A renter has been urged to fight back against his landlord after being told he had to clean up or pay for storm damage and debris removal himself.
The tenant expected assistance from their landlord after huge storms left sizeable branches spread over their yard.
But the simple maintenance request deteriorated into legal arguments after the landlord claimed the branches were the tenant’s responsibility.
In all Australian states, landlords are responsible for removing large fallen branches and maintaining trees. Tenants must report incidents and can contact Fair Trading or the Civil and Administrative Tribunal if no reasonable actions are taken.
This renter took their case to Reddit for advice after hitting a dead-end with the property’s owner.
“The storm knocked down a few big branches into our yard and onto the part of our duplex, that we don’t inhabit,” the renter said.
“He (the landlord) made it very clear that any and all storm damage to the property is the renter’s responsibility, as well as cleaning up ‘garbage’”
The tenant posted pictures of the big branches in question. Picture: Reddit
“Who owns the tree and the branches that fall off of it? Is it us or the landlord? According to him it’s his tree but our ‘garbage’.”
Social media users were quick to point out responsibility for the fallen branches sat with the landlord.
“I’m a landlord. Trees are the property owner’s responsibility, not renters,” one person commented.
“That’s the whole point of paying rent: To not deal with home ownership repairs and maintenance,” said another.
“If it’s small sticks, asking you to pick it up is normalish. But as soon as branches requiring saws are involved that’s not reasonable to ask a tenant,” another person said.
A number of people also called out how much of a nightmare the landlord sound like to which the tenant responded: “OMG, you have no idea”.
The situation ended up having a happy ending for the tenant after they revealed days later they had sought legal advice and sat down with the landlord.
“I am happy to report that we sat down with him today and after a heated argument including threats of expensive mediation and legal fees, he agreed to pay for all damages and tree branch removal! I assume he called his mediator and got called an idiot,” the tenant said.
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