A landlord has stunned an experienced real estate agent after they asked if they would still be paid rent after their tenant passed away.
Perth business manager of SOCO Realty Samantha Priddis said she couldn’t ‘even comprehend’ why that had been the landlord’s ‘first thought’.
‘The landlord’s response was, “well the lease hasn’t ended yet, will I keep getting rent?”‘ Ms Priddis said in a TikTok video recalling the interaction.
Aussies were quick to slam the landlord over the ‘greedy’ question.
‘It’s always the first thought of the landlord… money, money, money,’ one wrote.
‘The perfect example of why people hate landlords,’ another said.
‘Landlords = money and greed,’ a third said.
But Kristen Porter from ONO Legal said there were legal ramifications.
Perth real state agent Samantha Priddis (pictured) was shocked when a landlord asked if they would still be paid rent after their tenant passed away
Landlords have various legal options if their sole tenant dies (stock)
‘Not all procedures are written into law, such as dealing with executors, next of kin and releasing funds,’ Ms Porter told Yahoo Finance .
‘One example we have seen is where a sole tenant died and the supposed ‘next of kin’ was allowed access to the property to collect all belongings.
‘Rent paid past the end of the tenancy was refunded to this person.’
Ms Porter said landlords should follow their property managers’ advice when a tenant dies because the law differed around the country.
If the homeowner is self-managing a rental property, Ms Porter said they should try to get a copy of the death certificate to officially verify the death.
If the tenant died in the property, disclosures would need to be made to the new tenants if the property was rented out again.
In NSW, the tenancy contract doesn’t automatically end if a tenant dies.
Either the landlord or the tenant’s representative, which includes the executor or administrator of their estate, has to issue a termination notice.
ONO Legal’s Kristen Porter said it was important to follow the right steps if a tenant dies
That representative will be liable for rent until the home is returned to the landlord.
No notice is required in Tasmania if the tenant dies and the lease is suspended upon their death.
In the Northern Territory, if the sole tenant dies, the lease agreement is automatically terminated, even if other people are also living there.
In Queensland, the tenant’s relative or representative can give written notice to end the lease agreement which will end after 14 days.
The landlord can send a written notice to the relative or representative and that will also apply after 14 days.
It’s a similar in Victoria, with both the landlord and the tenant’s relative or representative able to terminate the lease.
In South Australia, the tenancy agreement ends 30 days after a tenant’s death.
In Western Australia, the Residential Tenancies Act says an agreement ends if the sole tenant dies and no one has to pay rent from that moment.
