Our landlord refused to let us renew our tenancy after the first contract expired even though it was part of the original contract and we had paid all our rental.

We were due to renew in December and waited, while we waited we paid the old rental rate. Then we asked for repairs, actually we asked in October but nothing happened.

We continued paying rent at the original rate until April and then after getting a confirmation that our renewal was confirmed we did the repairs and deducted it from the rent. Then we asked our landlord for our tenancy contract and to paint the house as we had already been there 5 years.

The landlord stayed quiet. We paid the top-up deposits for our new rental rate and did the painting and additional necenssary repairs and deducted it from the rent. The our landlord sent us a lawyers letter saying we owe 10 months rental. I said it was a mistake but they wanted to evict us saying we had no tenancy agreement and thet they were not responsible for the repairs. When I checked we did not really owe them rent except for the difference between the old rent and the new one and the funds for the repairs and painting.

We asked for our receipts to show that they were wrong but they still want to evict us. I feel cheated and want to sue them back. Can I and on what grounds?

No, you can't sue them back until they first sue you.

Reply to the letter from their attorney describing your accounting of the rent paid and repairs done by you. If it goes to court that will be what you would be arguing about.

You say you got "a confirmation that [y]our renewal was confirmed." This looks like, assuming it was in writing, a renewal of your lease, in effect the same as a new lease document. If so, they cannot evict you. Tell that too to the lawyer in the letter. If, somehow, the lease was not extended, you would only owe at the old rate, so you would be entitled to be credited for the difference.

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Originally Posted by AK lawyer

No, you can't sue them back until they first sue you.

Reply to the letter from their attorney describing your accounting of the rent paid and repairs done by you. If it goes to court that will be what you would be arguing about.

You say you got "a confirmation that [y]our renewal was confirmed." This looks like, assuming it was in writing, a renewal of your lease, in effect the same as a new lease document. If so, they cannot evict you. Tell that too to the lawyer in the letter. If, somehow, the lease was not extended, you would only owe at the old rate, so you would be entitled to be credited for the difference.

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Yes we got confirmation in writing about the tenancy renewal but when it came to signing the agreement, they would not have dialog with us over the repairs and maintenance (stonewalled).

We told them they were mistaken and that we have been paying. Eventually we sent them some emails (with errors which we later tried to rectify) with the details of the outstanding which was mainly repairs, maintenance and the month we were about to pay. I held on and did a calculation which showed we'd paid them until March in January last year and we had been paying as per normal at the new rate, except for the deductions for repairs.

Anyway I sent them 6 months rent and they claimed they don't have to pay for the repairs because, we didn't tell them, which is untrue... we did verbally and in writing. So how? I'm demanding the rental receipts for now but I have copies of all cheqs and our bank statements.

They would not sit down about the repairs and so our lawyer said wait for them, now the new tenancy agreement has not been signed, they say we don't have right to our tenancy and should get out.
So how?

First, Any question on law needs to include your general local as laws vary by area. Second, you cannot just make repairs and deduct them from your rent. There is a procedure dictated by local law that you need to follow. If you did not follow those procedures, the rental deduction may be disallowed. Third, they cannot just evict you. Eviction is a legal process that requires a court order and a court hearing. The first step in the process is a written notice to vacate. That amount of time you have to vacate depends on the reason for termination and local laws. For example, if the reason is non payment of rent, the notice period could be as little 3 days or it could be as much as 60 days.

If you get a formal vacate notice and do not vacate by the deadline, then they go to court for an eviction order. This will mean a hearing, where you can present your evidence of rent payments and repair bills. The judge will then rule.

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Originally Posted by 007wife

Yes we got confirmation in writing about the tenancy renewal ...

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Did it specify the period for which it was being renewed, and the new monthly rent?

And, as ScottGem suggests, did you get authorization (also in writing) to make the repairs and deduct their cost from the rent?

'they claimed they don't have to pay for the repairs because, we didn't tell them, which is untrue... we did verbally and in writing. '

Tenants don't get to deduct them from rent. They report the need for them, and if refused, take steps to sue, leave, or report to some local governing body. I am especially puzzled by painting? Because you had been there 5 years? I know of no place in the world where painting is considered by any court, health, or fire dept as vital to your well being. This has me wondering if you are going to win any of this.

If the landlord promised to paint 5 years ago, you need to say so. Many of the facts here are unclear. (It still doesn't allow you to deduct it from rent.)

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

First, Any question on law needs to include your general local as laws vary by area. Second, you cannot just make repairs and deduct them from your rent. There is a procedure dictated by local law that you need to follow. If you did not follow those procedures, the rental deduction may be disallowed. Third, they cannot just evict you. Eviction is a legal process that requires a court order and a court hearing. The first step in the process is a written notice to vacate. That amount of time you have to vacate depends on the reason for termination and local laws. For example, if the reason is non payment of rent, the notice period could be as little 3 days or it could be as much as 60 days.

If you get a formal vacate notice and do not vacate by the deadline, then they go to court for an eviction order. This will mean a hearing, where you can present your evidence of rent payments and repair bills. The judge will then rule.

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Hi there ScottGem, we are in NSW Australia. We did send both verbal and written notices for the repairs and maintenance. We paid our rental in advance by 3 months to enable them to under take the repairs, by the 4th month they were not done, we did them. Then we sent another notice to resolve maintenance matters, again no reply so we did them and deducted them from the rent. Normally I bank in the rent so the rent that should have been paid post repairs, after the deductions did not go in by mistake. Then we received a letter demanding 10 months rental when all we used for repairs was 5 months and 2 months forgotten to bank in.

I knew there was something wrong as the demand amount totally exceeded everything but we could not get the info from our bank and accountant due to them being on holiday.
Simply if the landlord had been proactive in doing the repairs in the first place, we would not be in this mess and my husband wouldn't have gotten confused. Also something else that aggravated this is the landlord is not always around, she wouldn't issue receipts for payment and the repair men she did send round under the first term were useless which meant we had to re-fix things ourselves.

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Originally Posted by AK lawyer

Did it specify the period for which it was being renewed, and the new monthly rent?

And, as ScottGem suggests, did you get authorization (also in writing) to make the repairs and deduct their cost from the rent?

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The old agreement gives us another 3 years. I gave the landlord a letter for the repairs and delivered it by hand and had her sign on a copy that she received it.

We gave notice to continue our tenancy but they denied it.

The old agreement stated rent at the new market rate but the landlord tried to charge extra high so we went and got a valuer who said it was too high and suggested a lot less but we agreed to an amount a little higher.

We sent a letter saying we agreed to the new rent and started paying it.

But everything became messy because the landlord refused to sit down and solve everything. Can she do that?

The roof tiles fell off and nearly hit my husband - some repairs are still not done and we gave them another reminder recently.

What else can I do to show they did not maintain the building and has my new term been accepted even though no tenancy agreement has been signed?

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Originally Posted by joypulv

'they claimed they don't have to pay for the repairs because, we didn't tell them, which is untrue... we did verbally and in writing. '

Tenants don't get to deduct them from rent. They report the need for them, and if refused, take steps to sue, leave, or report to some local governing body. I am especially puzzled by painting? Because you had been there 5 years? I know of no place in the world where painting is considered by any court, health, or fire dept as vital to your well being. This has me wondering if you are going to win any of this.

If the landlord promised to paint 5 years ago, you need to say so. Many of the facts here are unclear. (It still doesn't allow you to deduct it from rent.)

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I had asked for the place to be cleaned up and painted when we first moved in and the landlord complied. I figured that reasonable wear and tear we would be entitled to refurbishment under the new agreement. We live in a posh area and we would be looked down upon if the place looked shabby.

So basically. Even if the landlord failed to maintain the house as per the original agreement (safety) and failed to give us receipts for our payments, tries to get out of renting to us under the old agreement by denying our right and then demanding rent higher than the market rate, and simply ignores us. Then gives us notice to get out. We have to go? I thought there was something called quiet enjoyment that would give us some rights as tenants? We had paid all our rental in advance without failure up until March. After March things got messy with repairs and calculations, but she refused to sit down with us and sort it out even though we did offer to bare some of the costs.

I feel the landlord is a bit malicious. It all seems so planned. Sit and wait and ambush - OUT!

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Originally Posted by 007wife

Hi there ScottGem, we are in NSW Australia. ....

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You should have told us that from the get-go.

I'm not at all sure how much different, from those with which I am familiar, the rental laws are in NSW.

I do not know your location but there is no requirement, that I am aware for them to have to paint the house, esp if this is the inside, Unless the agreement states they will paint, most renters paint their own inside of the home, or do not paint at all.

If this is outside and there was damage, that may be different.

In US, if a renter painted inside without my permission, I would sue for the rent and evict also.

First, it doesn't matter if they the repairs were requested and not made. If you did not inform them that you would deduct the cost of repairs from your rent if they did not complete them by a specified date I doubt if you complied with the law. I'm not sure of the landlord tenant laws where you are, but I doubt if they are significantly different. I suspect you had to follow specific procedures to be able to deduct the cost of repairs.

But the bottom line is they will have to prove you haven't paid and you have to prove you have.

'I thought there was something called quiet enjoyment that would give us some rights as tenants?'
Quiet enjoyment means that the landlord has the right to give you a lease without interference from third parties.

I think you will find that the law is not on your side, regardless of how unfair the landlord has been about repairs. And the court won't excuse mistakes in payments, even if you claim that the mistakes wouldn't have happened if the repairs were done. Nor is a landlord obligated to come up with copies of receipts of payments; it's your job if paying in cash to get one on the spot.

Renting a house that needs work is never a good idea until repairs have been done. The fact that they weren't when you agreed to rent is a warning that you might be in for a tough time.