Rental Management FAQs

Commonly Asked Questions
Rental Management

What is the average lease term?

Most residential tenancy agreements are between 6 – 12 months in duration, at which point, a continuation clause allows the tenancy to continue after the initial fixed term has expired. When a tenancy agreement is coming to an end, either party may terminate the lease by providing 14 days written notice.

How long will it take to lease my rental property?

We pride ourselves on our ability to secure high quality tenants in the shortest time possible. However, we cannot create a unique market for your property; the speed at which we source a tenant is down to analysing the market and identifying the price point achievable within and then applying sufficient marketing to support the process.

How do you qualify the tenants?

Arguably the most critical step in the process of renting your property, we ensure tenant qualification is given the importance that it deserves.

We employ the following checks to qualify a prospective tenant:

1. Financial capacity to pay the rent on time.
2. Positive feedback from previous landlord/agent
3. Full bond refund from previous tenancies.
4. Maintained previous properties of the property in good order.
5. Good character references from employers and associates.

All prospective tenants are required to complete a comprehensive application form, accompanied by 100 points of identification enabling our office to confirm:

1. Current and past rental history with previous landlords and real estate agents.
2. Employment history and personal references.
3. Screening through tenancy default databases such as TRA & TICA.
4. Financial stability and investments

 To clarify the above we rely on supplied documents such as references from previous landlords/real estate agents, rental payment ledgers, copies of wage slips, property ownership papers, tenant ledgers etc.

In addition, current and previous references are contacted for confirmation of employment. Final approval for any application is made by you the Landlord and once we have verified the applicant, we will contact you for final approval.

What documents are required for the tenancy?

We prepare all tenancy documentation required for any residential tenancy. A typical residential leasing pack will contain:

1. A renting guide
2. Two copies of the tenancy agreement
3. Two copies of the condition report
4. Rental bond lodgement form
5. Direct debit DEFT payment brochure

How much Bond will the tenant pay?

Tenant bonds are generally equal to four weeks rent which is held as a bond for the entire length of the tenancy. This is lodged with NSW Fair Trading’s ‘Renting Services’ and can only be refunded either by approval of all parties or by an order made to NSW Fair Trading’s Rental Bonds branch.

Who holds the keys to the property?

It is mandatory that all applicants receive a set of keys and security swipes. We also hold an additional set of keys in case emergency access is required at any point in the tenancy or if the tenants lock themselves out.

Rental payments to owners

We disburse rental payments bi-monthly, at which time you will receive a statement electronically. Our systems also provide a single page summary of your financial year at tax time, which makes your accounting very simple. We can also facilitate all your bill payments associated with your property to ensure that all costs are neatly captured in your financial statements.

Additionally, through our online portal, our owners can log into their properties and view their monthly statements, and tenant details at their convenience.

Will you conduct regular inspections of the property?

We conduct bi-annual, routine inspections. For new tenancies, it is our policy to inspect the property after three months to ensure the tenants have settled in and are maintaining the property in good standards. The maximum number of inspections is limited to four per twelve-month period.

How do you monitor the tenant’s rental payments?

We use leading property management system, PropertyTree. Our system will notify us if rent payments are late so we can follow up without delay. As a landlord, you can also login to our system at any time and check the status of rent payments.

We have a number of payment options for tenants and we are also one of the very few agencies with the ability to direct debit our tenant’s bank account, once they have provided their authorisation. This is our preferred method as it ensures rental payments are debited on time.

Payment options for tenants; 

1. Direct debit
2. DEFT online payments via EFT or credit card
3. Payment via cash, cheque or credit card at any Australia Post outlet
4. In-person at our office.

We also monitor our tenant arrears on a daily basis ensuring correspondence is sent the keep tenants updated, in the event that there is a bank error or a slip of the mind.

Our arrears process is as follows:

– 3 days overdue – a notice sent via, email or SMS.
– 5 days overdue – a reminder notice to tenants via phone, mail, email or SMS.
– 10 days overdue – a formal notification that Notice to Vacate will be issued. Owners are consulted to approve the final step before going ahead.
– 14 days – A Termination Notice is issued and close to the expiry date we seek instructions from the Landlord, and we make an application is made to NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT)  for a hearing to terminate the tenancy and award outstanding arrears to the owner.

We will represent the Owner at all NCAT hearings, whether it be for arrears, or for breaches of the Tenancy Agreement. Although we represent the landlord, we only act according to the instructions given to us by the landlord. We will consult you at each step to ensure you are kept up to date with the progress of the situation.

Can a tenant break the tenancy agreement?

Residential tenancy agreements are legally binding contracts, however, there is a mechanism provided to tenants who have sudden changes to their circumstance that enable the agreement to be terminated amicably.

– Option 1 is for the tenant to pay six weeks rent in advance and vacate the property with no further obligations to the property.

– Option 2 is for the tenant to pay for the advertising and re-leasing costs associated with finding a new tenant, and maintaining the rental of the property until the new tenancy has commenced. This option, however, leaves the tenant responsible for any shortfall in rent for the duration of their original lease. This only applies if the property is unable to achieve the same price on the market.

What procedures do you have in place regarding repairs?

Our standard terms limit authorisation to a maximum of $300 for repairs which we as agents can authorise. If a repair exceeds this threshold, we will require your direct authorisation to proceed.

We have a database of qualified trades who have worked with us for many years and know our policies and will check with us before proceeding should the repair exceed our authorisation.  

Our tenants are instructed to contact our approved tradespeople directly to attend to the emergency situations listed below, at any time of the day or year, ensuring that the damage to the property is minimised.

Emergency situations requiring immediate attention include; 

1. A burst pipe or any matter causing flooding, or serious water ingress into the property.
2. Gas leaking.
3. Fizzing, popping, sparking or hazardous electrical risks.
4. A breakdown in essential services, such as electrical outages, water supply etc.
5. Damage that causes the premises to be unsafe or not secure.
6. A situation which may cause serious damage to the property.

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