A Melbourne couple are thousands of dollars out of pocket after their ex-tenant stopped paying rent, even after VCAT put her on a payment plan.
A Melbourne cancer patient and her elderly husband whose former tenant tried to force them from their own home say they feel completely let down by Victoria’s legal system.
The couple, Kez, aged 67, and Sammy, 84, have rented out the granny flat in their backyard for years to help make ends meet.
But earlier this year, when their then-tenant stopped paying rent, they applied to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for permission to issue an eviction order.
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At that point, the tenant owed more than $7100 in unpaid rent.
But in a surprise development their tenant recently gave notice they intended to vacate their property, after authorities had said the couple could not remove the renter while they stuck to a payment plan set by VCAT.
The couple had been left dismayed after an initial tribunal ruling decided the tenant could stay until February 3, before an eviction notice could be enacted.
This was compounded when a review by VCAT deputy president Kylea Campana gave the tenant more than two years to pay their rental arrears — and no capacity to have them evicted in the interim, unless they stopped paying.
This came despite Kez, who requires ongoing treatment for skin cancer, and Sammy having barely any money to make ends meet thanks to the tenant’s non-payment of her weekly $450 rent.
The landlords, who could not afford legal representation at VCAT, started borrowing from friends and started a GoFundMe account to help out.
In an unusual move, the tenant also applied for an intervention order against Kez and Sammy.
With a 500m minimum distance clause, this had the potential to force them from their home if the court ruled in the tenants’ favour.
Kez said the intervention order hearing had been adjourned as the tenant did not show up to court.
And although the tenant has now moved out of the granny flat, Kez said she felt “seriously cheated by the system”.
The elderly couple (not pictured) rely on the rent from their granny flat to help make ends meet. Picture: NewsWire/Max Mason-Hubers.
Adding to her and Sammy’s woes, the tenant has only made a couple of rental payments since 2026 began.
If the tenant fails to pay any rent until she is due to give the granny flat’s keys back on April 20, she will owe the couple more than $10,000.
“Even though she’s already living somewhere else, the law still treats her as ‘in possession’, so I can’t enter my own property, can’t re‑let it, even show it, repair it, and can’t earn any income,” Kez said.
Following April 20, Kez and Sammy will be able to apply to VCAT for compensation and the bond from the tenant.
Residential tenancy bonds in Victoria are capped at one month’s rent, meaning this would be $1950 at most.
VCAT, which is located in La Trobe St, Melbourne, also has bases in Bendigo, Bundoora, Frankston, Oakleigh and Werribee.
However, this will not provide an end to the legal hoops they need to jump through as they continue to recoup the money the are owed.
Once VCAT issues an order for compensation and the bond, Kez will be required to pass the order to the Magistrates’ Court, and then to the Sheriff of Victoria’s offices.
“Once the sheriff gets the warrant from the Magistrate’s Court, they won’t try to collect a cent unless I can provide the ex-tenant’s new address — meaning I have to pay a private collection agency, while she walks away thousands of dollars ahead,” Kez said.
She also questioned why the authorities could not find the tenant’s new address themselves, as she is registered with Centrelink.
Kez and Sammy are hoping to raise awareness of the legal obstacles that Victorian landlords can face when dealing with a tenant who does not pay rent.
As well, Kez said she had reported the tenant’s non-payment of rent to VCAT in March but had not been provided with a date for a hearing on the matter.
She’s hoping that speaking out will raise awareness about the situation that landlords, such as those with one rental property, can find themselves in when their tenant stops paying rent.
“I am now even more disheartened by the VCAT process — and I know I’m not alone,” Kez said.
“What concerns me far more is how easily the current system allows situations like this to escalate and how powerless small rental providers are when they do.
“What I’ve lived through has shown me how complex and unforgiving the legislation is for ordinary people who rely on rent to survive.”
The alias’ of Kez and Sammy have been used for the couple, due to the upcoming intervention order hearing.
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