I recently moved into an apartment that is part of a resort complex. There are about half a dozen permanent apartments but mostly it’s holiday accommodation.
After I signed the lease at our local real estate office, I went to the reception of the resort to pick up a key for the boom gate and introduce myself.
It was here that I was informed that the use of the pool attracted a $10 fee (each) if I invited any guests. Apparently the last tenant abused the shared pool and invited half the town over on a regular basis. I can see their point but it’s not my problem really.
My question is: Can I be charged additional fees for services after I have signed the lease if they were not disclosed beforehand?
While this Choice report does not touch on your question, the links at the end may be helpful noting each state can be unique.
The question is outside my expertise but for a more knowledgeable person, some relevant questions are your state, whether your lease is with the resort or an individual owner, whether it is a primary lease or a sublet, whether the $10 fee applies to all units or just yours, and whether there are related weasel words in the lease that might allow arbitrary fees to be levied and whether to the unit owner or the leasee (yourself0.
It sounds a bit rough. From both sides of the fence, having occupied rented units as well as owning one, it would be usual for the Body Corporate rules to be included as a condition, and a copy made available to the tenants with the lease. Qld & NSW.
Those with facilities commonly have included a condition that guests of the occupier can use the common property facilities if accompanied by the occupier, along with any conditions such as hours of use, bookings for tennis courts, cleaning the bbq, etc.
It is possible being a resort complex that the legal relationships are in some way different. The advice per @PhilT is key to establishing if a similar scenario to above applies. It is more likely if it is a managed resort there is a different situation. The manager for the resort facilities would also be expected to know what the agreement is for permanent tenants. The answer he/ she offered may not be reliable though.
Without speculating on the form of ownership of the apartment you have rented, it is possible the resort facilities are independently owned and operated. There would be a separate agreement between the apartment owners and the resort facilities owner for use. If in promoting the apartment for rent the agent made any representations concerning the exisitance of the resort facilities, you would expect to have use of them. If there were any conditions of use these reasonably should have been advised prior to you signing up is my uniformed view. You may need to contact the relevant govt authority in your state to resolve.
It would be appropriate to discuss this with the agent prior, as they may have a more complete understanding and be able to resolve the issue if the resort management is not compliant with the agreements for fair use. If the agent did not reveal all of the information google “tenancy dispute resolution …state…” or something similar. There may also be based on the tenancy agreements I’m familiar with a reference on your copy of the lease agreement on whom to contact in your state.
You may find the resort management are correct. It may be the agent at fault, which is not a remedy the resort has any obligation to resolve. You may then need the support of the relevant statutory authority.
I think @PhilT and @mark_m have covered it, but to add a personal anecodote, I’ve also experienced this from strata bodies while renting an apartment. In my case, the pool had a vigilant security guard checking IDs whenever you’d attempt to use the facilities.
Sorry, I always forget to mention which state I am in (not mental state, that is unclear). I am in NSW.
I read through the strata rules and my lease agreement and there was no mention of fees. I contacted the real estate and they clarified that there are no extra fees. They couldn’t help me any further but when I mentioned I wouldn’t be paying them, they seemed to think that was a good idea.
Hi @roony and following on from @mark_m post, do you know if this is the case as the pool may not be common property within the complex, but a private area available for use by resort guests and bona fide visitors.
If it is private (and not common) property then it could be considered no different to say a private pool where charges apply for the use of the pool facilities.
Also, have you checked the terms and conditions of the rental agreement and was the pool specifically conditioned as an allowed use by the tenant?
