• just_kitten
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    6 小时前

    Landlord has suddenly withdrawn any option of negotiation - her accountant has apparently told her she “has” to up her rent to match market rates.

    110/week extra. 21% increase. 550/week. This system is just not bearable any more. I’m going to seek advice… at least as to whether market rates include typical real estate agent fees or not

    • imoldgreeeg
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      4 小时前

      Oh biggest hugs. That is absolutely so wrong. Near me there’s a whole strip of shops that’s now half empty because it’s worth more to the landlords borrowing potential to have it on paper as “rental return potential is $x” even if that means it stands empty.

      It’s criminal.

      • just_kitten
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        4 小时前

        We keep waiting for the house of cards to fall but I don’t know when the heck that’s happening

      • just_kitten
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        5 小时前

        It does appear that market rates are somewhat similar to what’s being proposed (though idk if they take into account age of property etc - huge variation in this suburb)

        Key difference is there is no REA fee in my case, so I’m contacting Tenants Vic tomorrow on advice regarding whether that’s included when benchmarking rent increases. Because if the 550 benchmark includes REA fees of say 10%, I should only be paying 500/week

        It looks like challenging a rent increase is free so I might just do it anyway. LL has taken the nuclear option so I might as well do the same

        • Catfish
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          5 小时前

          Look up the minimum standard laws Re heating, locks, insulation etc. send them a breach notice for everything

          • just_kitten
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            5 小时前

            Nothing in breach I can see just yet, however I regret not breaching them when they gave me fucking less than 1hr notice for a tradie to access the unit because they sent it to the wrong email, and pleaded because he was already there and waiting and was gonna charge them a hefty callout and cancellation fee.

            Will be applying the most stringent of standards going forward, also not replying to texts, emails only. I dunno how insulation works with apartments though

    • melbaboutown
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      5 小时前

      That’s nuts. It’s going to get to the point where wealth is so stratified that nobody can pay (ie anyone with money buys a house and the rest of us can’t even pay rent)

      …Lemmy DT squat? I’m not ablebodied but can contribute to subsistence farming and patching up the communal abandoned shack between shifts at the workhouse

      • just_kitten
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        5 小时前

        As a single person with no chance of an inheritance and no family support in Vic, and who probably can’t ever maintain a 5-day full time job for more than a few months at a stretch without burning out, I’m seriously wondering if I can afford to exist beyond being a financial conduit from my employer to the landlord

        Not saving that much moving to the outermost suburbs as there’s less stock for singles and a jump in commuting costs and time. The only real future I have is to move interstate to live with family

          • Taleya
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            3 小时前

            Lol that dude’s had a hapsburg or two in his tree

        • Seagoon_OP
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          5 小时前

          Hugs.

          Yes. Family is now one our most important assets. Hate to describe it like that but that’s what it is.

          • just_kitten
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            5 小时前

            It honestly is. Financially and emotionally (isolation can be expensive). Which is all the more heartbreaking when you draw the short straw on that front.