The following information has been provided for your assistance when moving into your new home and for the ongoing relationship you will develop with our company, as the managing agent.
RESIDENTIAL TENANCY BOOKET
As part of our Tenancy Agreement, we must provide you with a booklet (red). It will assist you during your tenancy as it contains some very useful information. We strongly recommend you read this booklet carefully and refer to it when necessary, during your tenancy.
LEGAL DOCUMENTS
The tenancy agreement, condition report and bond lodgment are legal documents, and it is suggested you retain them in a safe place during your tenancy. You may need to produce them at some time in the future to establish any claim you might have.
CONDITION REPORT
You have been given a condition report with photos of the rental property. Kindly check this condition report thoroughly and make your amendments or additions in the provided area. All signatories to the lease need to sign where indicated on the front cover sheet.
The condition report must be returned to Local Expertz Caroline Springs within three (3) days of commencing your tenancy. If you fail to return this report, the Agents copy will be used as proof of condition should any problems arise upon you vacating.
Please Note:
- The condition report is very important as it establishes the condition of the premises at the commencement of your tenancy. It is NOT a request for any maintenance work to be carried out. It is used as a comparison at the end of your tenancy and protects your security deposit.
- Should you wish to request maintenance at any time, please email your property manager directly. If you are unable to reach your property manager, please contact the office directly for all urgent repairs.
- The refund of the security deposit will depend on the accuracy of the condition report, at the end of the tenancy.
GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES
During the tenancy you are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the property. This includes:
- Strict guidelines in always maintaining the gardens
- Maintaining grassed areas (including nature strip) and courtyards
- Replace/Repair any items broken or misused by the tenants
- Replace light globes
- Ensure condensation doesn’t build up (e.g. in bathrooms)
- Advise Local Expertz of maintenance problems as soon as they occur in writing and with accompanying photographs.
- If damage occurs and is of a criminal nature a police report is required for repairs to commence otherwise you (the tenant) are liable for the costs.
COMMUNICATION
It is the tenant’s responsibility to inform their property manager of any new or changes to their contact details. Please advise your property manager via email of any changes to your contact details. There are various reasons why you may need to be contacted throughout your tenancy by your property manager, i.e., when repairs are required, hence this information is extremely vital.
Most of the problems experienced by tenants, landlords and property managers can be overcome by prompt honest communication. It is the tenant’s major responsibility to keep the property clean and to meet their financial obligations.
It’s the landlord’s major responsibility to see the property is maintained and to ensure the tenant has peaceful enjoyment; and it’s the property managers duty to oversee the process. This can only be done with effective communication from all parties. Your property manager is here to assist you during your tenancy. Please direct any problems you may have to your property manager.
PAYMENT OF RENT – ZERO TOLERANCE ARREARS
Please proceed to arrange rental payments to the trust account details below:
Account name: Local Expertz Pty Ltd
BSB: 033 505
ACCOUNT: 203920
Bank Reference: (
Rent is payable in advance of the due date.
Please ensure you pay your rent at least 3 business days in advance of the due date for clearance purposes. If you are experiencing any difficulties in meeting your financial commitments, please advise your property manager immediately.
If the tenancy agreement is in joint or multiple names, all parties to it are jointly responsible. In other words, if the agreement is in multiple names and one party does not have the funds to meet their commitment, all the other parties are responsible to meet that commitment.
Our rent arrears procedure is very simple. After two (2) days a reminder is sent. After ten (10) days a final reminder notice is sent. After fourteen (14) days a notice to vacate is automatically served and an application make to the Residential Tenancies Tribunal for vacant possession of the property, together with all rent due plus cost.
SERVICES
It is the tenant’s responsibility to have all necessary utilities connected and disconnected. If utilities are already connected, then it is the tenant’s responsibility to have them transferred into their name. Local Expertz can provide an additional service for our valued tenants to be able to connect all utilities with Moving Hub. Once the section on the application has been signed by the tenant, we can then organize the connections without any stress or inconveniences.
URGENT REPAIRS
If urgent repairs occur after hours or on the weekend and they fit the list as set out in the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, please contact the following tradesperson:
Plumbers
ABNS Plumbing & Carpentry
Greg – 0407 535 845
Western Leak detection & Plumbing
Sam – 0425 194 247
Handyman Services
Platinum Edge Property Services
Adam – 0410 588 630
Chris – 0408 937 429
Electrician
NFK Electrical
Nick – 0409 143 292
Carpet Cleaning including Flood cleaning.
Never Stop Services
Karim – 0404 532 657
Momentum Cleaning
Raj – 0470 038 251
Garage Doors & Remote Controls
Melton Garage Doors
Glenn – 0413 308 301
J&E Doors
Effie – 03 3915 6677
Locksmiths
Sydenham Locksmith
Paul – 03 8361 5300 / 0417 320 966
Melton Locksmith
Susi or Tom – 03 9743 1568
Alarms
DSB security solution
Dave – 0449080597
Please contact your property manager as soon as possible to report the urgent maintenance and if any trades were required to attended.
URGENT REPAIRS MEANS ANY WORK NECESSARY TO REPAIR OR REMEDY:
- A burst hot water service
- A blocked or broken lavatory system
- A serious roof leak
- A gas leak
- A dangerous electrical fault
- Flooding or serious flood damage
- Serious storm or fire damage
- A failure or breakdown of the gas, electricity, or water supply to a rental premises
- Any fault or damage that makes the rented premises unsafe or insecure
MAINTENANCE
Any maintenance must be submitted in writing via email with photographs for works to be carried out. If the property manager does not acknowledge receipt of the maintenance reported within twenty-four (24) hours, please resubmit, or contact the office to notify us.
ROUTINE INSPECTIONS
Routine inspections are carried out every six (6) months, however at the start of your tenancy an initial three (3) month inspection will be carried out. Should we not be able to come in agreement with you of the time and date an inspection is to be carried out on, we have the right to enter the premises with our set of keys, without your permission provided we have given you a twenty-four (24) hour written notice of entry.
CHANGE OF TENANCY
The owner has approved the tenancy in your name/s. Should a new tenant wish to occupy the property, the owner must also approve their application.
Any change in occupant could affect the bond refund process when you vacate. You must contact your property manager to have the new tenant approved and a Bond Transfer form completed with the new and old tenant details and signatories.
A fourteen (14) day notice to vacate will be issued to you if you sublet the property without prior consent from Local Expertz.
ANIMAL CLAUSE
Please notify your property manager in writing should you decide to get a pet during your tenancy. You must get permission from the landlord before the pet starts residing at the property.
CAR PARKING
You are to park your vehicle in the designated areas (e.g., carport, garage, driveway, concreted areas). You are not permitted to park on the grass or the nature strip. Any damage caused to these areas from cars, will need to be rectified immediately by the tenants.
TENANTS INSURANCE
It is not your landlord’s responsibility to insure your possessions. The landlord’s insurance policy covers only the building plus any fixtures. With the ever-increasing incidence of burglary and theft, we strongly recommend you take out content’s insurance cover. The Real Estate Institute Insurance Brokers now provide tenant contents insurance for all household goods, clothing, and personal effects.
ENDING THE TENANCY
Tenants must give twenty-eight (28) days written notice must be provided to your property manager should you wish to vacate the property. A twenty-eight (28) day written notice is still required prior to your lease ending, indicating your intentions to leave at the end of the lease agreement. Please ensure that your vacating date is during business hours as we cannot accept a Sunday as a day of vacating as we are closed.
Please ensure all keys and your carpet cleaning receipt are handed into our office by 12.00pm on your vacating date. Should you fail to return keys on time, extra rent will be payable until you do so.
If you wish you wish to vacate during the fixed term agreement, you will be breaking the contact you have entered. You will be responsible for reimbursing the landlord for any loss suffered, e.g., rent, until the property is again tenanted, plus the landlord’s normal costs in reletting. These are usually:
- All advertising and marketing expense incurred
- A pro-rata portion of the letting fee of the average annual rent based upon the unexpired term remaining on the agreement. (Example. If you have 5 months of the agreement left, you will pay five twelfths of the letting fee)
- You must also allow us access to the property for open inspections to secure a new tenant.
KEYS
Your tenancy does NOT terminate until all the keys have been returned to the Agent, this includes any duplicates and spares made during the tenancy. The rent will be charged at a daily rate, and you are responsible for the property until all keys are handed into the office.
While we may have a duplicate set of keys in our office for you to borrow if you are locked out of the property, this is only during business hours. We suggest you contact a locksmith if you are locked out after hours and you will be responsible for this cost.
Should you at any time of the tenancy change the locks on the property, you are required to under section 94 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 to give a spare set of keys to the office/agent immediately.
Note: The office does not keep spare keys to all our rental properties.
BOND REFUND
At the end of the tenancy, you will be required to hand in all the keys to the property so that your property manager can conduct a final inspection of the premises.
To enable a speedy bond refund, we ask that you leave the premises in a neat, clean and tidy condition, have the carpets professionally cleaned and the gardens front, back including nature strips to be weeded and grass to be cut & maintained. You will be required to complete a ” Bond Claim” form that will be forwarded to the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority.
All tenants who signed the bond lodgment form at the commencement of the tenancy, as well as the agent, must sign this form before any refund can be affected.
If there is any dispute relating to rent and/or repairs/compensation, an application will be made to the Tribunal for a hearing to settle the matter. Only after this matter has been heard can funds be distributed as directed by the referee.
CARPET CLAUSE
The carpets are to be professionally cleaned upon the end of the tenancy. A receipt must be provided to the agent upon vacating.