Mackay and the Whitsundays

This could’ve been a long winded story of how fucked up our agents are and the shit we’ve had to deal with for the last 9 months, but these sorts of issues have become so common, ours probably pale in comparison to some of the other stories out there.

What I want to get across to those that are having a shit time in their rental, or future readers who are looking for help, don’t be afraid to challenge an agent/agency if you truly believe you’ve been wronged.

Our agents took us to tribunal to evict us so they could lease for a higher price, and in return they got berated by the adjudicator, the case was tossed, we were awarded compensation and we got to sit smugly and watch the losers that made our lives hell squirm in their seats.

The process may seem daunting, but if you truly believe you’ve been poorly treated, don’t be scared to fight for your rights. It would’ve been easy for us to roll over and see out our lease, but now we leave knowing we’ve got 3 months to find somewhere and a victory to boost morale.

Located in QLD

EDIT

The backstory/history:

We’ve had issues with agency from day one. They falsified the entry condition report to show that A/C was working - we found out on arrival that it had been broken for months, including while we inspected the property and while it was being advertised for lease. Reported to Fair Trading and RTA, they were ordered to repair it.

Emergency repairs were needed one night for burst water pipe and the agency’s nominated repairers weren’t answering. We called around for the cheapest quote. When we presented the receipt and invoices to the agency they refused to pay, with literally no context they started claiming we hired a mate to repair it and we had faked the repairs?? Took them 4 weeks to pay, and it was only after they were reported to the RTA that they paid up. Not before they threatened to evict us if we kept asking for the reimbursement - a pattern starting to develop here.

We also had several encounters where the owner and/or agents would randomly issue a beach notice for things like “putting up a baby gate constitutes a structural change” and would proceed to issue an inspection notice so the owner could inspect the property. We found out from neighbours later on that the owners are insanely protective of their home and do this so they can check in n the property without needing to wait for routine inspections.