A Melbourne letting agent made an embarrassing mistake when he sent a tenant an email addressed to the landlord.
In the explosive and misdirected email, posted by the tenant on Reddit, the property manager referred to his “high maintenance nature.”
He went on to complain that of all the properties they manage, this tenant’s requests had taken up the most of their time, especially with his complaints about the air conditioning.
“He called every day for two weeks, the receptions (sic) are sick of him,” he wrote.
But the email only got worse and the agent made a blatant recommendation.
A Melbourne letting agent made an embarrassing mistake when he sent a tenant an email addressed to the landlord.
“For this to go smoothly, I think you should offer to renew the lease but with an exorbitant increase (I’m thinking going from $500 to $950) and attribute it to the current rental market,” he wrote.
Further incriminating themselves, the agent reiterated that they didn’t think $950 was a realistic price to relist, but that they would likely get an “increase” in rental income while also getting rid of the offending tenant.
“If he accepts the increase, it will be a surprise victory,” he said.
With a nationwide rental availability crisis and rampant inflation making housing less affordable than ever, Redditors were up in arms over the agent’s underhanded and potentially illegal tactics.
Victoria’s rental laws make urgent repairs actionable immediately and all other repairs classed as “non-urgent” must be completed within two weeks of a written request.
The tenant’s request to have the air conditioning fixed on time was potentially an urgent request, as Victorian law requires minimum heating standards.
“If it is during a period of very hot or very cold days, the premises could be uninhabitable without air conditioning,” wrote one Victorian.
This could explain why the tenant had contacted the agent every other day to make repairs.
The real estate agent’s behavior angered Redditors.
‘Oh, that’s straight to NCAT (in New South Wales). It would destroy these people,’ and another agreed that the email should be enough for the agent to lose his license,’ one said.
Many defended the tenant, saying they wouldn’t have to keep calling about the air conditioning if it was repaired in time.
Another called out the real estate agent for admitting to the landlord that they had not properly handled the tenant’s complaint about the air conditioning.
Others said that without more information it was difficult to know whether the email recipient was truly a difficult tenant.
Most thought the “lazy” estate agent’s behavior was typical of what to expect when renting in Australia.
‘The tenant did not have any required services running and held us absolutely responsible. What a plague,” wrote another.
This isn’t the first time property managers have come under fire for outrageous comments.
Perth real estate agent Bronwyn Pollitt recently lost her license over racist comments in an email to Indian tenants when she told them that: “Cleaning to Australian standards” was not “cleaning to Indian standards.”