Imagine handing back the keys to your rental property, only to return hours later and discover a vital appliance has vanished into thin air.
That’s the baffling reality facing a Western Australian renter, whose hot water unit allegedly disappeared from their former home just hours after their final exit inspection.
The perplexing disappearance has ignited a fierce debate about tenant rights and the security of rental bonds, as the former occupant now faces the potential loss of their deposit over an appliance they claim was present when they handed over the keys.
“Somebody stole my hot water unit,” they shared in an online post on Reddit, accompanied by a photo of a glaringly empty space where the essential appliance once stood.
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Adding another layer of intrigue to the already perplexing situation, plumbers working at the house stopped the renter during their unexpected return, asking if they had seen the hot water unit.
“I get there and there’s the plumbing mob just about to leave after finishing whatever job they were out for but they call out for my attention and asked if I’d seen the hot water unit, obviously I was like what? And they said it isn’t there,” the tenant recounted, claiming the tradies informed them the system was missing.
A WA renter has been left perplexed after his hot water system mysteriously disappeared. Photo: Reddit/ @tarzaannn
Confused and alarmed, the renter immediately contacted the real estate agent.
The agent reportedly confirmed that the hot water unit did not appear in the photos taken during the exit inspection.
However, the tenant vehemently disputes this, asserting they possess their own time-stamped photos that clearly show the unit was still securely attached to the wall at the time of the inspection.
“Thankfully I had a photo from the same day, in the morning, as when she completed the report which was about half-hour before the keys were given back.”
The primary concern for the tenant now is the potential impact on their rental bond.
The sudden disappearance of such a significant fixture could easily be used as grounds for a claim against their deposit.
The tenant’s own exit photo shows the unit (right of photo) was still in place when he handed over the keys. Photo: Reddit/ @tarzaannn
However, the online community has rallied around the renter, offering advice and tempering their fears.
One commenter shrewdly pointed out that the bond itself would likely be worth “four times” the value of an old hot water heater, suggesting it might not be a financially sound move for a landlord to pursue such a claim.
Even more disturbingly, another social media user shared a similar experience, alleging that some landlords remove items after the final inspection, only to attempt to blame former tenants.
“My old landlord did that with three window rattlers, but her mistake was taking them after the final walk-through instead of before,” the commenter claimed, highlighting a potentially unscrupulous tactic.
Another person shared a similar story: “I have a friend who went to have a shower one morning, and there was no hot water, so she went into her courtyard to check the pilot light, and the hot water unit was gone. She owned her place, so wasn’t a landlord doing a dodgy. The theory was that it was stolen for the copper.”
As the Western Australian renter anxiously awaits answers regarding the whereabouts of their missing hot water system, the story continues to circulate, sparking widespread debate about tenant rights and the often-fraught relationship between renters and landlords.
“Just waiting to see what happens today,” the tenant concluded, leaving the internet on tenterhooks for the next development in this truly bizarre property mystery.
English (US) · 