Posted by admin on 3 August 2011
Preparing a tenancy agreement is not the simple process it used to be. Like much of Queensland’s property paperwork this heavily-regulated lease has grown in length enormously over recent years. Somehow the Acts get bigger, the agreements get bigger, but whether either side is any better off is anyone’s guess. One of the biggest dangers for self-managed landlords and inexperienced agency staff is contracting out of the Act, usually through requiring tenants to meet unlawful demands.
And sometimes those who should know better can come unstuck too. According to the RTA’s latest news two principals of a Brisbane real estate agency have been fined $3,000 each for six offences including adding special terms into tenancy agreements in breach of the Act. They were ordered to write to all existing tenants and inform them that certain special terms that had been written into the agreements would not be enforced.
No conviction was recorded.
Tags: Brisbane Property Management, Queensland tenancy legislation, Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act, Residential Tenancies Authority, tenancy agreement Queensland
Posted in Brisbane landlords | No Comments »
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 »
Posted by admin on 29 December 2009
It’s excellent to see that the Residential Tenancies Authority have released a ‘Green Booklet’ for landlords.
Each time we sign up a new tenant and handover keys, we must provide the RTA’s Form 17a Information Statement or “The Green Booklet”. We love The Green Booklet as it explains so many basic rules relating to a tenancy.
It’s good to provide the same basic info to landlords, as if there is something a landlord doesn’t understand, they can find general information in this booklet.
Some landlords assume incorrect information and this type of document is produced widely to educate, which we love!
But even if you CAN understand 36 pages, the booklet is no substitute for years of experience and knowledge.
All Property Managers will tell you that you keep learning throughout your career and in a team environment when we have a challenge we seek advice from our colleagues… so how can a landlord possibly manage the risks of tenancies themselves?
Starting a tenancy
All tenants are good while they’re good, and yes they’re easy to manage. Once you have an actual dispute to manage, it’s a very different story!
For more advice, tips and info go to
www.rta.qld.gov.au or www.beesnees.com.au/faqs_1.html
Tags: Brisbane property manager, Brisbane tenants, Green Booklet, Queensland tenancy legislation, Residential Tenancies Authority, rules of renting
Posted in Brisbane landlords | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 16 April 2009
If landlords have felt the balance of power has been weighted toward tenants in the past, then they have a shock coming…. the new laws appear absolutely in favour of the tenants… until you have a closer look and then you realise that no-one really came out better off.
So what are the new laws? There are a few too many to list, but the laws we find most significant are the following:
End of Fixed Term Lease – the timeframe has changed from two weeks notice from the landlord to the tenant to 2 months notice….but the tenant still only needs to issue 2 weeks. How is this fair I hear you ask? Well, it’s absolutely not, but the thing is, the tenancy union obviously didn’t think this through, as now we’ll be asking tenants what they want to do 3 months into a 6 months lease and if they don’t want to resign, we’ll be putting the property on the market up to two months beforehand, meaning more inspections for the poor tenants. Why, we ask, wasn’t it just 1 month from either party? This would have made much more sense and been a much fairer solution.
Tenants now have the right to refuse for photographs to be taken for advertising purposes where they include personal items and this may affect sales. If you’re a landlord and need to sell your property, you may not be able to take internal shots until the tenant moves out! I thought we were in tough times – why would policy makers make it harder for investors? Quick Tip – have professional photos and floor plans taken either while your own possessions are in the property, or when it’s vacant.
Tenant consent needed for Open for Inspections! Again, this is absolutely ridiculous. So not only are you not allowed to take photos of your own property in order to sell, but now you can’t allow people through by open home. The Tenancy Union (who advocated for much of the new laws) have failed their clients. So now, instead of having 1-2 opens per week for approx 15- 30 minutes, we may need to go through 4 – 5 times per week to take the same amount of people through!
To view the new laws at length, please visit www.rta.qld.gov.au and please don’t hesitate to advise your local member exactly what you think of the new laws…it’s the only way we might be able to effect change prior to inception on July 1.
We’re holding a seminar for landlords on May 13th 2009 and our special guest speaker will be the General Manager of the RTA, Fergus Smith. Here’s your chance to ask questions and give your views to the head of the Authority. To book your seat and for more info visit www.beesnees.com.au/seminar
Tags: Queensland tenancy legislation, Residential Tenancies Authority, Tenants Union Queensland
Posted in Brisbane landlords | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 15 January 2009
The new year’s rental market has rushed out of the blocks, with a massive quantity of new tenant enquiry to our office in our first fortnight. This isn’t unusual for January but the speed of the return will give some nervous landlords a little more confidence. Rents are likely to continue growing while new supply of apartments is slow (and in most cases, non-existent).
One change that is noticeable is the lower interest from companies for staff accommodation. Have a good chat to many inner city property managers and they’ll admit to the strength of corporate letting in recent years. Many of the mining services and resources organisations drove demand to our apartments in much the same way they kicked the local commercial office market along. And now that party’s near last drinks. There’s still plenty of demand from them, but not the flurry we saw in 2007-2008 especially. Fully-furnished executive apartments are likely to be less sought-after.
Amongst all this landlords and tenants will have a new Act to comply with from July 1st. New laws on rent increases, the sale of rental property and rights to enter are all on their way. We’re planning an information seminar in May and will pass on details as soon as they’re confirmed.
Tags: Brisbane executive property, Brisbane rents, Queensland tenancy legislation
Posted in Brisbane's rental market, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 4 July 2007
Would the smell of smoke wake you from a deep sleep? Are you confident you could escape a burning home in less than 3 minutes? Latest research suggests fires in modern homes are burning a lot faster, leaving a much shorter escape window. And there’s a good chance the home’s occupants will be asleep, with almost half of our fatal home fires occurring between midnight and 8am. So the government’s smoke alarms that came in on July 1st 2007 are well warranted, despite the extra work and costs.
The Building Code’s required smoke alarms since 1997 for new and renovated homes, but the Fire Service estimate 200,000 Queensland homes still don’t have them. Many of us grabbed one from Bunnings a few years back and double-sided taped them to the ceiling… but those middle of the night battery beeps might have since seen them ripped down! So here’s a quick look at the new requirements:
- All homes must have at least one outside sleeping areas and one per floor
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When you sell a home you’ve got to declare that you have them
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If you’re a landlord you must clean and test alarms and change batteries as needed before the start of all tenancies
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Tenants must clean, test and change batteries at least once per year. Those delightful beeps should go off every 60 seconds for 7 days prior to the battery going flat.
Go to www.fire.qld.gov.au for all the info.
The smoke alarm rules come on top of the recent safety switch requirements. Designed to monitor electricity flows and shut off the supply when there’s a current leakage, safety switches must now also be installed in every Queensland home. Again these have been standard since 1992 but we see older units particularly where these haven’t been done, with owners mistakenly thinking it’s a body corporate issue.
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Landlords – you should have put one in within 6 months of starting a new tenancy (or at the latest March 2008 if your tenants have been long term)
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Sellers have to declare if they have one, and if not the buyer must have it installed within 3 months of settlement.
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For those of you about to run out to the meter box – it usually has the word “test” written on it! It should cost around $220-250 to have one installed.
Tags: electrical safety switch Queensland, Queensland tenancy legislation, smoke alarms Queensland
Posted in Brisbane landlords, architecture and renovation | No Comments »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 7 June 2007
In Australia some 80% of residential rentals are provided by private landlords, so any changes in property’s appeal as an investment can have a quick and dramatic effect on rental prices. According to Macquarie Bank the UK government provides more than half of London’s rentals, and in the USA massive trusts own large tracts of residential apartment rentals. Despite having this more resilient supply source both of those countries are also witnessing strong rental growth.
Locally a number of issues have combined recently to persuade some investors away from the residential market: tax rate reductions have reduced the net benefits, the stock market’s been delivering excellent returns, and superannuation’s new tax status has seen that vehicle soak funds away from residential property. With surging housing demand (including the highest net overseas migration in 17 years) it’s no surprise most forecasters are pointing to further strong rent rises.
Queensland’s tenancy laws are currently undergoing another review and landlords are watching with interest to see whether the Residential Tenancies Authority will provide any new disincentives to property investment. As any government body should the RTA is responding to consumer concerns including the failure of some agents and owners to respect tenant’s rights. Among their proposed changes: new options for tenants to challenge rent rises, limits on inspection times and the option for some tenants to cancel their lease if the property’s up for sale.
Bees Nees City Realty have approached the RTA’s General Manager Fergus Smith for further info and he’s agreed to speak at our special breakfast for landlords on Wednesday June 20th 2007 . If you’d like to come to the breakfast as our guest and hear what changes might affect property investors RSVP’s are essential. Please email rsvp@beesnees.com.au or call Michelle on 07 3214 6888. We’re holding it at the Convention Centre at South Bank at 7.15 for 7.30am to 8.45am. Public consultation on the Act’s review closes on the 22nd June and there’s more info at www.rta.qld.gov.au
Tags: Brisbane housing supply, Brisbane rents, population growth Brisbane, Queensland tenancy legislation, Residential Tenancies Authority, superannuation, UK, USA
Posted in Brisbane's rental market, property taxes and rates etc, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
