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By Chris Kirby-Ryan

My husband and I have lived in the same property for 12.5 years. We have looked after the place, we have made minor improvements. For the past six years we have been renting directly through our landlady (previously through Ray White) and we have organised plumbers, electricians, handymen etc; in fact the landlady has never set foot inside the place since she bought it six years ago.

We painted the interior (she paid for the paint), I have made curtains and blinds in every room as the original were falling apart. We have maintained a lovely garden and turned a grimy little back room into a lovely bar area.

What thanks do you get?

Now that she has decided to sell and we are looking for a property we are finding it really difficult. We have been looking for six months, we have missed out on about six houses that we have applied for. Here are the problems we face as we see them:

• The landlady does not want to give us a good reference as when we leave she will not be able to rent it again while it is on the market, hence lost revenue for her
• We pay $375 a week and we want to upgrade to around $500 and real estate agents do not believe we can manage the increase
• My husband is disabled and on the pension, I am self-employed (always a nightmare trying to do anything, they want to see those weekly pay-slips)
• There is no good record of our rental history, there is certainly no bad one, but no record at all does not bade well.

It doesn’t matter how nice you are to real estate agents – you may talk to the person who is showing you the house, but then the person assessing your application is totally different, someone you have never met and they don’t know you from a bar of soap. Being a good tenant does not seem to matter.

We all have stories of really, really bad tenants – how do they get to rent somewhere else? That’s a mystery to me.

My son did a mystery call to my landlady, and while she didn’t tell any lies, the report was not glowing. She never said, ‘They are great tenants, they have really looked after my property, go ahead and rent to them.’ He came away feeling as though he shouldn’t rent to us.

I just googled: Does being a good tenant matter. All I got were articles on why we should be good tenants, nothing the other way around. Once blog listed the following:

1. Pay your rent on time
2. Always be polite
3. Listen to instructions
4. Help us (the landlord)
5. Tell the truth (when problems arise)
6. Leave a message (when calls unanswered)
7. Understand we have a lot going on (Puuuh-leeeze)
8. If you get in a bind talk to us
9. Treat my property and people with respect
10. Work with me (resolving issues)
11. Trust me
12. Follow the rules
13. Respect your neighbours
14. Hide your weed

What are we? Mentally challenged school children? Hide your weed??? I mean seriously, it does not sound like any intelligent adults at all, rent accommodation. There are more derogatory articles like How to Stand Out from the Crowd When Applying for Rental Properties and Being a Good Tenant – One Stop Shop. Another one tells us: How to Get Rid of Bad Tenants. It’s a wonder the universities are not offering a course on How to be a Good Little Tenant, as it seems such a complex subject that poor, ignorant renters are never going to have any hope of comprehending.

However, hallelujah, I did find one great article: https://www.let.ie/articles/10-things-good-tenants-hate It was written in the UK, but it’s good to see that someone, somewhere in this world is starting to recognise and stick up for good tenants.

Bottom line, good tenants will continue to be good tenants because that’s who we are. With realia.com.au now out there rooting for us, we hope that the landscape will begin to change. Voice your opinion with a review or write a blog. The more people who shout out, the better the world will become for good tenants.

In the meantime, I’m still looking for approval on a nice home that I will take good care of.

If you thought that up until now landlords and agents had it all their own way, then chances are you’re probably right. Whether it’s been getting stuff fixed, rents being raised, leases terminated or not renewed for what seems like no reason at all, Worry no more Realia is now giving tenants a chance to speak out.

Our new platform, realia.com.au, is however, not just a landlord bashing opportunity. Realia is about demonstrating the real problems and frustrations people go through as tenants with a view towards improving the structure of rentals in Australia by having a real base from which better rental methods can be developed through ratings and reviews.

We want to hear from landlords and property managers, just as much as we want to hear from tenants. If your property is reviewed by a tenant on Realia, then we welcome your response to that review and this will give you the opportunity to raise any concerns you may have.

We’re building a database that is going to change the way people look for a rental property. Now, when you’re seeking a home to call your own, you can access Realia database to see what tenants have said about the property previously:

• Have the tenants been happy?
• What are the neighbours like?
• Is the neighbourhood a good place to live?
• What is the landlord/property manager like?

These and other areas of interest will be the focus of Realia, giving you valuable information when making a decision about renting a property.

What’s really happening is that we are building a bank of local experts just like you. If you’re thinking of moving to an area, a street or even a specific property, you can log onto Realia and ask questions. Realia will show you a connection to previous tenants and what their comments have been. You can invite that tenant to tell you more about the property or the area.

It costs nothing to join Realia and it could save you from making the wrong decision when deciding on your next address. By posting a review on Realia you can also help others from falling into the same pot of woes that you have just vacated. Perhaps you were renting a place that had mould, bad plumbing or wiring, dodgy stairs, ill-fitting cupboards, bad lighting or a host of other problems.

Tell people about it on Realia.

Your review will warn others. What this means is that the rental landscape will start to change. If a landlord is having trouble re-renting a property because he does not want to spend any money on it, then his house will sit un-tenanted for long periods. Realia does not want to see landlords losing money – all we want is a fair-go for the tenants, nobody wants sub-standard living conditions or unfair treatment.

If we can encourage landlords and property managers to bring their properties up to a decent standard of living and treat tenants fairly, then everybody wins. The landlord will have no trouble keeping his property tenanted and tenants will live in an acceptable and comfortable home.

We know there are two sides to every story, but if you’re a tenant we’re pretty sure that you’ll have an opinion. If you love your landlord, then we want to hear about that too.

So, get rating and reviewing on Realia. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Spread the word through your contacts and help us build a database that we really believe is going to make a difference to the rental market in Australia.

CLICK HERE to sign up if you havent done so and go for it.

Any questions? Contact Realia here