Issue Date:  -  Tuesday, 28 June 2005

Serial offending landlord guilty - Rolf Voulon - Temple of Bel Pty Ltd

Law-evading landlord Rolf Gerard Voulon of Colin Grove West Perth and his company Temple of Bel Pty Ltd of Florence Street West Perth fronted the Perth Magistrates Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to 18 offences against both the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) and the Fair Trading Act (FTA).

Mr Voulon will return to court on August 11th when the Magistrate will hand down his reserved decision on the penalties.

Consumer Protection had been investigating Mr Voulon and his company for their attempts to evade the Residential Tenancies Act, which provides protection for consumers renting residential properties.

"We became very concerned about the conduct of Mr Voulon and his company after tenants advised us of Mr Voulon's intimidatory behaviour", Consumer Protection Commissioner Patrick Walker said.

One tenant complained that Mr Voulon:

• removed door locks without the tenant's consent;
• demanded late rental payment fees of $5 per day;
• misrepresented the nature of accommodation as lodging when it was a tenancy;
• used coercion on a number of occasions to obtain payment from the tenant;
• threatened unlawful eviction and;
• disconnected utilities and unlawfully confiscated the tenant's possessions to force the tenant to pay money claimed to be outstanding.

Other complaints outlined alarming behaviour of Mr Voulon such as entering his tenant's premises without authority when they were sleeping and then verbally abusing them.

Mr Voulon through his companies owns at least seven residential properties in the metropolitan area that he rents out, with some properties having what he calls a 'lodging accommodation agreement' for separate rooms within the same property. The department believes this to be a ruse to circumvent the protection offered to tenants by the Residential Tenancies Act .

Despite numerous dealings with Consumer Protection officers and several Local Court rulings finding that his tenants are subject to the RTA, Mr Voulon's ongoing pattern of trying to dodge returning tenants' bond money and other unacceptable behaviour has continued.

Mr Voulon was also prosecuted and fined $2,760 in October 2004 for failing to lodge a tenant's bond in a trust account and for failing to give the tenant a copy of a fully executed lease.

"We are taking a hard stand against this person who we believe purposely sought to exploit low income earners such as students, international visitors and other vulnerable people, some who did not speak English.

"We have received more than twenty complaints about this landlord's misconduct, with many of them indicating that he is trying to fleece tenants out of thousands of dollars in bond money.

"This man would have to be by far, the worst landlord who has ever come to our attention.

"I am concerned that this individual will fail to be deterred by today's penalties so I have authorised the seeking of an injunction in the Supreme Court against him and four of his companies to further protect future tenants who may have the misfortune to deal with him", the Commissioner said.

Violations of Supreme Court undertakings and orders can result in contempt of court action and jail.

Mr Voulon first came to the attention of Consumer Protection in 1994 but the majority of the consumer complaints about him commenced in 2000.

"Today's offences indicate that other tenants may have had similar problems and I urge anyone who considers themselves a victim of Mr Voulon to contact us without delay for assistance.

"The Magistrate preferring to allow time to consider his decision may be taken as a signal of the seriousness of these charges", Mr Walker said.

Consumer Protection would like to hear from anyone who has rented from Mr Voulon and is aggrieved by their treatment or who is owed their bond money.

Telephone 1300 30 40 54 or email consumer@docep.wa.gov.au.