Landlord's shocking email to tenant after loss at tribunal as Australia's rental crisis worsens

A landlord's snarky email to tenant who took them to the tribunal and won has summed up the rental power imbalance as Australia's housing crisis worsens.

Landlords have gained the upper hand in the nationwide rental crisis giving desperate renters no other choice but to accept below standard living conditions, along with inspections and rent rises without notice.

They're also flexing their muscle regarding breaches of lease conditions, as one South Australian tenant recently learned.

The dispute ended up in the state's Civil and Administrative Tribunal which ruled in favour of the tenant. 

The landlord didn't take the decision well and sent a brutal email to the departed tenant.

'I hope U appreciate how cheap U got out of breaking a binding contractual agreement. U think U were such good tenants just because U paid the rent on time LOL LOL,' the landlord wrote.

The snarky message was shared on X by tenant advocate Jordie van den Berg, who recently launched rental website, S**t Rentals.

'These tenants won in a tribunal hearing and the landlord sent them this,' he captioned the message.

The post sparked dozens of comments roasting the 'unprofessional' landlord.

'Nothing like a little entitled narcissism to make your day,' one wrote.

Another added: 'Bro shut up you’re literally getting these people to pay your mortgage.

Some called for the agent to be named and shamed. 

'That is appalling, not just unprofessional it's a form of harassment to the tenant. Not to mention a big middle finger to the Tribunal,' one commented.

Other shared their own rental horror stories.

'I left otherwise good rental as the landlord tried to rebuild with me still paying rent. Middle of winter he removed all the laundry wall exposing me to elements. Then remodelled kitchen and bathroom. ALL WITHOUT NOTICE,' one man recalled.

But not everyone was on the tenant's side.

'Tenants now have more rights than owners,' one wrote.

The national vacancy rate sits at just 1.02 per cent after falling slightly in October, with most major capital cities following the trend according to PropTrack's Market Insight Report.

Renters faced more competition for housing with vacancies down in both capital city and regional areas, PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty said.

Renters faced more competition for housing with vacancies down in both capital city and regional areas, PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty said.

'Tenants faced even tougher conditions in October, with the proportion of rental properties sitting vacant falling to the lowest level on record,' she said.

Vacancies in Sydney fell to a record low of 1.11 per cent, more than 60 per cent lower than in March 2020.

The number of available properties in Melbourne has halved compared to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rental vacancy rate is at a record low in Queensland with available options in Brisbane sitting at less than one per cent.