A Sydney renter had to threaten to take their landlord to court after copping a $628 demand over a tiny, barely visible blemish on the floor.
Their landlord reportedly claimed they would need to replace all the floor boards because of the damage incurred.
As a result, the tenant received a demand for a $628 USD payment.
The renter labelled this as “ridiculous” and advised the landlord that they would be taking the matter to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).
Taking to Reddit, the unnamed renter implored those on the social network “Just want to ask if it sounds ridiculous to you that my landlord wants to charge $628 USD for a minimal scratch on a panel of a timber floor?”
Social media users thought it was a rort.
“Yeah it sounds like the landlord is trying to get them to pay for new floors,” one person wrote.
“If it’s careless damage the tenant could be up for paying … but $1k [$628 USD] seems excessive if it’s not a large scratch,” another added.
After warning the landlord of their plans to go to court, the poster said they and their partner eventually reached an agreement to pay $314 USD to the landlord and to drop their NCAT case.
Even that was considered steep for the small scratch.
“I hope she spends that $500 [$314 USD] well because if I wasn’t with my partner, I would’ve gone to court,” the tenant added.
It comes as other renters have taken to social media to vent about the ways in which their landlords have tried to squeeze them for every penny they had.
Some other bizarre demands included $62 USD for a tea towel left in the cupboard after a renter moved out and $10 USD for “leaving a teaspoon in the dishwasher”.
The latter renter claimed they were charged this despite there being rubbish in the garage and cockroaches throughout the kitchen when they first moved into the property.
There were multiple people who claimed they were told it would cost anywhere between $63 USD and $189 USD to change a light bulb.
Another also experienced issues around light bulbs, being charged a “rubbish removal” fee for spare bulbs left in the cupboard when they moved out, despite them being there when they moved in and documented in the condition report.
Some of the more shocking examples include one real estate allegedly attempting to take a tenant’s whole $1,800 USD bond over a 6mm mark on “42-year-old carpets”.