RENTAL,Carpet replacement issue.

[sueoc]

Hi,

We have just left our first rental (thank god) and left a 2 inch tear in the carpet at the skirting,hardly noticable.We accept we will be billed for this,but the agent says we must replace the whole carpet,which is cheap and nasty,at a predictably high cost.We said we will want a reciept for the replacement carpet,they say they need not produce a reciept,and do not actually have to replace the carpet,but will bill us for the cost of a new one.Seems wrong to me,anyone had this kind of problem before,thanks Sue.

[ozzieclare2be]

Hi,

We have just left our first rental (thank god) and left a 2 inch tear in the carpet at the skirting,hardly noticable.We accept we will be billed for this,but the agent says we must replace the whole carpet,which is cheap and nasty,at a predictably high cost.We said we will want a reciept for the replacement carpet,they say they need not produce a reciept,and do not actually have to replace the carpet,but will bill us for the cost of a new one.Seems wrong to me,anyone had this kind of problem before,thanks Sue.

 

 

dont do anything until you speak to the place that holds your bond, you can appeal to them for only a proportion of your bond to be taken. Make sure you take pictures of the carpet, it general condition etc, many landlords try it on here with people from the uk because they dont know the system. I can put you in touch with a lady that has successfully negotiated her bond back through the people who hold it, its them they have to apply for the money from NOT YOU!! They also only have a limited time frame to do do it, numbers in the link x http://www.ocba.sa.gov.au/tenancies/contact.html

[sueoc]

Thanks Clare,i will contact OCBA today,to see how we stand,all the best,Sue.

[Guest nikki & john]

Hi Sue

 

Agents are only allowed to claim in proportion to the age and general condition of a carpet and carpets are deemed to have the life expectancy of approx 7 years in a rental property. If you refuse to sign the bond form they will need to put in a claim to OCBA, OCBA will then write to you asking whether you agree or disagree to the claim (very important to make sure agent has forwarding address and that this is passed on to OCBA) if you dispute the claim and go to Tribunal, the tribunal would be very unlikely to agree to you having to replace the carpet. They will probably ask the owner/agent to prove age of carpet and general condition then calculate a portion based on its age and condition. You could try making the agent an offer of what you think would be fair, they might decide to accept this?? TIAS (tenants information and advocacy service) can advise you in regard to your rights and can even represent you at Tribunal if you so wish.

[Guest alibongo]

i agree - we left our first rental and left it cleaner than when we first moved in - the owners tried to claim all our bond for one thing or another but we went to rent tribunal and won. Definately wouldnt be handing over any money to the agents or getting the carpet replaced till you have got advice from the rent tribunal guys. Good luck