Reader Question
“I pay my rent every fortnight with my pay $880 on time. However, periodically I get messages from the agent saying I’m either in arrears or I have extra money in my account. One fortnight I received a message saying I had $465 excess so only pay $415 to make up rent.
“The following week, I was told I’m $880 in arrears and must pay that on top of the $880 for the fortnight to bring me up to date or I’ll get a default notice. When I asked for a copy of the ledger it was so confusing, I couldn’t work out what was going on. All I know is that since the tenancy began two years ago, I defaulted once and caught up and have not missed a payment since. I have bank statements demonstrating the regular fortnightly payments.
“I feel like I’m being asked to pay extra through some strange ledger manipulation. Do you have any advice on what I should I do about this?” – Paulette
When you think you’ve paid extra rent
We asked Training and Development Manager at Professionals, Jenni Wood for an answer to this question.
Jenni said it sounds as though there is a delay between when you pay your rent and when it is received and processed by your property manager.
“You are fully within your rights to request a copy of your tenant ledger, along with asking your property manager to assist you in understanding it,” she said.
Have a burning question you’d like answered? The Rent.com.au Community is our Facebook group for renters, agents and landlords.
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Jenni Wood
Jenni Wood is the Western Australian Regional Assessor with Harcourts Real Estate Training Centre (HRETC). With over 30 years of industry experience, Jenni is a Licensed Real Estate Agent and holds a Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment. She has worked with HRETC since July 2019. Before starting her role as the state's Regional Assessor, Jenni was the Academy Trainer with Harcourts Western Australia. She previously worked with REIWA's Property Management Network Committee as the co-chair between 2009-2019 and as Training & Development Manager for Professionals State Service Centre for WA and NT.
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Jenni Wood#molongui-disabled-link
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Jenni Wood#molongui-disabled-link
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Jenni Wood#molongui-disabled-link
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Jenni Wood#molongui-disabled-link
