QUESTION: Our landlords are nice enough people but they live in the apartment above ours and they are always “popping down” for a chat or, even worse, peering over the balcony when we have friends round.
We like our apartment otherwise but this is becoming intrusive. Is there any way we can stop them doing this without offending them and maybe even being kicked out at the end of our lease? – Overlooked, Manly.
ANSWER: You can probably stop them spying on you and checking up on your visitors but they sound like the kind of people who might take offence when you tell them that their sticky-beak activities are unreasonable and upsetting.
The law is quite specific about the notice landlords have to give before they inspect their properties under normal circumstances – seven days warning and no more than four times a year – but that doesn’t take into account their close proximity.
So the question really is, how bad is it and how upset would you be if relations soured and you had to move out? Realistically, a polite chat at lease renewal time could save you a lot of grief, one way or another, further down the track.
For more information, download factsheet No 8 from www.tenants.org.au.