Forced removal of signs by landlord?

ttoonnyy

I have no idea of what's legal and not here (Australia), but here's the gist of it:

I had 2 signs stuck on the inside of my bedroom balcony door (facing out, it's glass).
One of them says "Fire Exit", one says "Warning: 24 hour mobile and static security on premises" (which there is).
The agency we rent from has been demanding we take them down for the last 4 months, and each month we didn't, they've put the rent up by $10 to $20.

Screw the rent rise, I know they can claim it's unrelated and I haven't a case there against corporate scum like that, but what's pissing me off the most is they are saying both my signs are illegal and threatening to kick me out over it.

The fire exit sign I can believe there's some silly reason it is, which is why I took it down when they first mentioned it (though some confirmation would be appreciated), but my security sign?

There are stickers on almost every window about a false security system, small stickers which were there when we moved in, and they've said nothing about them.
More to the point, they obviously don't like mine because it's 3 feet across and on the front of the property, their motivation is obvious and fascist.

I'd like to know if there's any substance to their claims, more importantly if they're allowed to dictate the nature of our cosmetics this way, and if not, what can I do about it?

Thanks for your time,
Tony

axer

Why would you put up those signs?

Most rental contracts have terms that expressly forbid the erection of signs.