Information for Prospective Tenants

Inspecting a Property

Inspections are normally conducted at set times during the week, Monday to Saturday. We ask that you meet our Leasing Consultant at the front of the property. If you are unable to attend at the set times, contact our agency to see if any alternative times can be arranged.

Applying for a Property

All applications are processed Monday to Friday between 8:30am and 5:00pm. Our aim is to let you know as soon as possible if you have secured a rental property through our agency.  Applications may take up to 48 hours to process, subject to reference and employment checks. We will only submit your application to the property owner after all applications on the property have been completely processed.

Only those applicants that have physically viewed the property, or had a chosen representative to view the property on their behalf, are permitted to submit an application. "Site Unseen" applications will not be considered.

We do not require 100 points of identification however, in order for us to fast track your application, we ask that you to take the following into consideration:

• Application form is completed in full (both pages) and privacy acts signed and dated on back page.
• As much information as possible is included with your application form such as payslips, any written references etc.
• A copy of your photo ID is submitted.
• If you are unemployed or self-employed, please include written proof such as a summary from your accountant to confirm your weekly income.

Please note: if you have no rental history or proof of ownership of a property, you may be required to supply a letter from a guarantor.

Our property owners will seek applications that reach our selection criteria. This is as follows:

•  Confirmation of identification
•  Employment and/or income confirmation
•  Verification of previous rental history and/or ownership of property
•  Verification of character/personal reference
•  Tenancy Information Centre of Australia (TICA) search to confirm previous residential background

We will contact you at the end of each business day whilst your application is being processed.

Should your application be approved, we will provide you with a copy of the proposed lease and in return you will need to pay a minimum of one week's rent within 48 hours of approval.  We will then arrange that you come to our office to sign the tenancy documents and pay the equivalent of 6 weeks' rent (4 weeks' bond & 2 weeks' rent) less the initial one week's rent payment you have already made.

Please note that once you have agreed to proceed with the tenancy and received a copy of the proposed lease, then monies paid into our trust account may not be refundable should you not proceed.

Rental Bond
When renting a property, a bond is required. This is normally equivalent to four weeks rent but if the rent is over $700 per week, the property owner reserves the right to increase the bond should circumstances make this necessary.

The bond is deposited with the Residential Tenancies Authority and will not be released until the end of your tenancy, subject to rent being paid up to and including your vacate date and condition of the property upon vacating. Please be aware that we do not accept bond transfers.

Payment of Monies
 

We accept the following payment methods:

• using your internet banking facilities so as to directly transfer funds to our rental trust account electronically;
• paying over the counter by EFTPOS, credit card (Visa & Mastercard 1% charge, American Express 1.5% charge) or by bank cheque or postal order.

Connecting Your Utilities

Direct Connect is a simple and convenient time saving service that arranges the connection of your Electricity, Gas, Phone, Internet and Pay-TV to a choice of Australia's leading providers. Direct Connect can also assist with discounted quotes for removalists, van/truck hire, cleaning services and security monitoring. No longer do you need to call each service provider individually, wait on hold and repeatedly give your personal details. They take care of it all for you with the one phone call.

Should you choose to take advantage of this service, a Direct Connect representative will make all reasonable efforts to contact you within one working day of receiving an application. If they cannot contact you, please ring 1300 664 715 to ensure all connections can be completed on time.

Sign-Up

Before moving into a property, it will be necessary for you to come to the office for the signing of lease and bond documents. This should be done within 2 days of confirmation of you renting the property or sooner should you be moving before then. At the sign-up, we also provide you with information, written and oral, necessary for you to fulfill your obligations under the lease. The whole process should take less than 60 minutes.

Normally we require the equivalent of 6 weeks rent (2 weeks actual rent + 4 weeks bond). This amount (less any monies already paid) will need to be paid in full at the sign-up.

You will be provided with a Condition Report (and an Inventory Schedule should there be furniture, electrical goods, etc). It is imperative that you carefully check the condition of the property and fill in the report (and inventory) accordingly. The forms must be returned to our office within three days of moving in.

If your tenancy commences on the day of the sign-up, then you will be given the keys to the property . Otherwise you will need to return to our office to collect them on the day the tenancy starts.

Maintenance of Your Rental Property

If there is a need for repairs, then we need to be informed in writing. This is done using a Maintenance Request form supplied to you at the sign-up or available at our real estate office or on the internet.

We expect that you should replace light bulbs unless you believe that there is a danger in replacing them. If a tradesperson is called out unnecessarily, then we will seek to recover the call-out fee from you.

Entry to Your Rental Property

During the tenancy, we may require access to your property. We are required to give you the following notice periods:

Maintenance & Repairs   Valuation   Prospective Buyer   Prospective Tenant when Vacating   General Inspection

1 day 1 day 1 day 1 day 7 days

General inspections are usually held 3 months apart. In all cases, you are entitled to receive notice in writing (RTA Form 9). If your property is going to be put up for sale, then we also are required to provide notice in writing to you stating so (RTA Form 10). We arrange for such notices to be put into your letter box either by hand or mail. In addition, wherever practical, we will contact you by phone. 

Rent Arrears

We take rent arrears very seriously.

Rent is always paid in advance and should this not occur, then we will be contacting you to find out why this has not happened. Should your rent be more than 7 days behind, we automatically send you a written warning notice (RTA Form 11). Should you not pay rent for a further 7 days, then we are able to commence proceedings to evict you (RTA Form 12).