A young woman who took her landlord to the tenancy tribunal after her rent was increased by an ‘excessive’ $1,400 a month has lost her case.
Chantelle Schmidt, a writer and podcaster, quickly became the face of Sydney’s rental crisis after she posted about her ordeal on TikTok earlier this year.
Three months ago, Ms Schmidt revealed the rent for her property in Redfern, in the city’s inner-south, had been increased from $1,900 to $2,600 a fortnight.
Her landlord claimed the new price, which had increased by 37 per cent, would bring ‘the rent into line with what the current market is achieving’.
Ms Schmidt decided to take her landlord to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) and on Sunday revealed most of her claims had been rejected.
She read the results off her iPhone while wearing an ‘Eat the Rich’ t-shirt in a TikTok video after thousands of Australians became invested in her mission.
‘Three months later this is the result of challenging that rent increase,’ she said, before reading her viewers the outcomes in full.
The tribunal ultimately ruled that the rent could not exceed $2,500 a fortnight, only $100 less than what her landlord had asked for three months ago.
Chantelle Schmidt, a writer and podcaster, quickly became the face of Sydney’s rental crisis after she posted about her ordeal on TikTok earlier this year
‘It is ordered that the rent shall not exceed the sum of $875 per week as from February 19, 2022 to February 18, 2023,’ Ms Schmidt read from her phone.
‘It is ordered that the rent shall not exceed the sum of $1250 per week as from April 16, 2023, to April 15, 2024.’
It also ordered that Ms Schmidt and her roommate receive a $75-a-week rent reduction backdated to February 2022, meaning the roommates will receive $3,900 back in either cash or rental credit.
The reduction was due to several issues with the apartment, namely a crack in the wall and a defective floorboard in the lounge room. The tenants also argued the property had a cockroach problem and mould.
The Sydneysiders asked to be reimbursed for out-of-pocked claims and asked the landlord be ordered to carry out several repair jobs.
The tribunal responded to these claims for reimbursement by stating it was a ‘difficult one for the tenants’.
‘To succeed on this count it would have to be established that mould was the fault of the landlord and accounted to a breach of the tenancy agreement,’ it said.
It said there had been years of unseasonable wet weather that had promoted the growth of mould throughout properties across Sydney.
‘I do not doubt that this property is prone to moist conditions but I could not be satisfied that it should be sufficiently laid at the feet of the landlord and that the lifestyle of the tenants was not a major contributing factor,’ it said.
In response to the cockroach problem, the tribunal stated that: ‘Every house in Australia has cockroaches’.
‘The applicant tenants have been in possession of the premises for two years and it is difficult to see why the landlord is said to be at fault,’ the ruling said.
Three months ago, Ms Schmidt revealed the rent for her property in Redfern, in the city’s inner-south, had been increased from $1,900 to $2,600 a fortnight
Ms Schmidt promptly ended the video after reading the outcomes, only commenting that the results were ‘interesting’.
She has been keeping her followers up to date throughout her tribunal journey, and has been paying the increased rent for the last three months.
TikTok users flooded her comments with messages of sympathy and support.
‘There is no property worth 1250 a week in rent, this market is ridiculous!’ one said.
‘Disappointed for you. The tribunal is supposed to make it fair for all. Seems this outcome was skewed to landlord/agents side,’ a second wrote.
A third shared: ‘We’re all so proud of you for fighting this, I’m really sorry about the outcome. I hope you do something nice with that refund, you deserve it.’
It comes as another blow for renters battling impossible rental markets, with thousands still struggling to secure a home amid record low vacancy rates.
It comes as another blow for renters battling impossible rental markets, with thousands still struggling to secure a home amid record low vacancy rates (pictured, Sydneysiders queue to inspect a ‘tiny’ studio for rent)
The Housing Industry Association predicted rentals costs, which already grew by 17.6 per cent for units and 14.6 per cent in capital cities last year, could climb higher still as supply fails to keep pace with demand.
Nationally the residential vacancy rate is 1.1 per cent, the same figure as Melbourne and Hobart, while it’s 1.3 per cent in Sydney and a crushing 0.5 per cent in Adelaide.
Rents have been spiking all over Australia as low housing supply and flow-on effects from 11 consecutive mortgage rate rises combine with borders re-opening and waves of foreign workers and students returning.
Between March 2022 and March 2023, the median unit rent jumped 24 per cent in Sydney, equivalent to an extra $120-a-week, according to the Domain Rent Report.
Melbourne rose by nearly as much, surging by 23.1 per cent, while Brisbane rents rose by 16.3 per cent.
Adelaide and Perth rents grew by 13.5 per cent and 12.5 per cent respectively and Darwin and Hobart grew by about 6 per cent each.
The arrival of migrants, students and tourists could mean vacancy rates will worsen.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk