Poppy's story

 

My partner and I moved into a new home just 5 months ago. We had felt forced to move out of our last rental because the landlord increased the rent to more than we we comfortable paying and wouldn't negotiate. 

When we entered into our lease at our new place, we asked for a 12 month fixed term. The landlord would only grant us a 6 month term, and said they just wanted to make sure we were reliable tenants. We have always been good tenants so weren't concerned, and the agent assured us in writing that if there was no issues, the landlord would be happy to renew for another 12 months at the end of the term. 

We are now 5 months into the fixed term and our agent has told us we will receive a no grounds termination notice on the last day of our fixed term, meaning that we have to leave the property within 30 days. When we pushed for a reason or tried to negotiate, the agent told us that the landlord wanted to "renovate" and wanted us out immediately. We think this is probably just an excuse and maybe they want to sell or re-list for higher rent. 

We were perfect tenants – including always paying the rent two days early and requesting only one repair during the entire period (when the oven was broken-before we moved in). Now we are forced to undergo the expensive process of moving again, including going to numerous inspections, paying more moving expenses, another bond, cleaning fees and costs for transferring our internet provider- just six months after we completed the process last time. We had no security over our home and are forced to move when we didn't want to, and with no grounds.

 

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