Firm wants rent after departure
A property rental company in Dunedin is trying to get a tenant to pay three days of rent after he hands over the keys to the property.
Preetam Maid raised concerns with the Herald after Click Property Management — the firm he rents through — requested that he pay extra rent after he moves out.
Maid and his family will vacate the house on Falkland St on September 17, using a break lease option available to them in their tenancy agreement.
As per the contract, Maid paid Click Property Management administrative fees of one week’s rent plus GST and a re-advertising fee plus GST. “The property managers were happy that we paid it up front and they advertised the property online and a few tenants came in the same week and it got re-tenanted. They found the new tenant to take their lease from September onwards. They agreed to our last date as September 17,” he said.
However, the property manager is demanding an extra three days’ rent to complete an inspection and cleaning .
Managing director of Click Property Management, Andrea Elliot, told the Herald the extra days’ rent would ensure the owner would not suffer loss. “The extra three days is to arrange and carry out extra cleaning and other such requirements ie. smoke alarm checks and meth testing. It takes time to carry out these duties and the owner should not be disadvantaged in rental terms when the agreement is for the tenant’s benefit,” she said.
But Maid doesn’t think he is liable to pay the extra rent after he hands over his keys. He and his family have bought their first home, which is why they’ve pulled out of their contract early. After paying the break fees, Click confirmed Maid would be “vacating by no later than 17/9/18”.
“Why should we be liable for it?” Maid said. “[I would have thought] if you give the keys to the property manager, you are not liable for any extra rent.”
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said the landlord should not expect rent after someone moves out if they had agreed to end the fixed term.