Posted by admin on 21 February 2011
pic courtesy affordablefencing.com.au
If you can keep track of this legislation you have far too much spare time on your hands! We have to – it’s our job!
Since December 1st Queensland pool owners have new legislation to comply with to ensure their fences meet the required standards and are kid-proof. Eventually the rules will cover all pools but for now it’s only when you sell or lease your property – and yes this includes apartments and all buildings with shared pools. For the full details read our earlier blog post.
Late last year the government recognised that getting the required inspections and certifcates issued for all body corps was going to take some time, so they agreed we could sell or lease your apartment without a certificate – but only if we gave the buyers and tenants formal notices that there wasn’t one.
Now they’ve moved to include leasing of homes with “non-shared pools” (that’s house pools to you and me), admitting that the state’s building inspectors have a few things on their plate right now, plus we don’t want rental stock sitting empty waiting for certificates. So if you’re leasing your house with a pool you do not need a compliance certificate, provided you issue a notice advising that there isn’t one. If you’re selling your house and it has a pool you do need a certificate before you can sign a contract. This recent change is for leasing only.
At least that’ll be the case until July 8th, when it will all change again…
Tags: Brisbane landlords, Brisbane Property Management, Brisbane property manager, pool fencing laws Queensland, rules of renting, selling a house Brisbane, selling an apartment Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane landlords, Brisbane's sales market | 1 Comment »
Posted by admin on 16 November 2010
If you have a pool at your place and you’re not across the new laws that start on December 1st, here’s some quick but important notes.
The Queensland Government has legislated to make pool fence inspections mandatory. Eventually it’ll be for all pools but for now the rules apply when you sell or lease your property – and yes this includes apartments and all buildings with shared pools. From December 1st you’ll need a government licensed inspector to issue a government prescribed certificate. This certificate will be valid for 2 years for a non-shared pool (usually in a house) and 1 year for a shared pool.
You cannot rent your property if you don’t have a certificate – you can’t even renew a current tenant’s lease. You can’t sell your property without a certificate – unless your buyer’s prepared to wear an obligation to get it done within 90 days and cop any costs for compliance. Remember the first part of this legislation increased the minimum standards for fences so if your pool’s more than 5 or 6 years old there’s a good chance it might not comply. Those self-closing doors off livings rooms are now non-compliant for example.
Please talk to your property manager urgently about this one. For example if your tenant’s lease is renewed by November 30th you should be okay.
The good news is shared pools have a 2 year phase-in period. Bad news for those of you who own a house with a pool is that, according to the REIQ last week, the government has yet to issue one single license to a pool fence inspector. There’s going to be a mad scramble to get certificates issued and all as the holiday shutdown approaches.
This is the same government department that gave us the Sustainability Declaration on January 1st this year, in a colossal mismanagement of timings and public communication. Now they’re achieving the same sort of confusion and concern on a grand scale. Happy Christmas Minister.
Tags: pool fencing laws Queensland, Queensland tenancy legislation, Real Estate Institute of Queensland, Sustainability Declaration Queensland, tenancy agreement Queensland
Posted in Brisbane landlords, Brisbane's rental market, Brisbane's sales market | 1 Comment »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 22 June 2010
Keeping up with changes in legislation can be tough and for Brisbane property owners the penalties for non-compliance can be nasty. Somehow you’re supposed to absorb all the info and make changes, often without much notice. So here’s a heads-up on one of the latest.
The legislation won’t be passed until September but from December 1st it looks certain you’ll need a pool fence inspection if you want to sell or rent your property. A qualified inspector will need to check it and issue a compliance certificate, and you’ll need to do any works to bring it up to today’s laws. So for example those self-closing doors on the living room won’t be enough any more. Your certificate will need reissuing every 2 years and body corps will be required to have an annual inspection.
Our suggestion: get these underway well before December because you won’t be allowed to sign a lease or a sale contract without your certificate and the inspectors are going to be a tad busy. Watch the small print too – any body of water more than 300mm deep that’s kept full and usually used for swimming will be captured. Visit the website or talk to your property manager now.
Landlords might like to keep an eye on further changes in the wind. We expect you’ll be required to prepare a Sustainability Declaration from mid 2011 to show any prospective tenant if the home’s energy efficient etc. And in a controversial move the tenancy lobby groups are currently arguing for an end to giving tenants a “notice to leave without grounds”. So landlords may lose the ability to choose who lives in their property. If you’d like to have a say on this one why not send the Housing Minister an email? It’s Karen Struthers at communityservices@ministerial.qld.gov.au
Like to have a rant on these issues?! Make a comment.
Tags: pool fencing laws Queensland, Queensland tenancy legislation, Residential Tenancies Authority, Sustainability Declaration Queensland, tenancy agreement Queensland, tenant selection Brisbane, Tenants Union Queensland
Posted in Brisbane landlords, real estate marketing | No Comments »
