Tenant exposes estate agent after receiving brutal email meant for landlord

22 May 2023 , 13:48

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The estate agent wanted to put the rent up hugely (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Any renter will tell you that working with landlords and estate agents doesn't come without its challenges, but as a resident, the very least you'll expect is respect and decency.

Sadly, that's the last thing one tenant received from their estate agent, as they mistakenly received an email meant for their landlord - and it uncovered some serious home truths.

The brutal message showed the Australian estate agent encouraging the landlord to raise their rent from $500 (£266.99) a week to $950 (£507.33).

If that wasn't bad enough, the justification for the rent increase was the tenant being "high maintenance" as they kept sending requests to the estate agent for faults to be repaired at the property.

They were not happy with what had happened (Don’t Rent Me/Facebook)

The email alleged the Australian renter had contacted the real estate agent "every day for two weeks" as their air con wasn't working.

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The shocking email said: "You'll recall the discussions I had with you earlier in the year about the 'high maintenance' nature of this particular tenant.

"Out of all the properties I manage, he has the most maintenance requests and occupies the most of my (and therefore your) time. On one occasion (the aircon) he called every day for two weeks. The receptions are sick of him."

They then revealed their sneaky way to try and get rid of the renter - and they weren't playing fair.

The estate agent continued: "In order to play this smooth you should offer to renew the lease but with an exorbitant increase.

"I don't think we'd get this much if we relisted, but we'd certainly get a bit of a boost not to mention the peace of mind of having a better tenant.

"If he agrees to the increase it's a surprise win."

The tenant was furious as he shared the post on Facebook, writing: "The scam is out in the open. Given that they've admitted to a punitive increase because I've asked them to repair their broken-down flat, can I take them to VCAT??"

VCAT is the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and people recommended reporting the estate agent to them.

In the comments, people were seething for the tenant, wondering why people being asked to do their job was such a bad thing.

One wrote: "I've never got why tenants requesting repairs is a bad thing? You want to know about things early to prevent them from getting bad and costing more."

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Someone raged: "Imagine needing s*** fixed at a property you rent and have someone call you high maintenance! That's disgusting!"

What would you do in this situation? Let us know in the comments.

Danielle Kate Wroe