The source of an Australian landlord’s distress is a penny.
The anonymous landlord vented his frustrations on a Facebook group asking people for guidance on how to address a tenant who shrinks the rent by one cent every week. The rent was discussed to be A$1,200.00 per week but the tenant has only been paying A$1,199.99.
Although most people would dismiss the issue as trivial, this landlord is getting worked up over the situation and he’s losing his sanity with the loss.
On the flip side, the tenant sees it as acceptable to send the payment with the one-cent weekly deduction.
“The property is a three bedder that my family used to reside in but that we’ve rented out for the last four years,” the landlord wrote online. “I rent direct to him and there have been no major issues in the past. We are three months into a 12-month lease.”
The landlord has been irritated that the tenant purposely pays less rent and he’s sure the short payment is intentional because the tenant used to pay the full amount. Although he let it go initially, it’s becoming a repeated occurrence and his wife told him to email the tenant to correct the payments.
In the tenant’s reply, he explains that he is following the rules as per the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) website. The ACC states that totals between one and nine cents can be rounded up or down and this tenant chose to round down.
“This clearly states that the amount is rounded to the $1,200.00 due and as such I consider the rent to be paid on time and in full. I request that you do not contact me about this again,” the tenant wrote.
The landlord has decided not to renew the lease but he still has another nine months left on the current contract. He’s contemplating two options; either to get the tenant to pay the rent in full or cut off connections with him.
With regards to which side is correct, the landlord wins the argument. According to Australian law, only cash transactions can be rounded so payments made electronically by the tenant don’t count.
Even though the landlord is right, it’s doubtful whether the fight for the unpaid 52 cents is worth the emotional turmoil.