Chen & Tan Real Estate

Tenant

Why Rent Through Us?

Common Leasing and Renting Questions for Tenants Answered

“I’ve been here in this property for 2 years and I have never had a routine inspection.”

Routine inspection is created so that the property manager or lessor to see if the property has been looking after and if there’s any damages or maintenance issue to be attended. Example, an exposed wire from the hardwired smoke alarm was exposed in the property, the tenants reckoned that they can just fix it themselves. The property manager has decided to send a smoke alarm specialised to inspect the issue and it turn out that the exposed wire was ‘live’ and it could have been fatal if the tenant has decided to ‘fix it’ themselves. In this case, an electrician was sent to the property and attended to the issue immediately.

“My property manager never answer my call.”

Putting things in writing give everyone a trail and act as a good record for everyone. It is especially good when it comes to maintenance request. We encourage tenants to take photos of the maintenance issue together with the email, as it helps to give a clearer picture to the owner and the tradies, hence fast tracking the process of getting it fix. The property manager are out on the road a lot of the time and when they are in the office, they are concentrating of getting things organised and getting things done. If we are not available to take your call, please leave a message and we will get back to you.

“I have sent a maintenance request and nothing is being done with it.”

A lot of the time things are happening behind the scene, we have to inform the owner and organise of getting quotes. A detailed email with photos help to give a clear idea of what’s issue and what should be done, it really helps to fast track the process. We will email you to acknowledge that we’ve receive your maintenance request and we work on it.

“Why do they send me an email just because I’m 7 days late in paying rent?”

You can appreciate that we all need to pay bills, and most of the owner have mortgages to pay. We understand that life can be busy and things can get in the way sometimes, so we will give you a courtesy call 2-3 days into your rent arrears, and you can organise the rent payment immediately. It is by law that we need to issue the right notices.

“What can I do when emergency happen outside the office hours?”

Please refer to page 6 in your tenancy agreement, Item 30 Meaning of emergency and routine repairs – ss214 and 215, the regulations has given a clear list of emergency and what to do if we cannot be contactable. Please kindly send us any email to inform us about the incident, and keep any receipt in the event where you may need to be refunded.

Tenants Selection Process

Inspection prior to apply to the property

We required all the prospective tenants to inspect the property prior to apply to the property. Apart from making sure the tenants know what they are getting, it has also give us a chance to see and deal with the prospective tenants.

TICA Check

Once the application is received, we will do a TICA check, to make sure the applicant has got no bad debt with other agencies.

Tenant Reference Checks

We will then proceeds to ask for a rental reference from the current or previous agent that the applicant is renting or rented from to see the rent paying patterns of the tenants.

Continue The Applicant's Background Check

We will then continue to do the background check including calling the employer and checking the ability of the tenants to for the rent. Sometimes, the property just may not be the right fit for the tenants.

Contact Property Owner

Once the screening process is done, we will then call the owner to discuss the application.

Property Owner's Decision

The owner always get to make the choice of who will be the tenants of the property. We are merely there to give information for the owner to make the informed decision. And by law, we cannot disclose the reason when a tenant is accepted or rejected.

Continue To Market Property

We will continue to market property until the successful applicant has paid at least 1 week’s rent as the deposit to secure the property. The property will be given to whom has paid the deposit the earliest, we will give the tenant a courtesy phone call and email to inform the tenant that the offer to the tenancy has been terminated in the case of the tenant unable to produce the deposit within the given time limit.

Set Up A Sign Up Appointment

We will then set up a sign up appointment with the tenants. In this appointment, we will go through all the important do and don’ts and get the paperwork signed.

Tenants To Collect Property Keys

After the sign up appointment, we will then arrange a time for the tenants to pick up the keys from us and have photocopy of the keys and get them to sign to acknowledge that that have got the keys.

RTA and The Tenants' Rights

All the real estate agencies dealing with rentals are governed under RTA, RTA is a state government statutory body that makes a positive difference to Queensland’s residential rental sector. The RTA administers the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (the Act) and is responsible to the Minister for Housing and Public Works. RTA provides tenancy information, bond management, dispute resolution, investigation, and policy and education services.

Starting a tenancy can be overwhelming. Find out what you need to know about moving in, entry condition reports, rental bonds, and health and safety requirements. Know your rights and responsibilities when renting in Queensland.

Find out the key issues you need to know about entry to the home, maintenance and repairs, and how to resolve tenancy disputes. Know your rights and responsibilities when renting in Queensland.

This video explains key issues at the end of a tenancy such as leaving a tenancy early, the exit condition report, and how to get a bond back. Know your rights and responsibilities when renting in Queensland.

Helpful Links

Tenant application

Routine Inspections

One of the main aspects of making sure the property is in good hands is to have a physical inspection, therefore the routine inspection.

The purpose of routine inspection is not to find fault and to interrupt the tenant’s life, routine inspection is carried out to ensure the property is being well cared for and that there are no maintenance or health and safety issues.

A routine inspection give a chance for the property manager (sometimes with the owner) and the tenants can have a chance to meet their property manager and to report and show any maintenance request to the property manager, which will eventually reporting the maintenance request to the owner.

Prior to the inspection, an maintenance request form will be sent or emailed to the tenants, so that the tenants can write down the maintenance issues and can go through with the property manager at the inspection to provide greater understanding of the issue.

At Chen & Tan real estate, we conduct routine inspections in the first 2 weeks of March, July and November. These dates have been carefully selected to ensure minimal disruption to the tenants for the busy months. The tenants will be informed at the time of the sign up of their lease and it keeps everyone in a loop, making it easy to make arrangement (if needed).

We will also take photos at the routine inspection for the owner’s peace of mind and reference.

Exit Condition Report (From 14a)

In contrary to Entry Condition Report, Exit Condition Report is the legal document of recording the condition of the property at the end of a tenancy, and instead of being prepared by the lessor/agent and be given to the tenant, it was to be prepared by the tenants and signed then given to the lessor/agent. Please contact your agent for this matter approaching the end of your tenancy.

By law, the lessor/agent has to get back to the tenant(s) within 3 working days should there’s any disagreement about the condition of property. The tenant(s) must leave the property leave the property in same condition as it was at the start of the tenancy, allowing for fair wear and tear.

It will be good idea for the tenant(s) to take some photos for their own reference.

Some suggest that it will be a good idea to go through the Exit Condition Inspection together with the lessor/agent, as the lessor/agent will be able to point out the misses on the spot, which the tenant(s) will be able to see it for themselves and rectify the issue immediately.

The lessor/agent will carry a copy of the original Entry Condition Report and compare the condition of the property at the Exit Condition Inspection.

The exit condition of the property determines if you will get the full refund of your bond, so it will be a good idea to do the right thing.

Ps. Chen & Tan Real Estate will send you an email outlining what you should be aware of and some recommendation in preparing for the end of your tenancy.

Please beware that the tenant(s) must give the lessor/agent a written notice for the intention to vacate the property, a good tool to use is the Notice of Intention to Leave (Form 13), which you can download here.

Should you, the tenant(s) has any issue with their tenancy, you can get help and advice from Residential Tenancy Authority on www.rta.qld.gov.au or call 1300 366 311.