A tenant who was given just hours to leave his home after complaining for years that the property was ‘sinking’ has won $5,000 after taking the matter to court.
Malcolm, who did not want to use his real name, had been living in the rental home in Moreton Bay, north of Brisbane, for seven years.
However, in 2019, he noticed the bath in the home appeared to be sinking and emailed the property agent at Ray White Woody Point pictures of the buckling internal timber and rotting wood.
The home continued to pass property inspections until June 4 this year, when the home was deemed ‘unliveable’.
Malcolm was handed an eviction notice the following day and was given just 16 hours to vacate the home.
He decided to take his agent to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) for failing to meet minimum housing standards, The ABC reported.
Minimum housing standards, which was brought in last September – just a month before the tenant signed a new lease on the home – requires agents to ensure a property is in good repair, weatherproof and structurally sound.
In submissions made to the state’s civil tribunal, the home was described as being propped up in places with bricks and rocks where stumps had rotted away.
Malcolm was given 16 hours to vacate his rental home in Moreton Bay, north of Brisbane, after years of complaining the property was ‘sinking’
Tribunal adjudicator Peter Eardley found late last month that the ‘structural integrity’ of the home had ‘substantial issues’ and that the agent had refused responsibility.
Within weeks of the eviction notice, the agent listed the property for sale and described it as being in need of ‘some TLC (or a bulldozer)’.
Mr Eardley said the agent opted to sell the property instead of carrying out basic repairs to make the home liveable.
‘Clearly, the lessor had no intention whatsoever of attending to do anything to put the property in a state where it could be habitable for a tenant,’ Mr Eardley said.
Representative for Ray White Woody Point Jeffrey Brown told the tribunal he had looked after the property for ‘many, many years’ and it was not until June when he noticed an issue with the property.
Mr Brown explained during an inspection in May or June he noticed Malcolm had propped screwdrivers and wrenches under the house stumps.
The agent asked the carpenter – who inspected and cleared the property six months prior – to have a look at the structural integrity of the home.
The carpenter assessed the stumps and said, ‘Hey, that’s not safe’, Mr Brown relayed to the Tribunal.
Mr Brown submitted a five-paragraph statement from the carpenter to the tribunal which explained the house had met minimum standards until the June 4 inspection.
The carpenter wrote the bathroom and shower had always been ‘usable’ despite numerous emails from Malcolm claiming it was ‘sinking’.
Mr Eardley told Mr Brown he ‘cannot be serious’ after challenging the timeline he presented to the tribunal.
Tribunal adjudicator Peter Eardley found late last month that the ‘structural integrity’ of the home had ‘substantial issues’ and that the agent had refused responsibility
He claimed the stumps had been in a state of disarray far longer than June 4 after examining pictures showing one stump propped up with six bricks and another with rocks.
‘This state of affairs just does not appear to me to be in any way a true statement of the lessor’s knowledge of the state of these premises,’ Mr Early said in his decision.
Malcolm requested $17,359.50 in compensation to cover his moving costs, lost income and back-paid rent to last September.
Mr Early awarded the tenant $5,000 and explained his enjoyment of the property was ‘disadvantaged’ because the agent refused to fix the property’s problems.
However, he rejected several of the Malcolm’s claims including that the state of the home had affected his cats.
The property was sold for $590,000 within weeks of it going to market, but has since been knocked down.
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