The reality of renting in Southbank

Kate Johnson is an ideal tenant. The longtime renter is in her 40s, has no pets or kids, has a steady income, and has never failed to pay her rent on time. 

However, for the first time in 20 years of renting, Kate has had to bear the brunt of rental insecurity, facing excessive rent increases without clear communication from her property manager, Melbourne Inner City Management (MICM). 

In 2021, Kate moved into her two-bedroom apartment on Whiteman Street in Southbank, initially paying $1890 a month, but over the past three years her rent has risen by 60 per cent. 

The latest rental increase that Kate had to pay saw her rent jump from $2300 to $3150 a month, but when she objected, she was met with a response that left her confused. 

MICM gave her a price comparison to other buildings on the street, but it was for high-quality apartments with more facilities, and she didn’t feel they were fair comparisons that justified an $800 increase. 

After months of attempted negotiations, Kate has decided to move to a cheaper alternative within the same block and, after threatening to go VCAT, she was able to negotiate her last month of rent down. 

But Kate is not alone. This year, Consumer Affairs Victoria received 7469 requests to review rent increases for “excessiveness”, a 37 per cent increase from 2023. 

Southbank News spoke with several tenants of MICM-managed properties who have also had bad experiences with the company’s management approach. 

One tenant who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that they had submitted a condition report with the items that they wanted fixed but after two years nothing has been repaired.

When they moved into their apartment, they began to notice a squishing noise under the floorboards, accompanied by a rise in one section of the floor. 

They reported this concern to the property manager, however, the manager attributed the issue to the tenant’s actions. 

After an assessment by a plumber and a specialist who used an infrared machine to analyse the hot water system in the tenant’s apartment, it was determined that the main bathroom’s toilet was leaking from the back, causing damage within the wall and beneath the floor. 

It was nearly nine months before the flooring was ultimately replaced and the tenant had had to navigate the living space around a hole that had been cut into the floor for access.

When the flooring replacement was scheduled, the tenant was solely responsible for relocating all of the unit’s furniture and electrical equipment into the spare bedroom. 

Throughout the works, debris was disposed of on the balcony, which limited the tenant’s ability to store items safely, including an expensive marble table that was damaged throughout the process.

They did not receive any compensation for the inconvenience and damages, and when it came time to renew their lease the rent increased by $160 per week. 

They disputed this, and, after a protracted and drawn-out consultation process with the property manager, they realised that it was too late to pursue a rent review through the Valuer General. 

After carefully considering the financial implications of moving versus renewing the lease, they ultimately decided that staying in the property was the more prudent choice. However, for some tenants, rents are too high to remain in Southbank. 

This is the case for Ash Sunil, an international student from India who relocated to Australia to study a Master of Publishing and Communications at the University of Melbourne. 

Ash is moving out in the coming months due to the cost of rent, but she is also concerned by the lack of communication from MICM. 

When she moved to Melbourne, and despite having financial support from her family, Ash had a lot of trouble finding a place to live due to not having a rental history. 

MICM was the only property management firm that would consider international applicants, and Ash was able to secure a place in Southbank. 

But a lot of things in the apartment were unusable according to Ash. There were bugs in the light fittings, the exhaust fan was greasy, and the kitchen cabinets were not cleaned regularly. 

“Every complaint that we make, they said you don’t have to clean it when you leave,” she said.

Faisal Raibi had a similar experience when he lived in a MICM-managed property, and when he moved out, he paid for the apartment to be professionally cleaned. 

He said that it was in a better condition than when he moved in, however, MICM took a part of the bond due to the cleaning not being adequate. 

MICM has been contacted for comment, however no response had been received by the time this edition of Southbank News went to press. 

Earlier this year a raft of renters’ rights reforms was announced by the Victorian government that includes the removal of all no-fault evictions and an increase to the notice period for rent increases and notices to vacate from 60 to 90 days 

Postdoctoral Research Fellow Priya Kunjan said that “this is a massive bill, and it includes some important changes for Victorian renters that build on the suite of reforms introduced in 2021.”

As a part of the new reforms, the list of factors that can be considered by Consumer Affairs Victoria and VCAT in rent reviews have been expanded to include issues such as the size of rent increases, and failure to repair reported problems. 

State Consumer Affairs Minister Gabrielle Williams said that “we’re giving regulators more powers to stop excessive rent hikes, particularly if the landlord hasn’t maintained the property.”

However, Dr Kunjan drew attention to the fact that the onus of reporting issues was still largely put on the current or prospective renter. 

In the light of the reforms, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen said that “it’s not fair that a renter can cop a 200 per cent rent increase just because they’ve asked for a basic issue to be fixed.

“We’re putting the brakes on excessive rent increases and ensuring properties meet minimum standards,” she said. “New tenants should be able to focus on where they put their couch, not worrying about if they need to go to VCAT because the mould in the bathroom that was supposed to be removed after the inspection is still there.” •