Between a rock and a hard place

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Right...all that is good advice.

Yes, I also don't know the codes there. I will have to look them up.

Surge protectors protect electronics from surges in power and they also allow you to plug in multiple items in one outlet. If the outlet can't handle enough amps, the breaker will keep tripping over and over.

I see what you mean now. Yes, it's possible if you are nice it might help the first time. The concerning thing is these people are already sort of shady to the OP. However, if there are no other problems once he gets these fixed, then being nice might just be good. However, it might have already been ruined because of his friend. I think you still have to put the repair requests in writing in that country (or, in most countries). Therefor, the OP should start by writing up a maintenance request and see what happens. Verbal will often be ignored. If it's in writing, it's a legal document. Make a copy for yourself and date it.

It really depends on HOW faulty the wiring is.

In the UK, the process would have been simpler. All he would have had to do is let his Council know about what's going on. The Councils tend to be really good about these things.

This is because people pay lots of "council tax."

Last edited by kraftiekortie on 28 Jul 2014, 10:20 am, edited 1 time in total.

You also have to research the STATE that he's in. He's in South Australia. Like the US, many things in Australia are done on a state basis.

The UK is good for some things. I didn't know that, though. That's cool.

Interestingly, I didn't know Australia had states. I'm embarrassed. I will do that. Do codes and tenant rights vary from state to state and possibly city, too? For example, could one state have a code and then a city within that state have even more codes (including the state ones)?

Further example:

I'm pretty sure California has general codes and state rights, but San Francisco (I think) has a special process for mold problems and I think it's a more specific code violation due to the health hazards and mold issues there. I will have to look this up, though. I'm remembering this from last year when I was looking up mold codes in LA. Edit: Ahh, by "mold codes" I mean health violations concerning mold. I was speaking about health code violations.

Last edited by bleh12345 on 28 Jul 2014, 10:12 am, edited 1 time in total.

Here's a good place to start.

Sorry I don't have the time to help with the research.

It's: www.tenanthelp.com.au

Thanks. It's no problem. I love digging through and interpreting laws. It's a hobby...

I might have to do this later, though. I have adult things to do, OP. *groans*..... I wish I was a kid again. We wouldn't have to deal with all of this adult stuff.

Trust me, it's better dealing with "adult stuff," rather than staying a kid. I see many people on this Site who are ambivalent. They want to stay a kid, yet they get anxious that they will never "grow up." It's better to at least aspire to be grownup.

I think they have federal Australian tenant laws---but I also think some are state-specific, or even city-specific,--like it is in the US.

OK, I will check on the differences in Australia regarding federal/state/city.

I would have an easier time dealing with adult stuff if other adults weren't so mean. I really do understand why people here want to stay a kid but are afraid they won't grow up. It's kind of like they attempt to be grown up, but then regress into a child like state when they fail. I do this. :[

It might take time. The most important thing is that you're aspiring to not be a kid, rather than giving up totally.

It would be a pity that all this incentive, all this knowledge, and all this experience is wasted.

Most people, in my experience, are not "mean." They tend to be "meaner" within a lower socio-economic situation, though. This is why you're going to college--to get out of that crap.

I will still be a kid at heart, though.

In my experience, a lot of people are VERY mean, but this probably has more to do with my inability to stick up for myself. I just don't want the OP to go through that. When you are abused, you tend to be in those situations again (or just be bullied in general) unless you actively fight against it. Also, if you are naive, you may not know when you are being used.

In my experience, the poorest of the poor have been the nicest to me. People slightly under the FPL are also very nice. However, if they have some sort of power over me (boss, landlord, manager, etc.) they usually end up being very mean. This is just my experience, though.

People who are middle class have mostly been the bullies in my life. :O

Seriously, though. Being in this situation has taught me that poor people need more resources. I really want to help them. Being poor should not mean being taken advantage of. I hope that if I make it to middle/upper middle class that I can help. One of my goals is to move to a somewhat blighted neighborhood and help people make repairs on their homes and improve their community. The worst thing you can have in a city (in my opinion) is CONCENTRATED poverty. If you have communities of varying income levels, everyone would be better of. I want to help make that happen. I also want to help other disabled people find safe housing, as a lot of us tend to have low incomes.

I can't imagine what it's like in NYC, kraftie. The horrors some tenants an landlords have....just wow.

In a strange way that actually does make me feel better
It beats being nagged by Mum.

Yeah, I know unbogging the bog is an easy job. I was just mad that I keep forgetting things.

I've got several of those. In this case the breaker broke when I turned the kettle on. The kettle wasn't plugged into the surge protector so the load on the surge protector was just the computer and TVs but the load on the breaker included the computer and TVs and the kettle.

A lot of electrical gadgets? Yeah. People think it's strange that I have two big screen TVs in the same room. Soon I hope to get a third one.

Yes that may happen but I don't know what the future holds so I'll just have to wait and see. The thing I don't like about assuming the worst is that it involves make an assumption.

He is but since he's an alcoholic he can make errors in judgement. Before he started drinking he was really smart. Now he's a smart idiot. I can still see hints of his former intelligence.

In Australia no heating isn't quite as serious a problem as it would be in parts of America. I'm at the south end, further from the equator so while Adelaide actually does have a winter (unlike the northern half) it still stays above freezing. Also the Intel space heater I'm typing into puts out a lot of heat, as do the two large plasma TV sets.

Muchly appreciated. Even though I live here I don't know much about law.

I'm sure that's fixable and they may replace the 30 year old air conditioner but the shower has fundemental design flaws that may not be completely fixable without repouring the concrete floor, an idea they tersely dismissed.

Which to choose. Making nice seems to help me some of the time too. Some of the time. Did it himself? I'm pretty sure the landlord built the entire house himself. It's a granny flat he built behind one of his other tenants. The electrician said some of the flat's wiring is made up of old extension cords.

Also is there any way to turn on the sensor on a sensor light? It seems to be stuck in manual mode. If I could get it to run on sensor it would save me having to leave the living room light on just so I can find the keyhole. It would also make it easier to walk through the pitch dark obstacle course that is the other tenants back yard.

Maybe that's another one for the maintenance guys but I was hoping there was a simple way to put it into maintenance mode. If I make too many demands at once they might dismiss me as a housochondriac.

Yeah, I've been taking pictures. Not all on moving day. There were too many boxes everywhere and after that I was busy. I hope they don't demand the pictures be from the exact same date I moved in. Actually the lease starts on the day before moving day but I didn't get home from work until night time and the electricity hadn't been turned on yet.

Damn it I hope I remembered to write the cracked counter tiles in the report. I keep forgetting stuff like that.

Maybe. Or maybe I can recover it. Fortunately we only stressed out one of the agents, not the landlord. She doesn't care because she doesn't pay for maintenance and the landlord hasn't met my insufferable friend yet.

It would have been simpler if I could have gotten into subsidised housing but the commission sold of most of their houses to pay off their debts. But they were usually pretty good about maintenance. Also I'd get a larger house for lower rent.

Being a kid is overrated. I should know. I've been a kid for 26 years.

I guess as bleh12345 I shouldn't take imperfection as a sign of childishness. I guess I just have to puzzle things out instead of thinking I failed by not knowing the answer instantly.

Most people, in my experience, are not "mean." They tend to be "meaner" within a lower socio-economic situation, though. This is why you're going to college--to get out of that crap.[/quote]
I should too. I've resigned from my job because the employment agent said she could get me a higher paying job (both my old job and the employment agency are government funded, they made me resign so I wasn't double dipping ). I just hope I don't get too comfortable in that other job or it will conflict with college. Maybe I could do half and half for a while. It could help my resume if I've had another job. Maybe I could just go all out but if I get a job it seems bad to turn down a job offer. But wasting more time could also bad. All this and I haven't picked a field of study yet.


Anyway, my father suggested I should go not to appear more impressive (my idea) but to have economic independence from the increasingly unstable and unpredictable Australian government.
I've seen meanness at all three levels. The poor can be nice or they can be bogans and chavs. The self made millionaires sometimes talk as though they don't understand why everyone isn't a self made millionaire and the thing that bugs me about the middle class is how they try to pass for upper class. Some middle class are just cashed up professional bogans.

Maybe you could setup a housing cooperative. I was thinking of signing up for one of those myself since they're disbanding the housing commission.

I didn't think there were any poor people left in New York since they upped the rent.

"He is but since he's an alcoholic he can make errors in judgement. Before he started drinking he was really smart. Now he's a smart idiot. I can still see hints of his former intelligence."

I might have missed the fact of him being an alcoholic in your first post. If I did, I'm sorry. I see your point now completely.

"In Australia no heating isn't quite as serious a problem as it would be in parts of America. I'm at the south end, further from the equator so while Adelaide actually does have a winter (unlike the northern half) it still stays above freezing. Also the Intel space heater I'm typing into puts out a lot of heat, as do the two large plasma TV sets."

I assumed you were in the USA for some reason. I was being close minded. Whoops.

"I'm sure that's fixable and they may replace the 30 year old air conditioner but the shower has fundemental design flaws that may not be completely fixable without repouring the concrete floor, an idea they tersely dismissed. "
"I'm pretty sure the landlord built the entire house himself. It's a granny flat he built behind one of his other tenants. The electrician said some of the flat's wiring is made up of old extension cords."

All of this concerns me now. This might be an illegal housing situation depending on the laws there, but I'm not sure. I hate to bring up your friend again, but he really might be seeing a few violations that he didn't tell you about. I would ask him directly why he is trying to break the lease. He might have seen this stuff before and know they are bad people to be dealing with.

All of your situation so far screams "RUN" to me. Especially about them dismissing the design flaws when it's leaking, and freaking EXTENSION CORDS MAKE UP THE WIRING? Yeah, this is a fire risk.

I'm afraid I don't have any ideas about the sensor. I will do my best to learn. Do you have the model or a picture of what the sensor light looks like? My initial thought is there is a switch or directions on how to put it in manual mode. This might be something to ask the manager about. You could say this: "I have noticed the motion sensor light is only turned on manually. Usually, you can turn it back to where it comes on by sensor only. Do you think you could show me if there is a switch or give me directions so I can turn it back?" You would be doing it yourself and it's probably very easy. It's possible it's old, because if the light is working that means the sensor SHOULD be working.

I also found this answer that may be your solution:
"Most likely the main house power was off, either because a storm passed through, or the utility company did work in your neighborhood. When these light fixtures get hit with a surge, they can become set on. Turn the light switch on the fixture to a fully off position for 10 minutes and then turn it back on again. It will re-set itself and operate properly once more." This seems kind of likely given your situation.

By the way, NYC has lots of poor people. They now have to cram a lot of people into one apartment or are homeless, though. Or I guess you could rent a room if you could afford that.

No, I didn't mention it. He can be annoying but he's useful so I keep him around. He blows hot and cold. On another day he may've been completely civil.


I assumed you were in the USA for some reason. I was being close minded. Whoops. [/quote]

I'd still like them to fix the heat. It never freezes here but sometimes it hovers a little way above freezing in winter (now). None of the houses here have central heating or basements. For me heating is more about comfort than actual safety. I guess in parts of America having the furnace break could be dangerous rather than annoying.

Anyway, even if I was American, there must be parts of the US where it never drops below freezing.



Afterwards he told me why he was trying to break the lease. He didn't intend for me to move out, he said he was trying to bluff them into action. But sometimes you get called on your bluff. I really don't like lying because people tend to call you out if your facts are inconsistant. Then again people can tell inconsistant stories even when they're not trying to lie.



The switch only has on and off and I keep off whenever I don't want it lit up, which is most of the time so it's been more than 10 minutes. The sensor light at Mum's house has a light switch identical in appearance to all the other light switches in the house yet it does a three way toggle between off, sensor and on. Maybe the one here is on a simple two way switch.



Ahh. I guess it was my turn to be close minded. I just thought poor people wouldn't want to live in a city with high rent. I guess they have to live their if they want to avoid a long commute.






I wouldn't worry too much about city codes. South Australia only has one major city.

Crap. No wonder it was cold in here. I just noticed the window's been open for the last nine days but I didn't notice because the curtains were drawn.

I seriously lol'ed at that, but it's a good thing you found it out. It sounds like something I did before. T.T Hopefully you will be comfortable now.

Maybe just put the repair requests in writing for now, then. However, using the extension cord still worries me. If he wired the house like that, and the extension cords are in the walls, that is a HUGE fire hazard. Just a warning. If the extension cords aren't in the walls, it should be fine.

The shower thing could be an issue. They might try to withhold your deposit if you made one or even sue you for water damage to the floor and mold WILL grow if you don't clean it up. Can you manage to take a picture of it so we can offer solutions?

By the way, many poor people don't want to live in NYC, but they can't get out. You can't save money when it all goes to rent. You can't exactly move if you don't have a job and money. Furthermore, I have read a lot of people saying something about poor people in LA. They say something like: "If you can't afford the housing here, MOVE. We don't want you here." Mhm. Who will work at the grocery stores, who will be the medical assistants, who will take out your trash, who will be a janitor, fast food worker, and all of the other crappy low paying occupations? Sometimes, I really wish all of the poor people WOULD move out. People would be in crisis without their cheap labor that they treat like sh*t.

Last edited by bleh12345 on 28 Jul 2014, 2:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.