A woman has hit back at critics after speaking about the difficulties of being a landlord. Estelle Landy, who appeared on Australia's Big Brother, recently shared a video in which she spoke about the downside of her job - but given the current cost of living crisis, she received an almighty backlash.
In her original video, Estelle appears on screen looking tearful as she explains that she has been crying all morning as a result of having to manage properties. She claims that the people in one of her properties owe her 'thousands' in unpaid rent. She also says that the tenant refuses to pay his water bill and won't have the bill transferred into his name - and she can't cut off the water to the property because it is considered an essential service.
Furthermore, the tenant in her second property has allegedly 'destroyed' the home, pulling doors off hinges, and ruining paintwork and the carpets by smoking. Estelle explained that while she has submitted applications to have the issues resolved, the process is long tedious and she has been struggling to keep up with the costs of owning the homes in the meantime. And, unfortunately for Estelle, because of the repairs needed on the properties, she has been told that she can't sell them until the tenants move out.
The video, which was posted on TikTok, attracted a lot of comments - many of them unfavourable to Estelle and other landlords. "Imagine hoarding resources and then crying on the internet about it," one person wrote. A second added: "The sweet sweet tears of a landlord." A third stated: "This is why property needs to be treated as a home and not an investment."
Following the backlash, Estelle spoke to news.com.au, saying that while she understands many renters are struggling and that there are certainly 'greedy and exploitative' landlords out there, there are people on both sides of the property divide that are suffering. She said: "There is a lack of tolerance to empathise with anyone else who is perceived to have 'more', which is strange because we are certainly part of the hustle generation' but we aren't allowed to hustle too hard or we will be cut down.
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"I don't know if people fully understand the costs for owners," she continued. "I do not believe that the tenant should bear the cost of the owner's property. I think it comes back to a fair and reasonable arrangement that is not exploitative. We see a lot of landlords passing on the costs directly to the tenants while not even keeping property to minimum living standards.
"The whole system needs a shake up. People are terrified, and rightfully so, of their futures because they are so uncertain with all things relating to basic living needs. I hope that our Government steps in and starts looking at what is a broken system, I hope that people can have some respite from what is a complete financial crisis."
Do you agree? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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