A Queensland landlord lost thousands of dollars trying to evict tenants from his property, only to discover his agent had mistakenly sent them a lease renewal notice without his permission.
Truck salesman Adam Le Fevre owned an investment property in Mackay, northern Queensland, and his nightmare began when he decided to sell the house last year.
Le Fevre told Daily Mail Australia he used his retirement to buy the property in the hope it would allow him to have a comfortable retirement.
‘I bought it when the Reserve Bank governor said there would be no rate rise for at least two years.
‘Lo and behold, 12 or 13 consecutive rate increases that put the property at a point where it couldn’t cover itself. I made the reasonable decision to say goodbye.
In late 2023, he informed his leasing agent of his decision to sell the property and not submit a lease renewal notice.
Mr Le Fevre then received a contract for the sale of the property on January 25, with the deal scheduled for April 17, a month after the tenant’s original lease ended.
‘The plan was that the lease would expire on March 14, which would give them enough time to leave. The lease was going to expire and technically it should have worked out fine.’
However, she later discovered that her leasing agent had mistakenly sent the tenants a lease renewal in January, extending their contract for another year.
‘So they signed it. They returned it and told me the realtor signed it too. And I was furious, absolutely furious.”
The agent attempted to cancel the lease by emailing the tenants and subsequently issued a quit notice in early February, specifying that the tenants must vacate the property by April 11.
“An email has been sent to the tenants explaining the legal reasons for canceling the lease,” the agent wrote in an email to Mr. Le Fevre and his selling agent.
Adam Le Fevre (pictured) owned an investment property in Mackay, northern Queensland, and his nightmare began when he decided to sell the house last year.
Le Fevre used his retirement to buy the property in “the hope of a comfortable retirement”, but then interest rates started to rise and he was forced to sell it.
The agent attempted to cancel the lease by emailing the tenants and subsequently issued a quit notice in early February.
Tenants still refuse to leave, despite an eviction notice being issued
The tenants had not yet left on April 11, and Mr. Le Fevre and the agent sent the tenants an “official notice to leave, dictating that the tenants must leave by April 11.”
As a last resort, Mr Le Fevre applied to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal for a “possession order”.
Le Fevre said the hearing was set for May 1 and the tenants requested an adjournment, with the next hearing on May 8. It was successful on May 14.
“The tenants did not finally leave the property until May 17.”
The rental agent told the ABC they ‘acted in accordance with legislative requirements…and following the client’s legal instructions’.
Le Fevre said he was “frustrated and dismayed” by the eviction process and said there is a power imbalance that greatly favors tenants.
‘This imbalance is overcome by the laws, or by the inability to take action against a tenant who stays longer to remove them. ‘
Due to the delay in tenants moving out of his property, Mr Le Fevre now faces a breach of contract lawsuit from the new owners.
‘They sold their property and had to move, so they found themselves in temporary accommodation. They seek to recover the cost of storing and boarding the pets.’
Le Fevre said he could face damages of up to $8,000.
He has also had to cover flight costs between Brisbane and Mackay, as well as legal fees, which he says amount to around $7,000.
Landlord complains about tenant’s reluctance to vacate
Mr Le Fevre claimed the reason the tenants did not vacate was because they could not find a suitable alternative property.
“I understand things are tough, but if you look at the available rental market in Mackay, there is a huge amount of housing to suit all types of tenants.”
I thought they were being too picky.
“The problem is when a tenant decides that they will only live in the only suburb they are in at the time, and the house must be suitable for their dog, it must be suitable for their children and it must be close to the school. so that can walk to school. Your options become a little less.’
Le Fevre said during his investigation at the time that there were many rental properties available at the time of the eviction.
“So you know, it’s not like they were scraping, and they might have been challenged to hit that amount per week, but at the $550 to $700 per week mark, there were no less than 30 to 40 properties available on the market. ‘
Although they did not comply with the eviction request, Mr Le Fevre commented that they were still good tenants.
‘At no time were the tenants in default on their payments. At no time were they disrespectful or caused any property damage beyond normal wear and tear.
“From all indications, they were good tenants, until the time came when they were asked to leave.”
As someone who rents himself, Le Fevre said he would never consider outstaying his lease.
He recounted a previous experience where he, as a tenant, had received an eviction notice.
‘And not for a moment did I say, well, can I milk this for how long?’ Or no, I’m not staying. Or I can’t find a place to live.’
‘Yes, it’s a challenge to find a place to live, but you know. You have to do what you have to do.’
He said that contrary to the common belief that homeowners are rich, he doesn’t even own his own home.
‘I could retire comfortably today, no problem, but I would have to die on Friday. That’s how comfortable I feel… no.’