A young couple have been left fuming after being locked in a battle with their landlord and property manager over multiple leaks in their rental, which have allegedly gone unaddressed for months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Pablo Martinez, 27, and his girlfriend had been living in a three-bedroom apartment in North Sydney happily for over two years and the pair signed on to renew their lease for a further six months in early May.<\/p>\n
The apartment, which costs $1225 a week, started leaking during the torrential rain that hit Sydney in late May.<\/p>\n
The leaks are in the hallway, lounge room, bathroom and on the balcony, which is then leaking into the third bedroom, turning their home into a disaster.<\/p>\n
Speaking to news.com.au, Mr Martinez said he is fed up with waiting around for the landlord to fix the problems, claiming he raised the issue over two months ago and nothing has been fixed.<\/p>\n
Mr Martinez rents the apartment and has found it impossible to get a resolution through the property market.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve just started to fix it, but just one problem, and they haven\u2019t given a date for when they are fixing the rest of them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast Friday an electrician came to check a few lights that were off because of the water ingress.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Martinez claims that he flagged the leaking issues with the real estate as soon as the problem occurred but it took weeks for someone to even come out and inspect the property to assess the damage.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one came for weeks and the stains started getting worse on the carpet and on the wardrobe. There\u2019s mould everywhere,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old said, by the time a tradie did come out to check on the apartment, he was very concerned about the water damage in the third bedroom.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was checking the wall in the third bedroom and he said, \u2018mate, you\u2019ve got a big problem of mould and moisture in this wall\u2019. He said the problem was bad,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
The tradie also went into the bathroom and claimed there was \u201cmoisture everywhere\u201d, which further concerned Mr Martinez, who isn\u2019t comfortable living in a mould-riddled apartment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t smell but, for example, in the third bedroom it is cooler because it is wet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Martinez said the balcony leak is now finally being fixed, but that is the least of his worries.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re just fixing one problem but it isn\u2019t the worst one,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He is now far most concerned about a water leak coming from the ceiling that is right near a light.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m now afraid that the leaking water could get into the electrical stuff and, at any moment, we could have a fire in the apartment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In an email seen by news.com.au, the electrician who visited the property said a light fitting was \u201ccompletely filled with water\u201d that had to be dried out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis indicates that the underlying issue is inadequate waterproofing at the property. This matter is the responsibility of the strata and should be referred to them for rectification to prevent further damage or safety hazards,\u201d the email read.<\/p>\n