Selling their tenanted home has proved difficult for one Adelaide landlord.
Australia’s rental crisis has delivered a costly blow to an Adelaide landlord, who failed to sell his property after the tenants refused to move out.
The landlord entered into a contract to sell his three-bedroom home for more than $800,000 in March, with the sale conditional on the property being vacant at the time of settlement.
But the tenants, a young family of four who had lived in the home for the past 19 years, refused to budge, said Raine and Horne Unley selling agent Danny Nguyen, and the sale fell through due to the terms not being met.
Mr Nguyen said the landlord had previously attempted to remove the tenants so that he could live in the home himself but, after his efforts proved futile, he decided to sell the property instead.
The housing crisis is costing both tenants and landlords.
“Many times, he wanted the family to leave. He tried to take back the property … but it was so hard,’’ Mr Nguyen said.
“Many, many times (the tenants) said, ‘Look, I have a problem (finding another property) with the rental crisis’.
“(They said), ‘We just cannot move’.’’
Under South Australian laws, a landlord can end a tenancy if they or an immediate family member wishes to live at the property themselves.
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Landlords can also legally terminate a tenancy if they enter into a sales contract that stipulates the property needs to be vacant upon transfer to the new owner.
They relisted the property for sale this month and it was now under contract with the same buyer who initially sought to purchase the home in March, albeit with “a bit of a price reduction to keep both parties (the vendor and the buyer) happy’’, Mr Nguyen said.
The owners have been trying to sell the property for months.
He said the buyer had again requested the property be vacant when ownership was transferred and the vendor had sought the assistance of the SA Civil and Administrative Tribunal to ensure the condition would be met.
He said the tribunal had advised the vendor to inform the tenants “in person’’ of their requirement to vacate and confirmed such notice had since been “handed to them directly through the mailbox’’.
Back in March, a notice to vacate had only been emailed to the tenants, Mr Nguyen said.
“We didn’t want it this way … but hopefully in the next two months the current tenants will move out,’’ said Mr Nguyen, who indicated the tenants had 60 days to comply with the request to vacate.
“I know of a few instances (where tenants have been required to move due to a property’s sale) but they’ve not got to this stage where we have had to go through the same process (attempt to sell a home) twice.’’
Mr Nguyen said the new buyer wanted to demolish the house, which was “not in the best shape’’, and subdivide the block of land into two allotments.
Adelaide has one of the tightest rental markets in Australia, with recent data showing the median advertised rent has reached now $625 a week – 4.2 per cent higher than a year ago.
– by Lauren Ahwan
English (US) · 