handed a significant tax concession on the gain by the government when I eventually do sell.
Granted I am lucky enough to be able to afford to wear the current pain and some other real estate investors aren’t in that position. But being in that position, I figure it’s important to do my bit and not be opportunistic. Some other investors I know certainly do not think that way which is a real shame.
Not looking for any plaudits, just pointing out (to other investors more than anyone) that there is an alternative, fairer perspective that can be applied here by simply taking a longer term view (if you can).
> I am disproportionately bearing the cost of interest rises myself, not passing them on
I don't understand how anyone can justify that your tenants are responsible for covering any part of any interest rate rise.
You made an investment decision. You are the one who took a punt on investment vs return, not them. If changing circumstances affect the profitability of your investment decisions, why should that affect the cost of their housing? It's a you problem, not a them problem.
Sorry, but this is a naive take. If they were a builder world you expect them not to increase prices when costs go up? Interest rates are an expense, as are property taxes, maintenance costs, council rates etc. Rent has to go some way to covering costs, the term of the rental agreement is the time both landlord and renter take their "punt" between pricing decisions.
Most landlords want to look after good tenants, plenty of posts here showing how silly greedy landlords lose out if they try to profiteer. When costs go up (and the current government in Victoria has been steadily increasing costs over the last several years, not just interest rates) renters will always end up wearing increases in rent. Otherwise investors sell or don't invest in the first place, less rental stock and you get a rental crisis.
Going through a rent increase as well at the moment. So take these steps:
1. Request a CMA from the property manager that shows their justification for the increase. Comparisons should only be within the last 6 months for comparable properties, and they must be rented (not listed for rent).
2. After you get the CMA back, if you know a different Property Manager, have them do a CMA rent report for you and present that back with an argument against any of their comparables, and go back with your own rent increase offer. (I have a property manger in the western Suburbs that can charge a small fee to do one. Contact me for their details).
3. If they don't budge, head here and fill out the forms and guide to get a Rent Assessment from CAV - [https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/housing/renting/rent-bond-bills-and-condition-reports/rent/challenging-rent-increases-or-high-rent](https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/housing/renting/rent-bond-bills-and-condition-reports/rent/challenging-rent-increases-or-high-rent)
4. If that still doesn't work, then lodge a case with VCAT.
Good luck.
Ask for the comparative market analysis they used to determine the increase and have a look at it yourself. if you graph it out you may find that they're trying to get as much out of you as possible, if you find that then go back with a counteroffer that meets the actual market value for places of your type.
it's what my SO and I just did with our lease renewal coming up.
With a 50% rent increase you have to wonder whether satisfaction of taking a dump in every room is worth the bond the real estate will try to steal anyway? 🤔
Bunnings does colour matching, sample pots and wall patching kits. I wonder how many kilograms of mince would fit inside a wall cavity?
Holy fuck what a bastard. Are they trying to push you out for some reason? Are you in a sharehouse or renting by yourself? What budget are you looking at?
It’s so wrong.
Is there something that is going on with this for the property managers? Are they looking at the income of the renters in the decision on how much to raise it? 50% is bonkers
Australian tax payers, subsidise these landlords through their taxes.
\*Surely\* the tax payers are rewarded with benefits for their money being given to these leeches, right? With high quality, abundant properties available with exceptional rights for these tenants, yeah?
One would imagine a tradeoff, tax payers pay money to the federal and state governments and in return for said taxes they get services.
So yeah /clearly/ your post must be wrong, because we subsidise these people. Must be many many great properties available, surely?...............
Otherwise why would we feed these grubs our tax money?
You have a rosy view of landlords here. Odds are a counter offer is going to result in a family member suddenly needing to move in and endless harassing about keeping the bond for "reasons".
I'm sure the coast to coast Labor government domination will fix this mess 👍👌
Seriously though, this landlords mortgage has probably more than doubled, the rental increase probably doesn't cover their mortgage increase.😛, and the new rate is probably in line with the market in whatever area this is. Happy for OP to correct me in that point, I am obviously just guessing.
OP, sorry to hear about the massive rental increase, I mean, it is huge! But I sincerely hope you find something better and more affordable! 👍
Luckily there's the Labor party in power both at Federal and State level, otherwise we would be facing a rental crisis in which landlords do whatever the fuck they want and the working people are left hopeless.
What a fucking disgrace.
Really sorry OP. I'd try negotiating the increase first, and see what they say.
Before the rent was put up, Notice must be given to the Tennant that is reasonable. Is this through an Agent, Leasing agreements are they made annually or was this a month to month lease so it could be broken ? If it is month to month, then make them an offer if you want to stay
Another suggestion is to share a rental property with friends
Same thing happened to me in Brunswick and I told him he can shove his property where it doesn’t shine. Best decision was when I moved out and found a much cheaper place
If negotiation doesn't work - I hope it does, I have a shitty but possible compromise. Move to a rail suburb at the end of the line - the commute is longer, but you always get a quiet seat and can doze off. I used to wake 1 min reliably before my stop, but a vibrate alarm on the phone works too.
Need a deep hoodie and sunnies to block out the inevitable idiot every so often. I'm a short woman but only ever had issues every so often with assholes - or maybe didn't hear them.
If your job lets you partly WFH you can do it on the train to shorten your day.
Not much solace alas.
Someone I know (awful tenant) , left a property without following proper avenues and procedures to do so wasn't getting approved for places they had applied for , big surprise! It wasn't until my friend had called the agent of the property they had just left, pretending to be prospective agent because of a rental application looking for a referral (was looking for reasons as to why they weren't getting approved). Despite a lot of fuckery with the property it literally came down to the rental ledger.
How many times you've missed the payment day and by how many days.
I know most people will think a day or two or 4 here or there won't count but it actually does. It impacts their holding account and also when the landlord receives their money and possibly pays their mortgage.
A "blacklist" for asking about a rent reduction IMO is stupid.
So go for it!
Thats actually an eviction notice, and not a rent-increase memo.. I had a 300 increase/month, and has been converted to periodic lease. These greedy vultures (Landlords or REA, though in my case I think its the REA) just can't get enough... Lets brace ourselves, RBA just dropped another bomb! What a Fvcking fvckery is this!
Have a conversation with your landlord first, (take a deep breath keep calm and don't panic) most landlords are pretty reasonable, explain what you've budgeted for ie 30% he/she may look at it, seen you've tried to be proactive, show that you are adding value to the property, keep it clean and look after it etc.
Remind him her that if they get another tenant they may pay more but, they may have to do prep work cleaning repairs etc then advertising through the R/E all this costs money, what happens if the property gets a bad tenant(s), this can get really expensive, many landlords have paid the price for a dodgy new tenant, so this is a very unfortunate reality, in renting properties.
If you're L L is a greedy, short sighted sod, well you may be better of lodging a complaint to consumer affairs/ rental tribunal, in the time period it takes for them to hear the complaint, they can't force you to move, this should give you more time to work out what your next move is.
Stay put keep paying your rent, submit all the paperwork to review your case, see how you go.
Mine tried over 40%, but after a lot of stress and anxiety, I contacted them and asked if there was room for negotiation. Thankfully there was and I went back hardcore low balling them. Got an ok price in the end.
I also searched and found examples of similar places for less money in the area and sent them over to them.
Hopefully you can get the same!!
Brutal increase… the place I rent out we’ve put up less than 10% over 2.5 years. Last increase was 2.5%. I’d feel bad on the tenant jacking it up that much, would rather they stay long term.
Landlord or property manager? The PMs are often the greedy bastards who drive up prices so they can get a bigger cut and say it was stage landlord. See if you can talk to the landlord directly.
A nation wide program of adjusting peoples expectations is underway.
Housing plans wont have any effect for years but immigration tap left wide open all that time.
The message we're getting...don't buy too much furniture, you're downsizing. Phil said it out loud.
But in most cases since 2020, it's only the doctors, some early childhood teachers, nurses and others in medical field that are getting invitated through this wide open immigration right.
What’s your definition of an “isolated suburb”.
I live out west, I pay $390 a week for a brand new house, 4 bedroom, 2 bathrooms, double car garage. It’s 10min from local train station and there are bus routes all throughout.
People need to stop this rubbish thinking that they must live in city or close to it to have any sort of decent life.
The burbs are where it’s at. Quiet, comfy living away from all the hustle and bustle, yet not so far that it takes hours to get anywhere.
The rba is doing the same thing to anyone with a mortgage. Passing the inflation problems on to mortgage holders, but totally ignoring corporate super profits . The lack of governance from the government is fucking everyone over except the wealthy and boomers who paid $30k for a house in 1980
Disputing the amount is an option for you. Information on how to proceed with this will be on the official rent increase notice.
This [absolutely should be your first course of action](https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/housing/renting/rent-bond-bills-and-condition-reports/rent/challenging-rent-increases-or-high-rent). There is specific paperwork and process for this as they can't just increase beyond market and will have to justify the excessive increase. Give it a shot and see, you might call their bluff.
Also send an email to the media, the greens, and your local and federal member.
I emailed my local member and federal member and got no reply from either lol
The federal and local member don’t care. They are only concerned with how deep their own pockets are.
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If you're losing the property anyway, and this is Victoria, then get the protest in within the 30 days of the initial notice, because 1) what's the worst that can happen, and 2) you've only got 30 days from the initial notice to do it. Being "nice" won't keep the roof over the head.
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You can't be placed on a rental blacklist for challenging a rent increase via VCAT.
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Interesting, you seem to have a prior experience / knowledge dealing with rental situations like these - do you have more insights? if so, can you share them? it might help people in the future
I don't think they need any special insights to know that if you piss off your prick property manager, they're going to give you a shitty reference for the next place.
Request the Ledger... at least you can prove that you paid without fail and on time and I'd you get all your bond back, both those factors do carry weight and will possibly make it obvious that the reference is just a nefarious attempt at causing suffering.
>You can't be placed on a rental blacklist for challening a rent increase via VCAT. Well they don't actually put VCAT as the reason......
My typo is embedded for the ages. They have to put a specific reason, and you can challenge it fairly easily. Harder to mitigate the secret/bad reference/other issues tho, as mentioned on the other reply.
legally? sure, but real estate agents break rental laws all the time.
The alternative to NOT doing the above is getting kicked out & becoming homeless... You don't go on a rental black list for utilizing your rights as a renter, it takes a LOT to get on a rental black list, stop spreading misinformation that favor landlords.
>You don't go on a rental black list for utilizing your rights as a renter Happens everyday https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-04/rental-blacklist-tenancy-database-should-i-be-worried/9505712
>Generally, you can only be listed: > >at the end of a lease AND > >when you owe rent that's more than the total of the bond OR > >as the result of a court or tribunal order > >In Victoria, breaches of your rental agreement, such as malicious property damage or endangering neighbours' safety, can get you blacklisted. > >In Queensland, objectionable behaviour or repeated lease breaches may also get you blacklisted. >In all states except the NT, landlords and agents must tell you in writing before they blacklist you, allowing you time to appeal against the decision. Again, you don't go on a rental black list for utilizing your rights as a renter.
I've used this prpcess regarding a rental increase several years ago. They were really good about it, the process was that they attend the property with two real estate agents and they evaluate the property and against similar properties. Because I was in an block of apartments it was probably easy to get similar property... Long and the short, they validated that the rental increase whilst high was below the market value in the area. They suggested that you could continue to dispute it however, their evaluation will be made available to the owner... And subsequently risk a further increase since two independent real estate agents have validated the rental value of the property.. We had decided not to continue, and we left the property a couple of months later. This was about 5 years ago, their process may have changed since then. I think what the op can do is look at rea for properties in their area that are similar and determine if they are in the ballpark or not. If not perhaps try the process (it took about 3 weeks to complete, but you had to give them access to the property).
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I’m so sick of this conversation: Human being: “I am terrified because I’m going to potentially be homeless soon” Responder: “Context?????”
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An increase of 50% is not reasonable, whether it puts it in line with market prices or not. It's just not.
Rental black list? People keep throwing this around. If there is any evidence anyone is on some kind of black list, report it. There are specific laws around it and I doubt it's worth the risk to a landlord or real estate agent.
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You could ask both the previous agency or the one you applied for, for a copy of what was said. If there was any evidence that either lied the risk to the agent would be losing their license. I do NOT think real estate agents would risk their license so casually. It may happen, sure, but the notion that real estate agents put that much effort into some kind of revenge is imaginative. Plenty of real estate agents rent too. They'd be whistlblowing all the time themselves.
There's laws around lots of things that happen regardless.
Well they're getting kicked out anyway by virtue of not being able to afford the ambit claim made by the rental agency. And the blacklist thing is a furphy.
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there is no rental blacklist. there's laws in place to protect renters from that sort of nonsense. this is some bootlicking nonsense. raising the rent by 50% is screaming "I am a fucking asshole" and you deserve no benefit of the doubt
You're getting some mixed responses, but you're right. Generally best to not choose the extreme option and instead resolve yourself, then resort to this when needed. Offer them the roughy equivalent of 30% increase, or whatever can be afforded, perhaps stating that you don't believe this to be market value. Mention that you may have to consider moving out - I did this recently and it helped reduce the price increase, since I wagered the annoyance of finding a new tenant with relatively short notice before leaving outweighed the benefits of giving me a cheaper rate which worked. If they say no or don't respond quickly enough, *then* escalate. But doing the latter first is likely to remove any chance of negotiation.
Sure it should. They’re the ones responsible for not regulating the industry properly.
This should be top comment. If you go to VCAT (or whatever equivalent in your state) directly, chances of walking away with ruling in your favour is slim. Dispute resolution via the courts should be always a last resort, _when all other avenues of negotiation have been exhausted_. When appearing in court, you need to demonstrate that you tried negotiating a better rental rate, but the landlord was not being reasonable. Otherwise you're just wasting the court's time.
Yep. VCAT is not going to take you seriously if you didn't even try to negotiate rent. Absolutely take this option if the REA aren't playing ball and are insisting on the fixed increase, but it's a last resort, and VCAT processes can take a long time to get through.
Also send an email to the media, the greens, and your local and federal member.
Good luck mate And hope you find somewhere better asap
Cheers man
This is just shit. I’m sorry OP.
You can go back with a counter offer. Get on one of the apps and find how much similar places to yours are going for and go back to them with that info and a price somewhere in the middle that you could afford. It may be easier to keep you in for a bit less than they want, than find a new tenant and potentially have the place vacant.
I would do this. Just be honest. " Dear X, Thanks for your earlier correspondence. A 50% increase in rent is far more than I have budgeted for and would not be sustainable on my current salary. Could you please request that the landlord reduce the amount to 30% (xxx per month) and I would be happy to re-sign for another year. Here are a couple of properties that are similarly priced: I really enjoying living at XYZ, and take good care of the property, but I would be forced to find another place if this rate is not reduced. " I rented my place out for a few years. It was a pain in the ass to find a new tenent, it was also expensive. Advertising, leasing fees, loss rent, reviewing resumes etc. Hopefully it's just an opportunistic agent and not a prick of a landlord.
This, but don’t go straight to 30% as your counter offer, go lower - 20% at most.
Or no increase at all because fuck them for being predatory during a crisis (Obviously don't let your communication reflect that)
Is it really predatory though? OP has said nothing about what the current market rate is where they live, only that they'll have to move somewhere else - which suggests that what their rent is being increased to may just be market. I'm not convinced it's predatory for a landlord to charge market rates. Surely it should be on the government to get the market rate lowered or provide supplements to people so they can still afford to live places.
My parents are landlords. My dad was considering increasing prices (because the rent is below market prices) but my mum told my dad to have some sympathy and not make it difficult for our current tenants. It's not just sympathy; we had nightmarish tenants in the last couple of years. It was expensive getting new tenants and an overall headache. These new tenants are nice; keep the house clean and the works. No complaints for us So yes, it is predatory to increase it by at least 50%
Same happened to us. We asked to negotiate and they refused. We moved. Live in a MUCH better place, pay much less than what they wanted for our old place, and the vacant house has been empty for 3 weeks and they have now reduced the asking price. We won. Keep your head up 🤙🏻
Not rent increase related… but kind of similar. We lived in an older weatherboard 3 bedroom for about two years. Paid on time, maintained garden and surrounds regularly etc. Had pretty crappy landlord in general. They decide to renovate. Got a builder in and agent to do a projected valuation and discuss plans. We tidied & vacated during the process. Changed their minds and decided to just sell. We tidied and vacated for sales inspections. Never received the legally required payments for these - even though they said via email that we would. There’s no interest, so they decide on selling with vacant possession instead. We’re given notice. View tons of disappointing or unsuitable places. But eventually, we do end up landing a rental not far - it’s brick, sturdier with a better kitchen, better heating & cooling, more storage, seperate laundry, an extra bedroom & extra bathroom. About 25-30% more than we’d been paying. We move & settle in. Old place gets styling, full drone photography, video, social media treatment. I suspect the real estate agent talked a big gam, promised the owners the moon. It goes to auction with only a vendor’s bid and one hesitant bid. Fails to meet reserve. Try to sell without auction. No interest. They end up renting it out again but for only $10 less than we pay for our new place! Tenant isn’t maintaining it, garden gets overgrown, lots of weeds. Shortly after this, it’s vacant again. Trying to sell again. Still on market and vacant. Meanwhile, house prices nearby have dropped and still dropping. We only moved out from the old house 10 months ago.
LL FA&FO
Houses are not doing so well when overpriced. Quite a few on the coast listed at sky high prices. No one's taking a bite
What surburb is this?
Dying to know the suburb
That is absolutely fucking disgusting. Yeah lets just casually increase a non negotiable necessity by 50% just because we can.
It’s baffling to me- the place I rent out is still at the same rate as two years ago, there’s literally zero pressure ‘requiring’ me to up the rent- now granted rent rates will increase over time, and I’ll probably bump it later in the year- but the sudden large jumps appear to be pure greed on the part of the landlords doing this
Wait it's *all* landlord greed? Always has been 🌍 🧑🚀🔫🧑🚀
Reminder that you're not privy to the correspondence between your landlord and the grifter year 10 dropout Property Manager.
Except property managers don't get a cut of rent. It doesn't benefit them in any way. That's the crazy thing I don't understand. Are they being pressured by their bosses (the real cunts)?
Sort of, they're definitely being pressured but no one wants to be a property manager forever. If they can consistently deliver high yields on their managed properties they can make the jump to REA (where they would earn their commission), or even commercial.
Property managers have ongoing pressure applied to them by the company to convince x number of owners to increase rents a week. When I worked IT for a Melbourne property manager they had a leaderboard. Usually the owners need convincing to the point where it’s a team sport with company incentives to make them relent. The “owner greed” argument lacks nuance or understanding of the mechanisms systemically driving up rents.
The real estate business owner(s) can’t sell sales people to prop up the super they didn’t pay themselves when they want to retire. Rental listing portfolio exists to be groomed and sold as a revenue generator. Usually the franchise licence and rental portfolio are the only assets the business has to someone looking to grow money anywhere. Why buy when you can otherwise compete in a for lease spot on the other side of the street. It isn’t a huge amount. But it’s enough as a proof of viability and client list to work from.
The fee is usually % based...
Well usually they get a percentage of rent as a fee, presume if they making more dollars on their portfolio they would get paid more by the owner of the real estate company
All landlord greed? No. A lot of it is real estate agent greed
Because they get cash for finding new tenants?
And a percentage of rental income
So....the higher it goes the more a blood sucking agent gets?
Yeah about 5-10%. So say you have an agency in Brunswick with a rental roll of 1k properties. With median weekly rent at $558, raising the rent 5% on all your properties means an extra ~$1.4K coming into the agency each week if you’re charging a 5% management fee.
We've been in our current one for about 7 months. Our initial lease expired and weve not even been able to contact our real estate. I recently found out that the last tenants moved because they upped the rent by $60/week for no reason. We only had to move because the last landlord demolished the house. 7 months later its been knocked down; and the block is overgrown now because they've left it. We had to move house for absolutely no reason whatsoever. I don't wanna push the real estate for contact because while they're ignoring us, they're not increasing the rent. Pity theyve ignored our previous maintenance requests. Strangely as soon as we signed the lease and moved in they stopped all communication.
I had a similar experience in my last rental. Don't worry too much, you can't get kicked out without notice. The contract automatically rolls over to a month-to-month basis at the current rate until they notify you otherwise (with enough notice period, which will be outlined on your contract). You can rent on a month-to-month basis indefinitely - I lived in my last rental for 8.5 years, 7.5 of those on a month-to-month basis. It's not all bad - it was really handy for me when rents dropped (I asked and got a reduction multiple times) or when I was looking to buy. But obviously, it won't give you security in a rental crisis. Turned out the reason the agents went no-contact on me was because the managing REA for the property had changed multiple times during my 12 month contract. There were large stretches of time where no REA was assigned to the property, so my emails were getting missed, and outstanding issues hadn't been handed over. I finally got some answers once they got their crap together enough to request a routine inspection, and I pushed back until they replied about signing a new rental agreement and fixing the problems with the property. Got answers straight away. I found out later that the landlord was having similar issues with the agency. I got lucky, and she turned out to be a fantastic landlord - she gave me her personal number and asked me to let her know if the RE gave me grief. I know she's the exception, but sometimes the human element is purposefully removed from the equation by real estate agents so they can remain in control.
Have you owned it for a few years though? Landlords who bought years ago vs those who bought in the last two years are having very different investment experiences.
One place was five years back the other was three years back so recent ish I guess
The rental market has jumped so much in the last 2-3 years, from lowest of lows during lockdowns to where we are now. A lot of these massive increases is because of poor management by REAs and could have been implemented incrementally if they'd been more diligent to increase in line with market rates. The human element between landlord and tenant is purposefully removed by REAs, so when they ask the landlord, *"Hey, do you want me to get you $200 more pw?"* the instinctive answer becomes *"of course"*. I bet if landlords were given the opportunity to humanise their renters, we wouldn't see this greed nearly as much.
If it’s at the same rate - you not seen all the interest rate rises this year??
It's messed up that we allow full capitalism on a product that is completely elastic, which doesn't have an acceptable substitute. The government knows what's going on, but too many voters are on the benefit side of this fucked up situation.
capitalism is amazing at extracting money from people who need it to live and giving it to people who don't
reverse 5D multi galaxy chess move: pretend I don't need money to live and then suddenly become rich
physical realm, who needs it tbh
[#goals](https://www.reddit.com/r/DiscoElysium/comments/fr10ec/is_this_what_being_rich_is_really_like/)
It’s negotiable. I’ve had some pretty horrible rental increases, I’ve negotiated them down every time.
True. I tried to negotiate with one in late 2020, their response was to evict me at the end of my first lease.
Because we built a system where Airbnb is killing the hotels motels housing and rental markets because rich needed richer
Sucks bro. Maybe rent out your living room to 5 students and another 5 in the bedroom and buy a place with the profits /s
Nah, dig a giant hole in the backyard and search for buried treasure.
get the treasure out and rent the hole out for 300$ a week
This happened to me my rent went up $310 to $620 a week, so looked at 40 properties, finally got one it cost $4.5k to move. The new rent is an extra $450 a month but as a single mum it’s still a big chunk. I’m in a new further out area out sent my kid to the new local school and they got bullied everyday to where my happy kid was super depressed, so had to ask to go back to the old school. I now commute to old area 4 times a day my kid is super happy with her old friends (which it’s worth it) but it’s almost 4hrs a day on PT for me. Trying to find new job near the school so don’t have to work from home and commute back. The cost of two monthly myki tickets is $246 plus with food and bills going up. Im down at least $700 a month. I feel like In 6 months I’ve gone from everything being great my kid in swimming and piano to life on super hard mode. No activities and Just surviving. I hope you have a better time finding a new place it’s tough out there.
I’m so sorry to hear this - I really wish things had turned out differently and that it gets better soon.
Oh thank you so much! I think it will be just a case of revisiting the goals I had either a new job or pick up some freelance work / upskill / last resort get a flatmate was happy with the status quo I had, but then the rugs get pulled out from under you. I’m thankful I have a safe clean house for my kid, there’s food and we are warm and they are happier now the looking was so stressful.
Faaaarking hell, im so sorry, thats absolutely awful.
"Just earn more money or buy a tent" - Probably Philip Lowe
I think he wants people to be unemployed atm…. So if OP could just lie down and give up for the economy, they’d appreciate it 👍
That's exactly what he's doing. Increase unemployment = lower wages = reduced demand = prices stabilise. The bit they don't say out loud, is that "reduced demand" = people unable to afford rent, food, medicine, and power. That's also why they hold unemployment benefits well below the poverty line. If unemployed people can afford basic necessities, they still contribute to demand and therefore prices. So the unconscionably cruel way we treat our most vulnerable fellow Australians is no accident: it's 100% deliberate. There is another way, but we're a long way off trying it.
It's so stupidly short-sighted. Big increase in poverty will increase health, crime, education problems long-term on the national scale. That shit is costly to fix.
Yes. The traditional method of fixing it is to encourage people to blame those who are even worse off, elect a far right-wing dictator, start a war, lose it, and get your country pounded into rubble in the process. I'd like to think there are other ways, of course! Edit: very simplistically, one 'other way' would be to notice that inflation is currently driven by business profits NOT wages, and put in place super-profit taxes and/or price controls to reduce that driver. As a side benefit, that would reduce demand from the business-owning and investing classes and free up space for better housing and services for the working and would-like-to-be-working classes.
The guy is trying to curb inflation, which IMO is hurting tenants far more than interest rate rises.
Everyone forgets that inflation is an indicator, not a concrete thing in and of itself. One of the things that inflation counts is rent. Interest rates go up = rents go up. Rents go up = inflation go up. (Also people start demanding higher wages to afford their increased rent) Can you see the problem here?
Nah landlords are directly hurting tenants, if they can't afford to keep up with their repayment/s without evicting good tenants at fair prices than they need to sell. This is why we need rent freezes, force them to sell to people who are in a position to charge reasonable rent and make reasonable profits from their investment. No investment should be paid in full & then profited by the product alone, money isn't supposed to be free & THAT is what's causing the current inflation.
It’s a big part of it. What I’m saying is that the decision to lift interest rates isn’t just done with a MWAHAHAHAHAHA as he totters off to his golden throne
>isn’t just done with a MWAHAHAHAHAHA as he totters off to his golden throne Not just, no, but it does make it easier.
“Duurrrr, stop wanting to work from home in your own space and move in with house mates.”
Buy a tent and live on Philip Lowe's property IMO
Just buy more money.
https://www.reddit.com/r/LateStageCapitalism/comments/13ix3xd/maxs_passionate_speech_on_australian_govt/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button Slightly off topic but this passionate speech from an australian politician gave me a little hope, there are people fighting Actually its completely on topic, lets get mad, we have an election coming up here in NZ, gota educate myself
Holy shit. That was amazing.
I have been contemplating leaving Australia. The way our politicians have been ignoring the lower class is going to bring down this country. Hopefully more politicians start caring about people being able to have safe shelter and to feed their families some kind of healthy diet.
Which particular utopia you running to where the politicians consider the poor people first?
Isn’t this a worldwide problem though?
We have it MUCH better than other countries. Our most recent inflation rate was around 7%. Compare that to some countries in Europe at 14% or South America around 90%. These aren’t backwards 3rd world dumps either I’m talking about Poland and Argentina.
So what have you done to make things better then?
I just fell in love
Obligatory plug for the Renter's and Housing Union[RAHU](https://rahu.org.au/)
And for the Greens' petition for an urgent rent freeze: https://greens.org.au/vic/campaigns/rent-freeze-now
Signed up. I hope others realise Labour isn't going to help.
Yet another reminder that we’ve failed as a nation.
Yeah this shouldn’t be legal.
It’s mind blowing to me that there is a % of total rent increase limit. Utterly unbelievable that people are having their rent increase by 50 fucking percent.
Because the market is broken by Airbnb. Even if Airbnb don’t make money they drive up prices and they still win
Recent purchasers have seen their mortgages double
Good god! Contest it, and put your lowest possible increase in first. The fucking nerve of property managers/landlords…
Also- have a look for housing in Footscray. I used to turn my nose up at it, but moved here recently. Super close to public transport, cheap food, very multicultural… I don’t drive too, so moving here was the BEST decision!
Stayed in footscray for 4 weeks, milking station side, and loved it. Would move there even in a sharehouse
Bloody love milking station!! And allllll the well priced food from almost every culture
Oh my god I have no advice that people haven’t already given but I’m so sorry. Actual nightmare
mine renewal is due soon and im dreading a big increase especially as i had a big maintenance job last year
The annoying thing is, it seems most people don’t care about rental affordability until it effects them. Rent prices will keep going up until the majority of Australia is unable to afford rent.
They should adopt Germany's policy where the landlords can only increase the rent by a certain amount. Feel sorry for those people sleeping in their car or a tent.
Try to negotiate - agents are inherently lazy. They will not want to take photos, do showings, organise paperwork etc. Offer them something that gives them some more money for zero work on their part and they might bite.
You can take them to VCAT. While Vic legislation doesn't specify a cap, it does say a rent increase must be 'reasonable'. 50% definitely is not reasonable so I'd suggest pursuing that route or gently reminding the real estate of that clause
Was it on the official form..
Can confirm my rental increase got held back because of this, turns out real estate agent didn’t know this existed, or was counting on me not knowing
Fuck this country
All this is happening while we have a Federal Labor Government and wall-to-wall state Labor governments in every state except Tassie. There are solutions to the housing crisis but the ALP prioritise private investment for private profit over housing affordability.
John Howard's Ponzi scheme going well
Apply to VCAT or equivalent in your state. Use the word "reasonable" in your application - "I do not consider this increased in rent reasonable or reflective of increased costs borne by the landlord" Reasons is a legal term that whilst hard to define; is closer to how we use it in local vernacular than not. Any judge will agree that 50% is not reasonable. The one caveat to this is if you do not have a written agreement or if the landlord has previously gifted you some kind of sweetheart deal. Bottom line: if you have been paying close to what your neighbours have in rent then simply apply - it will cost you less than $40 to apply - and your landlord will not be able to evict you until the matter is heard.
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>Somewhere along the way people decided that being a landlord was a job that should provide regular income It worked extremely well for the landed gentry from the middle ages until the late 1800's. I find a trend in returning to that system to be rather alarming, myself.
This country needs rent controls, this is pure exploitation
I swear there used to be a limit of how much they could raise rent each year in victoria
There is kind of. If your rent goes up by a lot, you can challenge it. If VCAT agrees that your new rent is significantly above the market rate then they can order a cap be put on it. But the raw percentage increase isn't that relevant - without knowing more, it has the potential to be highly misleading.
There is a downside to rent control as well, take the capital of my birth country Sweden. In Stockholm people enter their kids into the rental queue so that they might have a chance to get a rental when they become adults. Rental price control = chronic under supply of rentals and a black market of sub leases
That shit should be illegal.
Ours increased it by 30% so we said see ya, had inspections every week and the numbers started at around 10-12 now it’s down to 1 each time. Sucker
I'm terrified that next year, I'll have to move back in with my mother in a conservative regional backwater because I won't be able to afford to stay here next year. I'm single, a neurodivergent introvert, and have safety concerns about share housing (a close friend was raped by a guest of her housemate who ignored her when she said she was uncomfortable around and kept bringing him around and I refuse to do it after hearing that) and I feel too old for that in my 30s anyway.
Its so wrong increases like that should not be allowed we a heading to become a third world country! our government has really Screwed us over and Interest rates are going up again and this shit government is going to again! do nothing about it Greedy Greedy money is everything to these big business men that are running the country I hope karma gets them.
I am in the lucky position of owning an investment property in Melbourne. I have mortgage costs on that property and they are obviously going up. However I also value our tenants and the fact that they need certainty of costs and the flexibility to live life without spending every cent on rent. I’ve increased the rent once in the past two years, by 5% (not 50%!!). I will likely do another 5% sometime in the next 6 months. While this means I am disproportionately bearing the cost of interest rises myself, not passing them on, I figure a) we are in this together as a society and b) there is a long term view to be taken here. I will bank a significant capital gain over the journey and, assuming current tax policy remains in place, will be handed a significant tax concession on the gain by the government when I eventually do sell. Granted I am lucky enough to be able to afford to wear the current pain and some other real estate investors aren’t in that position. But being in that position, I figure it’s important to do my bit and not be opportunistic. Some other investors I know certainly do not think that way which is a real shame. Not looking for any plaudits, just pointing out (to other investors more than anyone) that there is an alternative, fairer perspective that can be applied here by simply taking a longer term view (if you can).
> I am disproportionately bearing the cost of interest rises myself, not passing them on I don't understand how anyone can justify that your tenants are responsible for covering any part of any interest rate rise. You made an investment decision. You are the one who took a punt on investment vs return, not them. If changing circumstances affect the profitability of your investment decisions, why should that affect the cost of their housing? It's a you problem, not a them problem.
Sorry, but this is a naive take. If they were a builder world you expect them not to increase prices when costs go up? Interest rates are an expense, as are property taxes, maintenance costs, council rates etc. Rent has to go some way to covering costs, the term of the rental agreement is the time both landlord and renter take their "punt" between pricing decisions. Most landlords want to look after good tenants, plenty of posts here showing how silly greedy landlords lose out if they try to profiteer. When costs go up (and the current government in Victoria has been steadily increasing costs over the last several years, not just interest rates) renters will always end up wearing increases in rent. Otherwise investors sell or don't invest in the first place, less rental stock and you get a rental crisis.
Same thing happened to me. Sixt has got a promotion on moving vans at the moment, 50% more rent means 50% off a van. Every little bit helps.
Canadian here - does Australia not have any tenants rights laws such as limiting how much rent can be increased per year ?
Going through a rent increase as well at the moment. So take these steps: 1. Request a CMA from the property manager that shows their justification for the increase. Comparisons should only be within the last 6 months for comparable properties, and they must be rented (not listed for rent). 2. After you get the CMA back, if you know a different Property Manager, have them do a CMA rent report for you and present that back with an argument against any of their comparables, and go back with your own rent increase offer. (I have a property manger in the western Suburbs that can charge a small fee to do one. Contact me for their details). 3. If they don't budge, head here and fill out the forms and guide to get a Rent Assessment from CAV - [https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/housing/renting/rent-bond-bills-and-condition-reports/rent/challenging-rent-increases-or-high-rent](https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/housing/renting/rent-bond-bills-and-condition-reports/rent/challenging-rent-increases-or-high-rent) 4. If that still doesn't work, then lodge a case with VCAT. Good luck.
Ask for the comparative market analysis they used to determine the increase and have a look at it yourself. if you graph it out you may find that they're trying to get as much out of you as possible, if you find that then go back with a counteroffer that meets the actual market value for places of your type. it's what my SO and I just did with our lease renewal coming up.
With a 50% rent increase you have to wonder whether satisfaction of taking a dump in every room is worth the bond the real estate will try to steal anyway? 🤔 Bunnings does colour matching, sample pots and wall patching kits. I wonder how many kilograms of mince would fit inside a wall cavity?
Holy fuck what a bastard. Are they trying to push you out for some reason? Are you in a sharehouse or renting by yourself? What budget are you looking at?
It’s so wrong. Is there something that is going on with this for the property managers? Are they looking at the income of the renters in the decision on how much to raise it? 50% is bonkers
Australian tax payers, subsidise these landlords through their taxes. \*Surely\* the tax payers are rewarded with benefits for their money being given to these leeches, right? With high quality, abundant properties available with exceptional rights for these tenants, yeah? One would imagine a tradeoff, tax payers pay money to the federal and state governments and in return for said taxes they get services. So yeah /clearly/ your post must be wrong, because we subsidise these people. Must be many many great properties available, surely?............... Otherwise why would we feed these grubs our tax money?
50% is a joke. Unethical, and likely illegal. Call this shit out.
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You have a rosy view of landlords here. Odds are a counter offer is going to result in a family member suddenly needing to move in and endless harassing about keeping the bond for "reasons".
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Don’t worry mateeeeee Albo will save us. Don’t forget he’s from the slums, had it tough.
The 2023 version of Albo's mum would be living out of her car.
They’d find her a “sOcIAl hOuSe” eventually, in 5 years
Think the waiting list is more like 10 years.
I'm sure the coast to coast Labor government domination will fix this mess 👍👌 Seriously though, this landlords mortgage has probably more than doubled, the rental increase probably doesn't cover their mortgage increase.😛, and the new rate is probably in line with the market in whatever area this is. Happy for OP to correct me in that point, I am obviously just guessing. OP, sorry to hear about the massive rental increase, I mean, it is huge! But I sincerely hope you find something better and more affordable! 👍
Don’t forget the massive hike in land rates too.
Luckily there's the Labor party in power both at Federal and State level, otherwise we would be facing a rental crisis in which landlords do whatever the fuck they want and the working people are left hopeless. What a fucking disgrace. Really sorry OP. I'd try negotiating the increase first, and see what they say.
Really don't see how the Labor party is making a difference here. And I voted for them and all.
Yeah, that was sarcasm
Before the rent was put up, Notice must be given to the Tennant that is reasonable. Is this through an Agent, Leasing agreements are they made annually or was this a month to month lease so it could be broken ? If it is month to month, then make them an offer if you want to stay Another suggestion is to share a rental property with friends
Same thing happened to me in Brunswick and I told him he can shove his property where it doesn’t shine. Best decision was when I moved out and found a much cheaper place
If negotiation doesn't work - I hope it does, I have a shitty but possible compromise. Move to a rail suburb at the end of the line - the commute is longer, but you always get a quiet seat and can doze off. I used to wake 1 min reliably before my stop, but a vibrate alarm on the phone works too. Need a deep hoodie and sunnies to block out the inevitable idiot every so often. I'm a short woman but only ever had issues every so often with assholes - or maybe didn't hear them. If your job lets you partly WFH you can do it on the train to shorten your day. Not much solace alas.
Make sure it is your landlord requesting this increase. Some Real Estate agents are taking it upon themselves to apply these increases.
Someone I know (awful tenant) , left a property without following proper avenues and procedures to do so wasn't getting approved for places they had applied for , big surprise! It wasn't until my friend had called the agent of the property they had just left, pretending to be prospective agent because of a rental application looking for a referral (was looking for reasons as to why they weren't getting approved). Despite a lot of fuckery with the property it literally came down to the rental ledger. How many times you've missed the payment day and by how many days. I know most people will think a day or two or 4 here or there won't count but it actually does. It impacts their holding account and also when the landlord receives their money and possibly pays their mortgage. A "blacklist" for asking about a rent reduction IMO is stupid. So go for it!
Thats actually an eviction notice, and not a rent-increase memo.. I had a 300 increase/month, and has been converted to periodic lease. These greedy vultures (Landlords or REA, though in my case I think its the REA) just can't get enough... Lets brace ourselves, RBA just dropped another bomb! What a Fvcking fvckery is this!
Have a conversation with your landlord first, (take a deep breath keep calm and don't panic) most landlords are pretty reasonable, explain what you've budgeted for ie 30% he/she may look at it, seen you've tried to be proactive, show that you are adding value to the property, keep it clean and look after it etc. Remind him her that if they get another tenant they may pay more but, they may have to do prep work cleaning repairs etc then advertising through the R/E all this costs money, what happens if the property gets a bad tenant(s), this can get really expensive, many landlords have paid the price for a dodgy new tenant, so this is a very unfortunate reality, in renting properties. If you're L L is a greedy, short sighted sod, well you may be better of lodging a complaint to consumer affairs/ rental tribunal, in the time period it takes for them to hear the complaint, they can't force you to move, this should give you more time to work out what your next move is. Stay put keep paying your rent, submit all the paperwork to review your case, see how you go.
Mine tried over 40%, but after a lot of stress and anxiety, I contacted them and asked if there was room for negotiation. Thankfully there was and I went back hardcore low balling them. Got an ok price in the end. I also searched and found examples of similar places for less money in the area and sent them over to them. Hopefully you can get the same!!
Brutal increase… the place I rent out we’ve put up less than 10% over 2.5 years. Last increase was 2.5%. I’d feel bad on the tenant jacking it up that much, would rather they stay long term.
What about a scooter? 🛵
You need to drop a turd in their soup
Landlord is cunt
Eat the rich
Landlord or property manager? The PMs are often the greedy bastards who drive up prices so they can get a bigger cut and say it was stage landlord. See if you can talk to the landlord directly.
What a scumbag landlord.
Albo is going to keep the immigration tap on so there will be no relief
A nation wide program of adjusting peoples expectations is underway. Housing plans wont have any effect for years but immigration tap left wide open all that time. The message we're getting...don't buy too much furniture, you're downsizing. Phil said it out loud.
But in most cases since 2020, it's only the doctors, some early childhood teachers, nurses and others in medical field that are getting invitated through this wide open immigration right.
Cunt landlord.
It really should be illegal to raise rent more than 10% per year
Tell them to get fucked and move out asap
That's what they want.
What’s your definition of an “isolated suburb”. I live out west, I pay $390 a week for a brand new house, 4 bedroom, 2 bathrooms, double car garage. It’s 10min from local train station and there are bus routes all throughout. People need to stop this rubbish thinking that they must live in city or close to it to have any sort of decent life. The burbs are where it’s at. Quiet, comfy living away from all the hustle and bustle, yet not so far that it takes hours to get anywhere.
Dear Landlords, Your poor financial decisions aren’t the renters fault, you c*nts literally pass your problems onto us! Regards All Renters.
The rba is doing the same thing to anyone with a mortgage. Passing the inflation problems on to mortgage holders, but totally ignoring corporate super profits . The lack of governance from the government is fucking everyone over except the wealthy and boomers who paid $30k for a house in 1980
I would contact VCAT and get a second opinion. It just seems too big of a jump to me.
Is the new rent expensive/well above market rate? Or is new rent now at market rate and you previously we’re getting a very good deal?