Tenants say they are being booted out for requesting repairs   
Frustrated tenants claim eviction for repair requests, with this renter fleeing Sydney, fearing retirement affordability, and declaring perpetual discomfort in rental properties.


News.com.au
March 29, 2024

Frustrated renters say they’re being booted from their homes simply for requesting repairs.   

And they claim the ongoing rental crisis means landlords can kick them out knowing they will easily tenant their properties with one of the many eager renters desperate to find a home.

Many of the landlords terminating tenants’ leases have capitalised on a loophole that allows them to circumvent many regulations by categorising the evictions under “no grounds”.

Tenants Union of NSW CEO Leo Patterson Ross said his community legal centre was getting more calls this year from disgruntled tenants who were asked to leave shortly after requesting repairs.

“The problem with no grounds is that because you don’t have to give any reason for the eviction, it can hide some people who are evading the conditions of the (rental) contract,” Mr Patterson Ross said.

Renter Dave Monck is ready to escape Sydney’s rental crisis and move to Hobart after receiving two no grounds evictions in the last 12 months, one he said was after asking for repairs.



“Most landlords will do the right thing, but there are some who are actively trying to get off their obligations and serving notice to the tenant because they feel they are asking for too many repairs, even if they are legitimate requests.”   

Renter Dave Monck has been evicted from multiple rental properties on “no grounds” – including a Stanmore home he claims he was asked to leave after requesting works to fix a mould problem.


“I was having to clean mould every few days and I was not getting any response from the real estate agent and the landlord,” he said.



A day after finally getting a mould expert and painter to inspect the property, Mr Monck said he was handed a no grounds eviction notice. “Instead of fixing the mould they kicked me out,” he alleges.

“I felt like I had no option at all. The current system is completely failing renters.”

Another tenant, renting in Sydney’s northwest, said they were ejected from their home after asking for a sealing issue to be fixed. “We feel like we are being bullied by the property manager just because we asked for repairs,” the tenant said.   

Renters that requested a sealing issue that was causing water damage to their floorboards be fixed allege they were handed an eviction notice for requesting repairs.

Mr Patterson Ross said the current rental system, coupled with extreme rental housing shortages, had created a climate of distrust, where tenants were often too scared to bring up issues for fear of getting asked to leave their homes.

A recent Finder survey revealed about one in four renters avoided contacting their landlord or real estate agent over needed repairs because they were worried about having their rent put up.

Finder home loans expert Richard Whitten said many tenants were hoping they would escape a rent increase by flying under the radar.

“Tenants are living in a state of fear that should they do or say something wrong, they will be faced with a rental increase – or worse, be forced out when their lease is over,” he said.

Some landlords were likely avoiding necessary repairs because of interest rate hikes, Mr Patterson Ross said.

NSW Tenants Union CEO Leo Patterson Ross said tenants are living in a state of fear.

“A lot of people become investors without good financial planning advice. They are vulnerable to mortgage rates,” he said.

Mr Monck said the instablitility, cost and discomfort of renting in Sydney encouraged him to move to Hobart, leaving his adult children and his workplace of almost 35 years.

“I hadn’t thought about leaving Sydney before this last eviction,” he said.

The only landlords who do repairs put the rent up soon after.