Rental Advice

In Queensland, people who rent housing are covered by the law - the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (The Act). The Act sets out the rights and responsibilities of tenants and lessors. It describes what you and the lessor/agent can and can't do, how to address issues that may arise during the tenancy and explains what happens if the lessor/agent or tenant breaks the law.

The Act applies to all types of tenants including:
• private tenants who rent directly from the lessor or through a real estate agent or housing manager
• public housing tenants
• community housing tenants
• tenants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Councils
• tenants in government employee housing and
• tenants in general employee housing

While the Act applies to all residential tenants, some parts of the Act are different for some types of tenants. The Act does not apply to:
• holiday lettings
• boarders and lodgers (except for the section about rental bonds)
• educational institutions (except for employee housing) or
• retirement villages.

It is essential that each person who wishes to reside in the property complete an application form in full. (See our application form available on our website).

When you return the application you must ensure that you have available a holding deposit. This is required to be paid within 24 hours of your application being approved. Please note that this must be paid in cleared funds (ie. bank cheque or money order). The holding deposit is equivalent to 2 weeks rent. Should the applicant withdraw from the property within the seven day option period then the deposit will be refunded in full. After the option period expires, the applicant agrees that the holding deposit will be forfeited.

Once the application has been approved, you will need to come into the office and sign your tenancy agreement. Prior to moving in you will be required to pay a full bond of 4 times the weekly rental. No bond transfers are accepted by our office. Payment of this money must be in cleared funds.

Electricity, Gas and Telephone
It is your responsibility to have all services at the property placed in your name and to arrange a final meter reading prior to vacating. Contact numbers for these services are:
• Energex 131 253
• Telstra 132 200
• Origin Energy 132 461
• Optus 133 345

Condition Report
This is a very important form when you are moving into a rental property. It must be filled out by both the tenant and agent to ensure both parties agree to the condition of the property.
Please return the completed condition report to us within 3 days of moving in. At the time of vacating, you will be required to complete an exit condition report that will be compared with the entry condition report. Our office will provide this to you in due course.

Occupancy
Only the people originally included on your application and approved by the owner are allowed to reside at the property permanently. If a new tenant wishes to replace an existing tenant, please ensure our office is informed in order to approve the new application and complete the RTA paperwork. Please contact your property manager for more information.

We have a few options to pay rent, however we do not accept cash at our office for security reasons. Please discuss the alternate payment options with your property manager. If you are paying by cheque or postal money order, please write your name and address on the back of the cheque. Rent is payable in advance and should reach our office on or before the due date. The most convenient option for your rent payments is transferring the money directly into our trust account.

Repairs and Requests
We ask that you report any matters requiring repairs or requests immediately to avoid the risk of injury to visitors or damage to the rented property. Notification of any maintenance needs to be in writing. Any maintenance problem arranged by the tenant outside our normal business hours will be at the tenant's cost unless it is proven to be an extreme emergency. Please either complete the repair request form found on our website and fax/email/post to us, or simply send through an email to your property manager.

Contents Insurance
Please be aware that the lessor's property insurance does not cover your personal belongings and it is in your interest to obtain contents insurance in case of damage or theft.

Paintwork on Walls
The tenant agrees that no nails, screws, hooks, blue tack, sticky tape or tacks are to be fixed to the wall without the written permission of the Agent. It is our experience that when these are removed, paint and plaster damage occurs and the tenant will be held responsible.

Pets
Unless a pet is specifically approved on your lease, pets will not be allowed at the property without prior approval. Please note that in the majority of unit complexes the Body Corporate do not allow pets.

Seek advice from your property manager before removing any plants or pruning large bushes/trees, and take note of relevant water restrictions. We are happy to recommend a garden maintenance tradesperson if you would like to accept responsibility for costs.

Routine Inspections
We carry out routine inspections on all our properties approximately every three months and will advise you in writing prior to the inspection date. We will also send you a text message the day prior as a reminder. The inspections are always a good opportunity to point out any maintenance problems or other concerns you may have. Repair request forms are available from either your property manager or can be downloaded from our web site. If you are not present, we will access the property with our spare keys.

Breaking of Tenancy Agreement
If circumstances occur where you need to break your tenancy agreement the following conditions will apply:
• The tenant is responsible for and must pay rent until the property is re-let to a suitable tenant through our normal office procedures for re-letting; or until the end of the tenancy agreement, whichever is the sooner.
• The tenant must pay for reasonable re-letting fees being equal to the first weeks rent + GST. The tenant must also pay advertising money in advance of advertising being placed by our office.

Giving Notice
The tenant agrees that when giving notice it must be in writing on the prescribed form (RTA Form 13 - Notice of Intention to Vacate- form found on our website) and handed or faxed to our office. Two weeks written notice is required.

Property for Sale
If during your tenancy the property goes up for sale, you will be advised accordingly. If you are under a fixed term lease, you remain in the property for the term of the lease.
If you are on a periodic tenancy (month to month), the Lessor must give you four (4) weeks notice to vacate the property once the property has been sold.

Keys
We keep a spare set of keys in the office. Should you have lost your keys or have locked yourself out you may collect our set during office hours. After hours, our recommended locksmith can be contacted at your expense. HA Reed Locksmiths - 0412 712 312