Tenants protest ‘Australia’s worst landlord’

Sarah Rogerson
Naarm/Melbourne
February 26, 2011
Issue 
870
News

Landlord and tow truck operator Frank Cassar owns rental properties and rooming houses around Fitzroy, Clifton Hill and Elsternwick.

He has ignored dozens of fines and orders imposed by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and the Magistrate’s Court since 1999 for his flagrant violation of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997.

Consumer Affairs Victoria, the government body with the power to prosecute, has vowed to take him on. But so far, there has been no action.

It is estimated that Cassar has racked up more than $60,000 in fines and other money owed to tenants for offences such as taking bonds and failing to lodge or return them, failing to provide condition reports and statements of rights and duties, and improperly obtaining possession of premises (that is, illegal evictions).

He is alleged to have entered people’s houses without proper notification and demanded money from tenants when no money is owed. He was also charged with failing to comply with the tribunal’s orders for him to repay bonds and unused rent to former tenants.

Cassar advertises rooms and houses on Gumtree.com and a large proportion of the people affected by his actions are international students, travellers and people who struggle to get a proper lease.

Angry tenants and their supporters have organised a picket on March 5 outside Inner City Towing and Smash Repairs, 64 Kerr St, Fitzroy — a business owned by Cassar, to show solidarity with those who have had money stolen

Another protest is planned to take place at Consumer Affairs Victoria. The date is yet to be decided.

Housing

Comments

Anonymous replied on

So we now have slumlords in Australia too. In the states they are being shamed by judges. There are too many slum landlords one [...] in Sydney owns rabbit warrens where my boyfriend was treated to damp upon damp until his respiratory system gave way, and high rental for what was nothing more than a piddly room extended. There's also the state government Housing Departments in Melbourne and Sydney (two well known for their inept deregulated, outsourcing to corporations who don't give a damn, housing staff who use bully tactics with their clients) reknowned for treating their tenants as if they are second class citizens or deserve less than private tenants. They've got this all wrong are being scrutinised judged by people wide and far. When some dodgy character does acts of crime at public housing estates the anti-social behaviour officers protect these crims when the victimised and battered are ignored. (That's some strange kind of anti-social behaviour officer hey) It's time to look at rental capping as property developers landlords and real estate agents are getting away with murder, almost all deregulated, private rentals are insane and public tenants are being treated like dirt and property developers are ruining the eco systems with thier towering infernos. Run Property (grew too fast to be anything but suss) are renting out public housing properties and not being investigated, yet. See: Woolloomolloo and the story of that saga. They rent to tenants at high market prices and whammo gain at the expense of those who need public housing and urgently. We have waiting lists for too many and the slum real estate agents have the gall to manipulate government housing and who is paying who? Frank Casser is now exposed so how about exposing the multitude of other slum landlords real estate agents property developers and their comrades. We have the highest rentals in Australia, home prices are out of this world and in the media enough to question 'what's going on?' and the most disgusting lot of landlords and real estate agents who cash in on other people's misfortune time and time again, until the judges and law steps in and puts a stop to all this getting further corrupt than it already is. Slum lords and their agents are known now by too many and will be caught there are consequences to corruption and abuse. Gail

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