17 Carroll Crescent, Glen Iris Tenancy Handbook Frequently Asked Questions shelterrealestate.com.au 03 9889 3990
You’ve secured your new home. So, what happens next? Keys 3 Gardens 3 Bin Information 4 Water 5 Visitor Parking 5 Cleaning Standards 5 Condition Reports 6 Mould 6 Rent 7 Reporting Repairs 8 Pets in Properties 9 Rent Reviews 9 Routine Inspections 9 Giving Notice to Vacate 10 Final Inspections 10 References 10 Code of Conduct 11 Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions Keys The owner must provide you with one set of keys for each person named on the lease. You are welcome to make additional copies of keys at your own expense if they are required for other family members, a cleaner etc. All keys including any you have made need to be returned when you vacate. Shelter may not always hold a spare set of keys in the office and we are not legally required to do so. In the event that you lock yourself out please make contact with our preferred locksmith, Lochness Locksmiths, Keith 0404 882 413 and he will look after you with a good rate. This is not an owner expense to reimburse. You are permitted to change the locks at the property but in the event, you do this you must provide Shelter with a copy of the new key as soon as practicable. If the property’s locks are keyed alike (all doors operated by the one key) then this must be maintained. In tenancies where no gardening service is provided as part of the rental agreement, the breakdown of gardening activities is generally considered as follows: Renter to mow/weed/water and generally sweep/tidy/remove basic leaf debris. Owner to pay for any substantial pruning, planting of new shrubs/trees that they want to introduce to the property, labour intensive hedging/shaping or mulching of garden beds. If the owner wants garden works done during the tenancy Shelter will arrange this. If you want to request to have a gardener employed at any stage, we can obtain quotes and then discuss the cost with you and the owners depending on the works needed. We tend to find that it is common for owners and renters to agree to share the costs. Gardens 3
Bin Information All councils have different rules and procedures around what they will collect in a hard rubbish and whether a property address is entitled to one or two collections each year. Some properties on main roads or in large apartment complexes will have a set rubbish collection service only. Please visit the website for your local council to get a list of bin collection dates for your particular property. They even have calendars for the fridge! Owners must provide vermin proof bins under the new minimum standards. This just means the bin needs to have a lid. As the property resident you can report a lost/damaged or stolen bin to the council for replacement directly. Owners pay for the cost of bin collection separately through their yearly rates. The cost increases depending on the size of the bin. Most councils are trying to reduce waste and have specific grounds on which you can apply for a larger bin service. Typically recycling bins in a larger size are available at no additional cost. Where a renter wants to increase the size of their current bin service, it is common for the rental provider (owner) to require the renter to pay the difference in the annual charge. If you want to request this, please email your property manager directly. RESOURCES FOR BIN INFORMATION AND OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION ON LOCAL EVENTS/AMENITIES FOR YOUR NEW PROPERTY: Boroondara council: https://www.boroondara.vic.gov.au/waste-environment Stonnington council: https://www.stonnington.vic.gov.au/Services/Waste-and-recycling Monash council: https://www.monash.vic.gov.au/Waste-Sustainability Whitehorse council: https://www.whitehorse.vic.gov.au/waste-environment/rubbish-recycling Frequently Asked Questions
Water As a renter you only pay for consumption of water and sewerage disposal if the property is separately metered. When a property is separately metered, we as your property manager are able to open an account in your name for this utility only. The property owner will receive a quarterly account for the water rates and service charges during your tenancy. When you vacate you will need to request a final reading on your water account. Cleaning Standards We have an obligation to provide you a property that is “reasonably” clean. Now what is “reasonable” is also highly debatable. Everybody has different standards of cleanliness. What I think is clean is not going to be the same as what my mother considers clean or my children for that matter. If you have any concerns about the state of the property when you collect keys please contact your property manager to discuss. You have the opportunity to make comments on the condition report we have given you and it is this report that we use when you vacate. Unless the owners have professionally cleaned the property before you moved in then you will only need to leave the property “reasonably clean” and not “professionally cleaned”. Please note that professional cleaning standards also vary greatly!! It is not uncommon for professional cleaners to miss some areas and in the event this happens when you engage them for a vacate clean you may be able to ask them back to the property under warranty. When vacating aim to leave the property as you found it (or better) and you should have no issues with obtaining a prompt bond refund. Visitor Parking Did you know that if there is restricted parking in your street as a resident you may be entitled to a parking permit for the street. To obtain a parking permit or a visitor pass you simply need to share a copy of your current lease agreement with the local council. The local council is likely to have a portal you can lodge your request through if you head to their website. Frequently Asked Questions 5
Condition Reports On the day that your lease starts we will email you or one of the renters named on the lease an electronic copy of the condition report. This can only be sent to one renter to complete. If you have a preference about who this is, please contact your property manager. You then have 5 business days to make your comments and return it to us. We will note any major damage such as a stain on the carpet, a burn mark on a kitchen bench etc. It is not necessary to note every tiny mark on a wall or chip to a painted skirting as these are considered normal wear and tear and will be taken into account when you vacate. If walls are marked in this manner, we will note them as ‘scuffed’. Mould Unfortunately mould is a common problem for many types of property. Weather conditions contribute greatly to the development of mildew and mould spores. Bedrooms and bathrooms are some of the areas to first show signs of mould. This can be because when it is very cold outside and the property is warm internally from heaters or body heat, condensation will develop on the windows. If water runs down the inside windows and is not cleaned up quickly it will seep into the frames and cause mould to start growing. Please take care to wipe glass when condensation appears and to leave windows open for good ventilation when weather is dry. Leaving windows open even only a small amount all year round is helpful in preventing the growth of mould. In bathrooms you should close the door and run the exhaust fan for 20 minutes after showering to remove steam that if left can get into paintwork and cause mould to start growing. Opening a window where possible during a shower is also helpful. Where mould is the result of a water leak or repair issue in the property please raise a repair request immediately and we will take appropriate action to have it repaired. Frequently Asked Questions 6
Rent At Shelter you are able to have your rent direct debited via SimpleRent – a company that provides you with shopping discount offers to a large range of companies. If you want to pay via SimpleRent the cheapest method is to have your regular transactional account debited, this incurs a cost of $1.50 per debit. If you want to take advantage of their credit card facilities to pay your rent, they do have additional fees. Please be aware they charge for failed or dishonoured payments. We also accept electronic funds transfers but please remember to include the unique property code provided to you when we accepted your application. If you did not receive a code please speak with your property manager. It is very important this is included to prevent your rent from mistakenly being credited to another property. You would be amazed how many people transfer us money with descriptions such as “rent” “my rent” “monthly rent”. We commonly all assume that money transfers are instant these days but please remember that banks have clearance times on transfers and also public holidays can affect the prompt delivery of rent. If depositing your rent monthly it can be a good idea to set it up a day or two before the official due date so that you are always paid on time. Your rental ledger will reflect this and is used by agencies when assessing suitability as an applicant for future properties. Our strong preference is to receive the rent in one instalment only, however, where there are multiple renters you can make separate payments provided they are all received on or before the due date and include the property reference. Frequently Asked Questions
Reporting Repairs Now that you have moved in and are almost unpacked let’s talk repairs! There are two types of repair: Urgent and Non Urgent. Would you believe most hot water services break down at 4pm on a Friday? Making it very difficult to respond as fast as we would like. If you have an urgent repair needed during business hours 9am– 5.30pm please contact our office by phone on 9889 3990. This is the quickest way for us to take action. A text/email/whatsapp message could be seen later than we would like. If you have an urgent repair outside of business hours, please contact Susy by text on 0407 688 210 in the first instance. In the unlikely event you don’t hear back quickly you are then welcome to contact the following trades for assistance: Locksmith – Keith 0404 882 413 Esteem Plumbers – David 1300 791 780 Electrician – Andy 0432 147 134 Storm event – SES 132 500 For all your non urgent repairs please email your property manager directly or log them through our 24/7 portal (When you make a repair request it helps us to action it faster if you can include photos/video/detailed description/model numbers for appliances if known). We will seek the owner’s instructions and keep you informed of our progress. If you don’t hear anything as quickly as hoped you are always welcome to call the office for an update. Frequently Asked Questions 8
Pets in Properties When we approved your application for the property we shared with the owner if you had any pets. It is expected that you will not bring any new pets to the property without first requesting the owner’s permission. To request permission please complete the official request document on CAV’s website. (Consumer Affairs Victoria). The owner can not unreasonably withhold consent but their consent may be conditional on you signing an addendum to the lease to cover pet related cleaning and/or damage. Routine Inspections At Shelter, we conduct routine inspections twice in the first year and every 6 months thereafter. Once you have been in the property 3 months you will receive an email advising that we wish to inspect the property. We only carry out routines during business hours Monday – Friday and don’t have capacity to inspect at weekends. We are happy to be flexible but also ask that you be flexible with us too. These inspections take 10-20 minutes maximum. Don’t worry we are not there to check if the bed has been made or if there are cups in the sink. We are there to look for repairs you may not have noticed yourselves and to ensure the owner is informed on the condition of the property. You can take this opportunity to report maintenance to us or to discuss your future plans and request a lease renewal or just chat about the state of the market. If you need to change the time that’s fine too but we would appreciate prior notice so we don’t arrive unexpectedly or keep someone else waiting. Rent Reviews In Victoria, an owner can only increase the rent once every 12 months. If a notice is served during a fixed lease it can’t come into effect until the end of the fixed period. When we review rent we take note of other similar properties in the area that have been leased recently and the condition of the property. If you are not happy with a rent increase you have received you can speak with your property manager and see if the owner is willing to negotiate. Frequently Asked Questions 9
Giving Notice to Vacate When the time comes to vacate the property, please only email your property manager. In this world of many communications methods email is still the most reliable in this instance. A text can be forgotten or disappear under the volume of new messages received in a day. You need to give 28 days notice but you can give more if you prefer. If the property will be re-advertised for rent we may want to come through before you leave to show new renters. We will discuss this with you and are more than happy to try to accommodate your schedule. Please note rent is due and payable until the day keys are returned. We ask that you return keys to our office or our secure after hours drop box. Please do not lock them inside the property and close the door – remember we don’t always have a spare set!! Frequently Asked Questions Final Inspections When the time comes to vacate, we will carry out a final inspection prior to making decisions on returning the bond. You are entitled to come to this inspection and we are happy to schedule an inspection during business hours when you are able to attend. Please know that if we find any issues at the inspection these will be shared with you. We will do everything possible to work towards a smooth resolution of the issues together. In the unlikely event we can’t agree on how the bond money should be split between you and the owner we have 10 business days in which to make an application to VCAT for the matter to be heard by an independent person. References Did you know you can print your own rental receipts and ledger from our 24/7 portal? – this can be handy when applying for a car or house loan. If you are applying for another rental property we are more than happy to provide written or verbal references. Don’t be afraid to give us the heads up when you start doing this so we can best assist you. 10
Code of conduct Please read and sign the attached code of conduct. By agreeing to this conduct, which we promise to also abide by, we can all enjoy a mutually respectful working relationship. If you are not happy at any time with the service received, you can contact our CEO, Daniel Reynolds. Who will respond within 21 days. We hope you have found this information helpful and informative. It is only a starting point, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to your property manager with any other questions that you may have now or at any stage of your tenancy. SUSY RUDGE 0407 688 210 susy@shelterrealestate.com.au JENNIFER REVESZ 0433 089 620 jennifer@shelterrealestate.com.au Frequently Asked Questions 11
Make your next move life-changing. shelterrealestate.com.au
shelterrealestate.com.auRkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI3ODI1