Having been a tenant myself it can be very confusing about what you need to know when renting out a property. The lease itself is some 75 clause and then there is the Residential Tenancy Act that no tenant ever reads comprising many hundreds of clauses!
To make matters worse there is a lot of miss-information and myths that get passed around.
So I thought I would cover off some of the most important things that most tenants don’t realise especially about our role in the middle as property managers.
“As Inspected”: every property is taken based on the time that you inspected unless we specifically agree in writing for additional cleaning or items for the house. This is the case with all properties For Rent or For Sale.
Your Bond: We don’t want your bond! If you get all your bond back it means we don’t have the hassle of organising any cleaning or maintenance.
Property Condition Report: Your PCR is your renters bible, ensure you fill it out, sign and return it. This will ensure everyone is on the same page with the properties original condition and you will not be blamed for damage you didn’t cause.
Breaches: at 3 days late we have to issue a breach, it’s nothing personal it’s required by the landlords insurance otherwise they won’t cover them later for any losses.
Locking Yourself Out: If you lock yourself out of the house outside of business hours it’s up to you to call a locksmith at your expense. That’s what you would do if you owned the home.
Landlords Decision Not Ours: We are employed by the landlord, we can give them advice but there are many times when they don’t take our advice or simply can’t afford to, so we have to follow their instructions whether we agree entirely or not
Routine Inspections: We know that you probably hate having routine inspections, we don’t enjoy them that much either but we have to report to the landlord in detail on the condition and cleanliness of the property, which also means checking for dampness of walls inside robes and cupboards that back into bathrooms.
