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 admin on 13 August 2010
With the rental market so much more unstable than a year or so ago, vacancy rates are up and so there is a smorgeousboard of available properties for tenants to choose from. Across the inner city it’s not unusual for an apartment to sit vacant for over a month if the leasing agents don’t keep their ears open for market feedback on the asking rent.
So what can a landlord do to attract more tenants and keep the good ones? Presentation and maintenance upkeep of the home is critical. Allowing pets is a biggie – lots of people have their surrogate child/lap warmer and aren’t allowed to bring them to their rental home. And there’s a list on our website of other items tenants always look for.
One idea that landlords often forget is the offer of a long term lease. Tenants don’t enjoy moving (help me carry the fridge down the stairs anyone!) and if they’ve been there for a term, they like it, you’re happy with their payment history and regard for the home, why not offer them an extended lease of 2 years?
Bees Nees head of Property Management Annie von Rudzinski says the stability of a long lease can be a big attraction to tenants.
“If they are happy with the property a longer lease might just be the reason they need to put down their roots. A home is a personal thing to all of us and some landlords probably overlook the connection a tenant can make with the property. Offering a long lease means they can enjoy a greater sense of security and pride in their home and that is a positive thing for all parties.”
Annie says annual or bi-annual rent increases can be agreed in advance. “In this quieter market they might not agree to big jumps in the future but an investor can consider that against the costs of turnover of tenants.”
Tags: Brisbane rentals, Rent negotiation Brisbane, renting to pets Brisbane, Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act, rules of renting, tenancy agreement Queensland
Posted in Brisbane landlords, Brisbane's rental market | No Comments »
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 11 June 2009
RIGHT!! But in the world of Property Management, it’s quite easy to say something has been done, when in fact it might not have been.We’ve picked up a few new properties to manage recently and upon picking up the files have noticed that in most cases, something is missing. In most instances when we’ve spoken to the owner, while obviously they have been unhappy enough to change to a new Property Management company, they haven’t really been aware of how much hadn’t been completed.
While we understand that you’re paying for someone else to handle the detail for you, it’s important that you are at least seeing copies of important documentation – here’s what and why…
Routine inspection reports + photos – Make sure that you’re seeing your property at least once per year – even if it’s via photos. Ensuring photos have been taken along with the report highlights changes in the property’s condition and allows you to plan for any maintenance you might like to do in the future. Most importantly, it’s a small check that the routine has actually been completed. At a minimum, you should have two inspections per year.
Copies of the General Tenancy Agreement and any subsequent renewal – if your property is on a fixed term lease, you control the times it might become vacant. This has a huge impact on your investment return. It’s also important for insurance reasons.
Copy of the Entry Condition Report that’s been completed and signed by the tenants – this report will show you any changes between tenancies and will identify areas that the property managers should have taken care of from the previous tenant’s bond. It also draws attention to maintenance that might be needed in the future – for eg. are there a lot of paint chips? – you might like to budget for a repaint at the changeover of the next tenancy.
A few more important things we would diarise if it were our own investment properties – annual timber pest inspection, building inspection especially if there’s any chance at all the property is not structurally sound, and the date any insurance is due for renewal.
Your investment property is a business and possibly one of your largest assets. As with any business, it’s great to have a reliable and trusted manager – and you can mentally ‘tick’ the box if you’ve sighted the important documents.
Tags: Entry Condition Report Queensland, lease renewals Queensland, property management Brisbane, routine property inspections, tenancy agreement Queensland
Posted in Brisbane landlords | No Comments »
