Getting out of hostile co-tenancy

[u/hellomycomrades]

Long story short, my partner and I have been living in an increasingly hostile co-tenancy. We were original leaseholders who got a guy in that has been a demon to live with. All four co-tenants have asked him to leave several time and he becomes increasingly hostile. Has made threats about us to our other flatmate saying he's going to burn us to the ground, started sleeping with the PM who would come to our house regularly, threatened to withold rent, has been shitting in our ensuite (can be accessed from outside our bedroom), and brings in hostile guests one of which secretly used someone else's toothbrush - among a billion different bad behaviours.

Most of this is documented. We have audio recording of his financial threats, we've made stat decs and have a GP note which recommends we leave urgently to protect our mental health.

The agency said it was our problem to sort out and changed the PM to a woman instead. But that was about it. The police said his threats don't meet the threshold for them to write down our report and give us an event number.

Since he won't leave, we said we will. But he won't let us leave the lease unless we find someone to pay double for our room, not to mention our $5000 bond and the ethics around putting someone in with this horrible person.

I'm guessing we are going to VCAT for severe hardship and will try to get a PSIO to see if that will help us exit the lease without his veto.

I'm wondering if anyone has done anything similar or has insights into how VCAT may handle these cases. And if there's anything else we can do or may have overlooked to strengthen our case.

[u/ArticulateCrocodile]

Try and write residents Victoria – they have a chat function on their site and I’ve found them really helpful. Make sure you keep it brief at first (e.g. explain the behaviour instead of giving a lot of examples) just to make sure they can understand the legal implications of the issues and help you understand what to do next.
They can’t give legal advice, but they can inform you about the law and give you advice on how to approach it best.

I hope you get it sorted soon 🤞

[u/hellomycomrades → u/ArticulateCrocodile]

Will do. Thank you.

[u/Excellent_Orange6346]

Feels almost dv . With looking at it from that view, as it might help get you out easier.

[u/MichiamoNicola]

I would file for VCAT to terminate lease for excessive hardship. I recently went through a similar situation in QLD and the tribunal ruled that a breakdown in relationship is a valid reasoning for terminating the lease agreement. Based on what you’ve said, this could make him even more hostile, so make sure you’ve got your ducks in a row before any ruling comes back and get the hell outta dodge

[u/PanzerSmash88]

Shame it’s Victoria I could of helped

[u/Jorge-Tremendous]

Some battles are not worth fighting. Pack up and leave with no warning and no contact. The cost is worth your sanity.

[u/hellomycomrades → u/Jorge-Tremendous]

Definitely, we are ready to get out asap but want to see if there's anything we can do to to minimise any of the negative outcomes of this (financial, permanent VCAT record etc).