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| Stupid inspections... | |
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| Topic Started: Apr 13 2011, 07:34:57 PM (880 Views) | |
| katze | Apr 13 2011, 07:34:57 PM Post #1 |
Chinwagger
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I'm so freaking frustrated... So I had a inspection for the townhouse I'm renting today and did all the normal cleaning things this weekend, since I generally don't have time during the week to do much more than dishes. Had arranged a couple weeks ago for one of the kids from church to come do my weeding and other gardening this weekend coming and wasn't able to get him to change, so there were a few weeds coming up but they were all maybe a couple inches off the ground and definitely weren't everywhere so I figured it was fine... Well I get my report back: the floors weren't clean enough for them, weeds were taking over, and all the plant life was getting too tall and turning into trees. I have the strong desire to go back and say that of course the floors weren't perfectly clean cuz I vacuumed 3 days ago and wasn't getting up at 5am this morning to vacuum again since my neighbors wouldn't appreciate it, weeds that are only a couple inches tall aren't taking over and if you come back next week they'll be gone, and all plant life that you claim is too tall was taller than you want me to cut it back to when I moved in and besides why did you plant things like that anyways. So basically I've had it, since this is the second inspection and second report that I've gotten back from them that seems slightly unreasonable. I'm tired of living in a place that needed to be updated about 10 yrs ago... I'm glad my lease is up in 2 months and I'm moving out. Besides I wouldn't mind being closer to work, church, and friends. Ok rant over... |
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| mamkai | Apr 13 2011, 08:01:57 PM Post #2 |
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True Blue Mate
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So sorry!!! I still find it appalling that inspections can be like this. I can understand if you were piling junk in the driveway, hoarding moldy food, bleaching the carpet, making large holes in walls, or if the place was unfit for habitation, but the things you mention make the whole process sound so asinine. |
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| incognito | Apr 13 2011, 08:06:48 PM Post #3 |
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Chatterbox
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That is so lame!! Who cares if your floors might be a bit dirty - as long as they are clean at your final inspection. I agree with mamkai - it's not like you are destroying the place. I feel that renters (we rent) are often treated like second class citizens here. |
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| staylor8383 | Apr 13 2011, 08:39:22 PM Post #4 |
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True Blue Mate
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Wow! We have never gotten a report back. That sucks they are so picky!! |
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| Seven | Apr 13 2011, 11:04:21 PM Post #5 |
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Yacker
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We are coming up on our first inspection. After having our previous US landlord skim the rent and lose the home to foreclosure (serves her right), I am not too keen on landlords. So what is the deal with an inspection? We keep the place cleaner than when we rented it so I don't think they can say much. If they mention something like the floors not being perfectly clean, does that affect the deposit/bond return? The rental market is beyond wack, as is real estate as a whole here. It is the one thing I really see as a fundamental problem Australia needs to address. Edited by Seven, Apr 13 2011, 11:05:35 PM.
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| katze | Apr 13 2011, 11:47:49 PM Post #6 |
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Chinwagger
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The whole thing just makes me feel like I'm back in middle school and my mom is nagging me to clean my room. As part of the report, they have said that if I don't get the gardens in tip top shape then they'll get someone to come in and I'll have to pay for it. Oh and they told me that if I wanted I could pay a monthly fee and get the complex gardener to keep it in tip top shape like other people in the complex do. Sure would have been nice to know that back when I moved in almost a year ago! And I can maybe understand yearly inspections... but every 4 months seems a bit overkill... |
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| AmbroseChick | Apr 14 2011, 08:32:24 AM Post #7 |
True Blue Mate
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Every 4 months is illegal - Queensland law stipulates that inspections can only occur every 6 months. I personally believe that they do inspections as a way of manipulating more money out of tenants - how convenient to have a complex gardener. Tenants are 2nd class citizens - period. |
| Check it out! Facebook page: Americans Living in Queensland | |
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| Pothole | Apr 14 2011, 09:45:05 AM Post #8 |
True Blue Mate
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Indy  some bad news in the recent updates the agent/owner can enter a property a maximum of once every three months now. Sucks big time and I do not know many who would want to intrude that often, but there will always be controlling types who will take advantage of that.Katze - is this a townhouse in a complex? The first thing to do is to check your lease to see if maintenance of lawn and garden is included - if it is not then the exclusion is taken to be an implied agreement that the tennant will be responsible for these duties. Again if a Townhouse see the Body Corporate and find out if the registration your BC is. There are two the Building Format Plan (BFP) and Standard Format Plan (SFP) if the BFP then the BC is responsible for the lawn and gardens. If the SFP then the tennant is. I do not know of many, okay no, Townhouses (as opposed to a house) in Brisbane where the tennant is responsible for the Lawn and Gardens (unless a garden was put in by the tennant after occupation). But then I have been wrong before. The fact they have a complex gardener makes one very suspicious that the BC actually is responsible for the yard maintenance and they are trying it on with you I see you are moving in two months, but while you are there stick it to them on every little thing. You are the tennant, you are paying the rent, you are the one who is allowing the townhouse to pay back the investment. I can see where the BC or Landlord want to protect their investment, but a lot of time that is an excuse to be intrusive, or sometimes not meet their own responsibilites........... Pothole |
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Those Who Lose Dreaming are Lost. Aboriginal Proverb A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour Anon | |
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| katze | Apr 14 2011, 11:53:43 AM Post #9 |
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Chinwagger
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Pothole - The townhouse is in a complex and the gardner would be for the common areas of the complex. It does say in my lease that I'm required to maintain my gardens in reasonable condition and overall I thought I had been doing a pretty decent job at that but apparently my idea of reasonable and their idea of reasonable are very different. I certainly had been keeping them in nicer shape than I might have if it was my own house. Also I'm actually out closer to Ipswich and I'll probably be moving even further into Ipswich. It's a good and bad thing... closer to friends/work/church, but further from rock climbing... |
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| Pothole | Apr 14 2011, 12:52:42 PM Post #10 |
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True Blue Mate
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Thanks Katze, Mayor Paul has done an excellent job out there. I used to canoe parts of the Lower Bremer River, there are some very pretty places along it to pull over and camp. |
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Those Who Lose Dreaming are Lost. Aboriginal Proverb A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour Anon | |
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| canaussie | Apr 14 2011, 06:07:04 PM Post #11 |
True Blue Mate
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My inspections are every 3 months. We were due to have one the day Cyclone Yasi was coming through but was obviously cancelled, so I'm expecting to have one beginning of May, which will be 6 months after the last one...only because of weather. We are every 3 months and its a pain in the ass. I think that they could do every 3 months for the first year...if you've been good, then I can't see why they can't do them every 6 months after that. |
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Paula (dual Canadian/Australian) married to an Aussie since 1999 and mummy to an Aussie since 2000 | |
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| CheekyOne | Apr 14 2011, 06:28:36 PM Post #12 |
True Blue Mate
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Sorry Indy but thats not correct.It's every 3 months.And yes it SUCKS!!!! Pothole,how recent? I've been having quarterly inspections for years. Edited by CheekyOne, Apr 14 2011, 06:30:03 PM.
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| Pothole | Apr 14 2011, 06:53:57 PM Post #13 |
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True Blue Mate
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Cheeky - once every quarter (3 monthly) is the minimum between inspections that is permissable. This is at the discretion of the agent/landlord and some still do every 4 or 6 months as this is more convenient on them and their long term tennants who were under the older minimum period. I believe the change to allow for quarterly inspections dates from 2009 in Queensland. Pothole |
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Those Who Lose Dreaming are Lost. Aboriginal Proverb A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour Anon | |
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| CheekyOne | Apr 14 2011, 07:25:57 PM Post #14 |
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True Blue Mate
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I knew 3 months was the minimum.I recently about had a coronary when my current co tried to do one after 2 months but as for that only starting in 2009 i've been getting quarterly inspections in Brisbane since 2007. 
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| Pothole | Apr 14 2011, 07:51:40 PM Post #15 |
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True Blue Mate
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Hi Cheeky, I got my information from from the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 - New Changes Effective July, 1st 2009, Article - Entry to the Property. Before this entry periods of less than the minimum stipulated period should have been agreed between Tenant and Leasor. Although we all know mostly they just do as they want anyway.  Now you all have me thinking - I have never had an inspection. I feel so violated that my rights have been abused this way. I am going to put in a protest........... |
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Those Who Lose Dreaming are Lost. Aboriginal Proverb A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour Anon | |
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| CheekyOne | Apr 14 2011, 08:35:12 PM Post #16 |
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True Blue Mate
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Thanks Pothole and  to the former rental agencies who inspected me every 3 months for years if it wasn't even a law... Ugh..  I want your landlord Pothole! 
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| Pothole | Apr 14 2011, 09:08:15 PM Post #17 |
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True Blue Mate
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LOL - Hmm if you can sing Sounds of Then you will be coming close
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Those Who Lose Dreaming are Lost. Aboriginal Proverb A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour Anon | |
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| staylor8383 | Apr 14 2011, 09:44:14 PM Post #18 |
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True Blue Mate
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Just signed a new lease today and the inspections are every 3 months. we will be with a different agency this time so i will be interested to see how picky they are. although they give you a brochure and in it it gives you a guide line of what needs to be clean for inspections. |
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| Seven | Apr 15 2011, 10:13:35 AM Post #19 |
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Yacker
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I had to add a comment here. When I first saw the title to this thread, "stupid inspections", I thought it was going to be some new immigration testing! |
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| katze | Apr 15 2011, 01:56:47 PM Post #20 |
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Chinwagger
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Guidelines would have been nice... but inspections still make me feel like I'm a child with my mom telling me to clean my room and it makes me feel like I have no privacy. Why should it matter to them if in the privacy of my unit clothes typically end up in piles on the floor and papers are scattered about and shoes end up in the middle of the room and dishes get washed but rarely make it back to the cabinets? (It's not as bad as it sounds, but I live alone and I do clean up about once a week to once a fortnight.) I'm not trashing the place and I'm not attracting pests/rodents, so there's no health hazard. In a very roundabout way it almost seems that by conducting the inspections they're almost making it easier to get back more of the bond when you move out...  if you know there is a problem, then you have time to fix stuff. hmmm I think I'll go with that view, it's much more positive.
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