mecanical repairs: my rights as a tennant?

[ari666]

so my housemate decides he wants to have a little hissy-fit and has given the landlords his notice, which in itself isnt to bad, but he organised a house inspection without infoming my girlfriend or myself (shared house) needless to say it was in a bit of a state.

i just received a letter in the mail yesterday with a cease and desist on all my impala work in the garage. which is gonna really suck. they have given me 14 days to pack it up and make the garage a storage area/somewhere to park a car.

do they have the right to do that?

[minux]

Yes, yes they do.

As a landlord we also force this law into place. If you read through your rental agreement it is a standard term on all leases.

ari, just to add, be grateful they havent issued a breach of contract and forcing you out!!!

I would also contact the landlords(details must be on the lease) speak tot hem directly instead of real estate agents.

[Garth]

the old work on the car in the shed thingy.

providing your cars are kept in a clean state, your drivable cars dont block or imped access out the front, then the real estate agent realy has no grounds. of course that depends, each state seems to have little extra laws thrown in. if you can i would ring your local residential tenancy authority on this mater. run it past them and make sure all is good.

[minux]

the old work on the car in the shed thingy.

providing your cars are kept in a clean state, your drivable cars dont block or imped access out the front, then the real estate agent realy has no grounds. of course that depends, each state seems to have little extra laws thrown in. if you can i would ring your local residential tenancy authority on this mater. run it past them and make sure all is good.

garth, it is a standard clause in all leases that mechanical repairs MUST NOT be undertaken on the property. If this clause is not in a lease, it has been removed on purpose. I am yet to see a lease without this clause.

Residential Tenancies Act 1997
34. The TENANT agrees not to carry out any mechanical repairs or spray painting of any motor vehicles, boats or motorcycles
in or around the property including common property. The TENANT also agrees to be fully responsible for the removal of
any motorcycle, car or boat spare parts or bodies or any other equipment used and to fully reinstate the PREMISES or the
land or common property on which it is situated to their original condition forthwith.

Cut and pasted straight from the last lease sent to new tenants. This standard lease agreement is from REIV.

[sleepa]

It's a standard clause that you can't do any work on a vehicle while on the premises. Pisses me off coz where else can you do work on a car?

Anyway sounds like you have a reasonable real estate agent/landlord as I was threatened with a breach of contract for not cutting the grass for 2 weeks! When there was hardly any grass. Oh and they haven't been back to check yet and this was over 4 weeks ago.

[Tim Smtih]

This is why i don't rent. I did the share thing for a while, with of all people a couple of Christian chicks. Sunday arvo bible study was hilarious. Get your own place asap!

[dirt drifter]

so am i correct in assuming that its ok to have your project car stored in the shed of the property you're renting, so long as u dont work on it? and does anyone know if storage sheds have the same clause in the rental agreement?

[Stressball]

does anyone know if storage sheds have the same clause in the rental agreement?

Yes, they do. Specifically leased out as storage space, and they want it kept in good condition. Plus they don't like you making too much noise, so good luck working on a car without the occasional clang, crash or "shit" floating out to the neighbours.

[ari666]

Residential Tenancies Act 1997

*sigh* looks like im busted then... stupid car was so close to completetion.

[minux]

*sigh* looks like im busted then... stupid car was so close to completetion.

ari, check the lease and contact landlords direct. Explain the deal, tell them it will be out in XX time. They may be nicer than I am and agree it is ok

[tr3nt]

lol @ minux describing himself as some sort of nice..

jks!

[ClairBear]

do they have the right to do that?

Yes, because it is their house.

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Yeh, i agree with Minux, speak to the landlord directly and explain the situation. I mean, what have you got to lose? However, yes it is within their right to stop you working on your car on their premises. I have no problems working on my cars at our rental property, but i'm renting off a family member.

[Philthy]

I have always asked my real estate agents about it and they have always been fine with it as long as we don't make a mess. Its just a case of throwing a tarp under the car in case of an oil spill and not leaving parts lying around everywhere

[Blown V6 Hatch]

I have always asked my real estate agents about it and they have always been fine with it as long as we don't make a mess. Its just a case of throwing a tarp under the car in case of an oil spill and not leaving parts lying around everywhere

Totally agree with that too, i've rented 2 houses prior to the one i'm in now. Always worked on my own cars, never had any problems, however the cars have always been in a tidy state and no parts lieing all around the place. I even did the engine conversion on my ute in the driveway of the last house

[Cúl-Báire]

garth, it is a standard clause in all leases that mechanical repairs MUST NOT be undertaken on the property. If this clause is not in a lease, it has been removed on purpose. I am yet to see a lease without this clause.

Residential Tenancies Act 1997
34. The TENANT agrees not to carry out any mechanical repairs or spray painting of any motor vehicles, boats or motorcycles
in or around the property including common property. The TENANT also agrees to be fully responsible for the removal of
any motorcycle, car or boat spare parts or bodies or any other equipment used and to fully reinstate the PREMISES or the
land or common property on which it is situated to their original condition forthwith.

Cut and pasted straight from the last lease sent to new tenants. This standard lease agreement is from REIV.

Minux is absolutely correct, it is a standard clause from a Victorian Residential Tenancy Agreement... I would talk to the landlord personally, who knows he may not care or be a car enthusiast him/herself.
Garth I believe is also correct, I do not recall seeing such a clause in an REIQ Tenancy Agreement (QLD) (Garth's location is Brisbane).

so my housemate decides he wants to have a little hissy-fit and has given the landlords his notice, which in itself isnt to bad, but he organised a house inspection without infoming my girlfriend or myself (shared house) needless to say it was in a bit of a state.

Are both you and your girlfriend on the lease and were not notified?..
Did the agent fail to provide 24hrs notification in writing that they wished to inspect the property?
Have you given 28 days notice, and is it more then 14 days until the end of the lease?

If you yes to any of the above, they have entered the property illegally, and could argue that the agent / landlord should not have been on the property in the first place. food for though!

[ari666]

If you yes to any of the above, they have entered the property illegally, and could argue that the agent / landlord should not have been on the property in the first place. food for though!

meh! id rather not cause any more trouble.

[Cúl-Báire]

meh! id rather not cause any more trouble.

Hahaha in that case have a chat to the landlord, as said above he may be sympathetic to your situation. I know I have had no issues preforming mechanical repairs in any of my rented properties; their biggest concern is generally that the mess is cleaned up before you leave (oil stains, etc...)

[PaRaDoX]

this is why i don't make "Mechanical Repairs", I make "Mechanical Modifications" completely different things...

It's on every lease and if i was a landlord id want it to be as well, 2 reasons

1) if it were allowed they could turn the back yard into a junk yard, run a home garage and plain just make a mess.
2) if the Tennant does work on cars anyway they have to make sure they leave the garage/surface spotless so the agents don't find out, A few of us use old rolls of carpet so if we accidentally spill anything, it gets caught!, makes things tons nicer to crawl under the car too.

Worst i've been busted is agent rocked up to do the other units inspection, there's me holding a clutch covered in grease and generally a mess! End of the day they didn't care as they were happy to have tenants in the property.

At the end of the day the agreement is what will hold up in court, not what they always wish to enforce.

Moral of the story, Pick better house mates... i had a shocker once that stole all the light bulbs when she moved out, she even took my kettle all while i was at work. i only found out when i got home she was moving out, she also took all my food, someone else i know that lived with her told me she stole his bin when she moved out... lol crazy bitch

[ari666]

lol crazy bitch

lmao!! good story man! i have know my 'mate' since i was 12 y/o, lived with him for the last 3 years, he only turned full retard recently

[PaRaDoX]

it happens, there is a side of people you see when you move in with them...

[Ado]

All i can say is im glad i dont rent.
Ari i hope it all gets sorted out.