MAFS ‘intruder’ in court
Reality TV contestant pleads guilty to breach of tenancy laws
A Tasmanian nurse and former Married At First Sight contestant has pleaded guilty to one count of receiving a security deposit from or on behalf of a tenant in relation to a residential tenancy agreement.
Tayla Winter is the landlord and owner of a two-bedroom unit in Bellerive, the Hobart Magistrates Court heard on Tuesday.
Magistrate Chris Webster was told Ms Winter’s tenant advised her he was looking for a larger home and offered to re-let Ms Winter’s property himself at the end of his lease.
The court heard Ms Winter told her former tenant to collect the bond from the new tenant – which is a breach of Tasmania’s residential tenancy laws.
The court also heard Ms Winter refused to return the full bond at the end of the lease to the new tenant, withholding $300 out of the $1800.
But Ms Winter, representing herself, told the court her apartment had been damaged during the tenant’s stay, and that the amount of damage “well exceeded what I withheld”.
In a statutory declaration written by the former tenant, he described Ms Winter as displaying “immense kindness and trust” throughout his tenancy.
The court heard the residential tenancy commissioner became aware of the matter in May 2023.
The court heard Ms Winter had been investigated for a similar complaint in 2019, but was never charged.
Mr Webster said Ms Winter “knew what to do” when withholding bond – as she’d faced a similar case before.
Ms Winter disagreed and said at the time, although she was the owner of the property, her parents were “in control of the financial situation” as she’d been assaulted by a client at her workplace.
Mr Webster said the reason for the bond laws was to prevent “evil landlords” from holding funds directly.
Mr Webster did not record a conviction, but fined Ms Winter $400
Ms Winter entered the reality TV show Married At First Sight as one half of an “intruder couple” in February 2023 and later quit the show.