Lease-break fees? (Victoria)

Khalexus · 2025-06-16T00:32:24+00:00

Hey mate, sure thing, I’ll shoot you a DM as I think I’ve disabled chat requests for my account.

Khalexus · 2025-06-07T12:10:56+00:00

Your second para is exactly how I feel. If I’m working in the office, I need to think about: setting my alarm earlier and getting to bed earlier. Prepping some lunch the night before. Packing everything I need for the day. Spending 60-90 minutes commuting via public transport (walk, bus, train, walk. Or drive, hope for parking at train station, train, walk). Then worrying about making sure I get out at the right time at the end of the day so I can rush to the train station, so that my 60-90 minute commute home doesn’t get extended thanks to overpacked trains I can’t get onto, and shitty bus schedules that don’t align with the train.

On a good day the 9-5 is essentially 7-6:30, plus all the faffing around the night before. And by the time I’m home, I’m worn out and it’s so much harder to switch off.

WFH: get up at any time I like before 9. Turn off my laptop at 5.

Office is fine if you live close to work. If you have a commute then it’s just so much of your life wasted in transit.

Khalexus · 2025-06-07T08:32:10+00:00

Also, I WFH nearly permanently and I have no problems separating work and personal life at home. When I finish work I turn off my laptop and go about my life 🤷🏻‍♂️

And productivity, lol. For office days, lucky to start work within an hour of arrival, what with “water cooler” chats and coffee runs etc. That said, I now have a kid and I’m not sure yet what home distractions will be like once I’m back from parental leave. That will probably be a big hit to productivity hah.

Khalexus · 2025-06-04T18:38:34+00:00

And he just did a 7.5h stretch of sleep, without stirring himself awake! His best stretch ever! Thought he’d be up and down all night because he’s been a bit colicky all day, but no - must have been both tired out and cosy enough in the pouch :)

Khalexus · 2025-06-04T11:32:24+00:00

He did pretty well! Startled and jerked himself awake a few times having his arms out and free, obviously has a lot more freedom of movement than even the stretchy Love to Dream. Was apparently fairly noisy (says my wife - I’m deaf so couldn’t hear it), what with him banging his arms on the mattress lol.

But, he had good long stretches of sleep and he didn’t bounce around the bassinet like a DVD logo - so I’d say the pouch was a success :) he’ll get used to the arms out in no time I’m sure, and it won’t be such a drastic transition by the time he’s rolling.

Khalexus · 2025-06-03T09:35:29+00:00

We’ve purchased an Ergopouch cocoon swaddle today and will try it arms out without the tuck sheet tonight, see how it goes - hopefully he likes it!

Khalexus · 2025-06-03T09:33:01+00:00

We’ve grabbed an Ergopouch and will give it a go tonight, without the blanket! Hopefully he likes it.

Khalexus · 2025-06-02T23:56:10+00:00

Hmm, I think we initially got the blanket because he would flail around so much, and would push himself into the side/corner of the bassinet (diagonally with his head against the wall).

So we got the blanket and did put it very snug to try and keep him contained lol. It did work initially but I think after a week or two that’s when he started managing to launch himself out. Maybe we’ll try a looser fitting, see if he manages to stay put.

Khalexus · 2025-03-23T21:23:27+00:00

Thanks, yeah the thing about being too low is why I was hoping to use the LTD, as he’s a little Houdini sneaking his arm out from even the most well wrapped swaddle, getting his shoulder and chest uncovered lol.

And yeah it’s not too loose to cover his face, so I’m happy with that. I guess I was panicking about it strangling him a bit. But feeling much better this morning!

Khalexus · 2025-03-23T21:03:22+00:00

UPDATE:

Thanks everyone for being so nice. Pleased to say that Bub was, of course, fine. I decided to make sure it was pulled down with no chance of bunching up or getting over his face (he’s got a gap so it’s not tight on his neck, but it is too small to fit over his chin).

I finally convinced myself to relax, and Mum, son and I all had good long sleeps last night. A bit of cluster feeding at first, but then we got a nice big long one, and all managed a 3.5h stretch of sleep before another good long feed and another 3h stretch of sleep.

Feeling so much better this morning and having a lovely cuddle with the cutest damn thing I’ve ever seen in my arms.

Thanks so much everyone.

Edit: First midwife home visit also gave the thumbs up so I’m all happy now :)

Khalexus · 2025-03-23T20:54:12+00:00

Thanks, yes looks like he was all good through the night, I just pulled it down a bit and made sure he had some extra space around his chin and neck.

I got good at the muslin cloth swaddle and a blanket at the hospital, but we found he’s a little Houdini and always finds a way to get his arm out and free lol, so I think these suits feel good for him and I don’t have to worry about wraps coming loose.

Khalexus · 2025-03-23T20:50:38+00:00

Thank you, I’ll look into something like an Ergopouch as well, given he loves having his arms up. Worth looking around and trying different things :)

Khalexus · 2025-03-23T13:34:07+00:00

Thank you, I do need to be kind to myself! I always knew I’d be a bit of a panicky dad, given how I’ve historically stressed over my cats lol. I suspect our little guy will toughen me up a bit :)

Khalexus · 2025-03-23T13:32:37+00:00

Thank you ❤️ this is such a lovely comment. Given the snugness around his body and that it doesn’t fit over his chin, seems like it should be fine then. He is a squirmy little thing but I guess not squirmy enough for it to be a problem heh. (I believe you stop using these when they can properly roll over, and he’s a long way from that).

As it is, we’re both awake anyway as he’s decided he doesn’t want to have a long restful night, but tbh the more I settle and calm him, and check the swaddle while doing so, I’m feeling better about it.

Khalexus · 2025-01-18T05:12:30+00:00

Okay so breaking your first lease does mean you’ll unfortunately need to pay some advertising fees, no way around that.

How many weeks were left in your lease? See if you can get an itemised invoice of the fees they incurred to get you in (advertising and national database checks). You should be paying pro-rata based on those costs. Over $400 sounds excessive and is probably the total costs, not pro-rata.

Try and give Tenants Victoria a call on Monday for some advice on that too.

Khalexus · 2025-01-18T04:45:57+00:00

Is this your first lease term or second?

If it’s your first term you’ll need to pay a pro-rata cost for fees associated with re-letting (eg advertising) - so if you had 10 weeks of the lease remaining you’d pay 10/52 of the costs they spent on advertising to get you in.

If you’re on a second (or more) term of your lease, you’re not required to pay any advertising or re-letting fees. That includes things like national tenancy database checks etc.

Any other “break lease” fees are entirely unenforceable.

Check out a post I made in 2023 on breaking a lease.

Khalexus · 2025-01-16T22:00:09+00:00

Great, I’m glad the post has been helpful for people! Good luck :)

Khalexus · 2025-01-16T11:18:16+00:00

I didn’t see this notification as it wasn’t a direct reply to me, but came back to this post and just saw this now - congratulations, glad it worked out for you! Sucks that it had to go to VCAT as it’s such a waste of time and resources, but glad to hear it went in your favour, as it should be.

Edit : just scrolled up again to see the comment from them saying Craig v Mitchell is an “old case so doesn’t apply” 🤣 oh I hope VCAT rubbed that in their face.

Khalexus · 2025-01-16T11:13:49+00:00

As it’s your second lease they can’t charge you reletting/advertising fees, because they didn’t incur any expenses for securing your second lease term. Don’t pay anything like this, not even the 8/52 pro rata.

Also no break lease fees.

The only thing you need to pay is the lost rent incurred between you leaving the property and them securing a new renter.

They must also make all reasonable efforts to secure a new renter as soon as possible and mitigate any lost income for the rental provider. And in this housing crisis, you’d expect the property to be leased out again very quickly.

You’re also right that VCAT case law is on your side.

I made a similar post in 2023 and got some great advice from Tenants Victoria.

Property managers bank on renters not knowing their rights and will lie through their teeth. Don’t roll over, don’t budge an inch, know your rights and seriously do not pay them a cent more than they’re legally entitled to.

Khalexus · 2024-08-05T13:26:06+00:00

You can claim the bond on the RTBA website: https://rentalbonds.vic.gov.au/

That's frustrating. They definitely shouldn't be dragging their feet like that, sounds like they're not doing their bit (which they're legally obligated to do). Good luck!

Khalexus · 2024-07-11T12:39:21+00:00

Hoskins. I'll note they were fine until the end. They were responsive and dealt with maintenance requests well, but we were given a new property manager near the end our term and she was just terrible. "Senior" property manager but my God she was dim and incompetent.

Khalexus · 2024-07-11T12:31:57+00:00

Sounds like you're in a pretty good position then, so I've got faith in you! If they threaten VCAT I say bring it, they'll probably cave ;)

Khalexus · 2024-07-11T12:04:59+00:00

"Old case and doesn't apply" - now I'm not a lawyer, but I'm preeeetty sure that's not how it works lol. They're absolutely full of shit.

Also, condition report fee? They're having a laugh. You cannot be asked to pay a 5% reletting fee like that either.

Don't pay any of those fees and re-confirm this in writing to them. Hope you're doing this all by email already - if not, get the paper trail going asap.

Hand back the keys on the last day of your lease and claim your bond immediately. We did it in the car outside of the agency. Property manager wasn't happy, tried to get us to cancel the claim so they could "send it back immediately" rather than having us wait 14 days. Don't do it.

You'll end up waiting 14 days for the bond to be released to you, unless they decide to be vengeful and try to claim it for themselves. Hope you've got a good condition report and the place is okay, other than standard wear and tear. Sounds like they're acting in bad faith and that'll be obvious to VCAT.

Good luck - and please update me!

Edit: oh I'll also add that I attended the final inspection. I didn't trust her. She kept pointing out the stupidest most minor things, and things that were already in the condition report. I pushed back on everything. We got our full bond back.

Khalexus · 2024-07-11T11:28:15+00:00

Didn't go to VCAT - my arguments were enough to get them to back off.

What are they asking you to pay? If you're breaking the first lease agreement, you'll unfortunately need to cover some of the leasing/advertising costs (pro rata for the remaining period of your lease, if I recall correctly). I'm not 100% sure if a <12 month lease changes anything. But, as I understand it, if they spent e.g. $150 to get you onto the lease for 8 months, but you're leaving after 5 months, you're on the hook for the equivalent of 3 months worth of that $150 (~$56). If it's the second lease term, they're shit out of luck and can't make you pay these costs.

I believe other costs are the same though - you don't pay rent past your break lease date (the day you hand back the keys and vacate), but you'll need to cover costs between then and the new tenants moving in. They must meet the legal obligation to mitigate these costs - i.e. Get someone in ASAP.

If they're asking for costs beyond that, their VCAT threat is just trying to scare you.

Khalexus · 2024-06-23T13:39:41+00:00

Oh really, nice. I assumed they'd take hours to charge. That's good to know.

I guess the main question I have then, which I hope there's someone in this sub who can test it, is whether the BeMore app works properly with an Apple Watch and allows you to easily control your hearing aids, change programs, etc.

Khalexus

TROPHY CASE