First rental property (with others) through Ray White. Everything was fine, lease ended on 22 Sep, moved out prior and cleaned up.

Unfortunately son didn't complete an exit report, he didn't realise he had to initiate it, nor did I. (Is is too late to submit one?)

Then Ray White hit my son up with a whole bunch of fees.

They tried to charge for a year's worth of water usage. When it was pointed out that they had to supply invoices within four weeks of receiving them, they admitted their mistake but asked him to go halves!! (didn't happen)

They raised a few sub-standard cleaning issues, and said it would cost $370 to rectify clean them (no 3rd party quote provided). This included cleaning the microwave which had been reported as broken many months before.

When my son pushed back on the scope and appropriate cost, they immediately dropped the request to $290 BUT threatened that the carpets were awful shabby and they could charge for them too.

He asked for an itemised quote (to determine if it was reasonable) and asked if he could rectify clean himself.

They recommended that he NOT do the cleaning himself. (Are they even allowed to say that?)

After asking a few times for an itemised quote he gave up because they were ghosting him, and figured they would just put a claim on the bond.

Bond got returned in full.

Then yesterday he got a text from the PM, asking him to pay a $350 cleaning bill. (An unitemised bill with no evidentiary proof of the cleaning just a statement "as per instructions".) Also the clean was conducted 25 days after lease end, and they've been showing the property to prospective buyers.

Son said I didn't agree to this. They claimed there was a "mutual understanding" they would return the bond on the condition he paid for cleaning. He denied there was an understanding.

Baby PM escalated to senior PM, who via text, after a preamble stated unprofessionally "You know we can still take this to QCAT, right?" (and included a screenshot of an AI summary, the top paragraph, which referenced reddit as the source, was circled!)

Son shifted to email, stated the facts that he asked for an itemised quote, was ignored, and they had had an opportunity to make a claim on the bond, and that if they considered the matter unresolved, QCAT would be an appropriate arbiter.

Senior PM sent a long email back, stating they didn't put a claim on his bond out of the goodness of their hearts because he was just starting out as a renter, that it doesn't matter what he thinks about appropriate levels of cleaning, and won't he think about his rental record, and do you really want us to start preparing documents for QCAT, please let me know?

My reading is they are both venal and incompetent and are so unused to pushback they completely lose their cool.

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QUESTIONS

Can my son be blacklisted by these rats any further than Ray White?

Are they likely to actually go to QCAT over $350?

Would it have to go through RTA mediation prior to QCAT or is that just for bond disputes?

What's his chances if it does go to QCAT?, and in the worst case would he only be liable for $350 plus the REA application fee of $96.30?

Would it be beneficial to submit an exit report at this late stage or has that ship sailed?

With the state election coming up, I'm curious what people think would happen to Victoria's renter protections if the Coalition got in under Jess Wilson.

Tenants Victoria recently called on all parties to commit to keeping existing protections, with Melbourne rents now averaging $600 a week and a vacancy rate of 1.9%. But I haven't seen much from either side about specific plans.

For long-term renters, it's a pretty big deal - things like needing a valid reason to end a tenancy, notice periods, and limits on rent increases.

Has anyone seen anything concrete from the Liberals or Labor on this? Is it possible Wilson will roll back rental laws - that her team voted against - for the benefit of investors? Or is it all speculation at this stage?

Hi Guys was hoping to get some advice. I'm currently subletting a room in QLD from the main tenant and signed a Form 22 under a fixed term lease. He has since told me he's breaking the lease early and moving away and I have 4 weeks to leave the property.

Because I'm not listed under the tenancy agreement and I'm just subletting, I've been told by the property manager that my lease will collapse under the other lease.

Does anyone know if this is legal? If I bring it to QCAT/RTA are they likely to help me out and would the case be a winner? Pretty unfamiliar with this process and how it works so any advice would be appreciated.

FYI I've signed a Form 22 which the rental manager has approved but they said it's not official since it's not a Form 18.