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Collapsed ceilings and black mould: Government urged to act on terrible rentals

When Madeline Cooper’s hallway ceiling partially collapsed, she didn’t anticipate her landlord would take eight months to fix the issue.
The repair followed months of “constant hassling”, with Cooper describing how she became an expert in tenancy law and dug through legislation to find out her rights.
“My feeling is that if that ceiling had collapsed right now in a workplace, WorkSafe would be on site investigating it,” she said on Monday, holding up a photo of the damage at her rental property in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond.

“There would be severe consequences for that employer, but just because it’s the place that I happen to live, apparently it’s okay for my ceiling to collapse and for it to take eight months to be fixed.”

Madeline Cooper’s ceiling collapsed overnight and took eight months to be repaired. Credit: Supplied/Better Renting

She is calling for the “power imbalance” between landlords, rental agents and renters to be addressed by the federal government.

Cooper and roughly 20 renters from across the country arrived in Canberra on Monday, with books in their hands depicting the abhorrent conditions of properties neglected by landlords.
From mushrooms growing in showers to homes damaged from fires due to poor electrical wiring, the photos paint a grim picture of renting in Australia.

Many images showed black mould left unaddressed in bathrooms and kitchens, posing a danger to its tenants.

A melted airconditioner.

Air conditioning unit melted by fire after home had failed compliance checks. Credit: Supplied/Better Renting

Black garbage bags cover a ceiling in another photo. It reportedly collapsed after maintenance requests for a sagging ceiling were repeatedly ignored by the landlord.

Joel Dignam, executive director of Better Renting, said the book created a “visual anthology of conditions that renters face” as he prepared to hand it out to politicians in Parliament House.

“In the current rental market, with things so tight, we have gone to a culture where landlords and real estate agents can act with impunity, and renters are so worried about retaliation, it’s really hard for them to stand up for themselves,” he said.

Split image, on the left are mushrooms growing from a shower. On the right damage damage from a fire, with charred walls.

On the left mushrooms are growing inside a shower. On the right damage charred walls from a fire. Credit: Supplied/Better Renting

The group’s Cost of Renting report, which surveyed 1400 people between May and June, found 59 per cent of renters feared retaliation and failed to report issues with their homes as a result in the last 12 months alone.

Dignam said the data showed nine in 10 tenants had been hit with a rent increase over the same period, with a median hike of 11 per cent.

He added that there was a real sense that even if you can afford a home now, your future was uncertain and many Australians lived “in fear of homelessness”.

A woman talks animatedly as she holds up a book with rental property pictures.

Madeline Cooper met with politicians on Monday, showing them images of rental neglect across the country.

What can the government do to address the problem?

Better Renting is urging the government to strengthen rental protections across the country, and limit rental increases.

They also advocated for better and more consistent rental standards, noting that many properties did not meet accessibility standards.

Dingam said for rental laws to work the government needed to play a stronger role in ensuring accountability.
Independent senator David Pocock echoed Better Renting’s calls for the Commonwealth to work with states and territories to enforce rental laws.
“The federal parliament needs to step up to work with states and territories to ensure that Australians have accessible, affordable homes that are not full of mould, because we’re kidding ourselves when we when we think that no one is paying the cost of that,” he said.

“We’re all paying the cost of people living in rental stress, of living in unsafe conditions, and then having to turn up and get medical treatment for that.”

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