Carl Tilney, renter: It’s been brilliant I couldn’t have done it without John. Otherwise, I’d be living in my car.
Tim Wong, ABC: So what makes someone qualify as the best landlord ever? Rewind two decades to when John Webb met tenant Carl.
John Webb, landlord: Carl's been here for I think very close to 23 years.
Carl Tilney, renter: Yeah, 23 years this year. Yep.
John Webb, landlord: Well, I must've thought he was a pretty good bloke. He seemed a pretty good bloke to me and so forth. Worthwhile having a bit of a chat with. And Carl told me that, well, he was pushing uphill. I think he'd hurt his back or something like that in the building game and let's look after each other. So I thought, oh, well, I could do that by cutting out the real estate's fees and doing it basically myself.
Tim Wong, ABC: At first, Carl was a little unsure about his landlord cutting out the middleman.
Carl Tilney, renter: Well, I didn't really give it much thought. I thought a bit of a surprise. Actually, when John first said, oh, I'm taking you away from the estate agents. I thought, oh, hello, I'm off next. You thought he was going to kick you out. I thought he was going to send me on my way, and he had other plans, but he reassured me on many occasions that that was never his intention or anything, but it did cross your mind.
Tim Wong, ABC: But there was a reason why John wanted to get rid of the real estate agent. They were pestering him about something.
Carl Tilney, renter: John said, well, I keep wanting to keep, real estate agents want to keep getting you to put the rent up and put the rent up. And he said he really didn't want to do that.
John Webb, landlord: The old house is old. Carl looks after it reasonably well. And well, I mean, he's doing the right thing and I appreciate that. I don't have to worry about it.
Tim Wong, ABC: So the rent has stayed the same for years.
John Webb, landlord: Well. I think we put it up. Except for that one time. $10 was it, Carl? $10.
Tim Wong, ABC : The rent is still under $200 a week. That's almost half the average rental price for that area.
Carl Tilney, renter: And money goes in every fortnight. If there's an issue, I talk to John about it and vice versa. And we just got a good report. But it's got to go up. And I say to John, it's got to keep going up because everything else is going up. The only alternative would be going to live back at home with my father, which takes away your security, your privacy and safety and everything else. I've got a sense of being, no way I can afford anything that's around now. Impossible. It would be 90% of my income and I'd never get a lap to start with. I don't know what I'd do without it.
John Webb, landlord: I've been brought up in the country. In country communities, people look after each other. And I just guess it's a part of me. It's been brought up in me and so forth. And that's the way I feel. I mean, everybody's the same that's brought up in the country, truly brought up in the country. I mean, they just look after each other. It's life in the bush. It's simple, but it's great.
When John Webb first met his tenant Carl Tilney 20 years ago, he thought he was a pretty good bloke.
So when the real estate agents started pushing John to put his rental price up, he pushed back.
The two now have a budding friendship and look out for each other.
Hosted by Tim Wong-See.