OFFICE HOURS
Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm
Saturday – By Appointment
OUR PREFERRED METHODS OF CONTACT
1. E-MAIL This is the most effective and quickest contact method if you have email access also. Your Property Manager’s direct email address appears on the business card provided.
2. APPOINTMENT To see your Property Manager in person please contact us to make a time to suit you both. The nature of our role takes us out of the office and by making an appointment we can ensure we are there for you.
3. PHONE If you don’t have email 4271 4000. Messages left will be returned as soon as it is possible to do so.
OTHER INFORMATION
RENTAL BOND – All landlords can take a bond from their tenants as a security deposit. In NSW a landlord is able to charge four weeks bond.
Should any damage be done to the property or the tenants fail to pay rent, the landlord or agent can claim some or all of this bond at the end of the tenancy to pay for repairs and or missed rent.
Bond must be held at the Renting Branch of the Office of Fair Trading, the Office of Fair Trading or the Residential Tenancies Fund for the duration of the rental agreement. A landlord who delays submitting their tenant’s bond may incur financial penalties so it’s important to remain timely with this.
It’s also important to note that a landlord cannot claim back any bond due to what would be considered fair wear and tear of the property, however they can claim it for the following areas:
CONDITION REPORT – Please complete, sign and return to our office within 7 days of the lease commencing date; as required by the Residential Tenancy Act.
DIRECT DEBIT – Direct debit is the method of rent payment.
INCREASING THE RENT – As a landlord, an investment property is all about the bottom line, so it makes sense to increase the rent periodically. Tenants are protected here too in that you are not able to increase the rent until the end of the fixed term lease agreement your tenant has signed. This only differs if the lease agreement terms allow for this.
You also are not able to increase the rent more than once every six months and you or your agent must provide the tenant with at least 60 days’ notice for any planned rent price increases.
EMERGENCY REPAIRS – Emergency repairs include such situations as:
• Burst water service
• Blocked or broken toilet
• Serious roof leak
• Gas leak
• Fault/damage likely to cause injury
• Electrical shock/fault
Phone the office on 4271 7000 to report these types of situations immediately. If after hours, leave a detailed message of the situation and refer to the Emergency contact numbers
GENERAL REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE – All general repairs and maintenance notes must be forwarded to our office in writing so we can act accordingly. Provide as much information as possible of the repairs needed as well as access authorisation for the repairs to be done. A Maintenace Request Form can be downloaded in the Rental Documents section.
PROPERTY INSPECTIONS – The Property is inspected by our Property Managers 2 to 4 times a year.
You will be notified in writing 7 – 14 days prior.
NO UNEXPECTED VISITS – Remember that once you rent out a property, it becomes the home of your tenant. Tenants are protected in this area and, dependent upon the state, the frequency of your visits can also be limited.
A tenant must receive a minimum of seven days’ notice of the inspection before it is carried out. Property Managers will often take care of this for you but if you have any concerns you can ask for a report to be sent to you at the completion of the inspection. If you are managing the property yourself, visit your state’s residential tenancy authority website for details on the requirements for conducting inspections in your state.
If a landlord or agent enters rented premises without the agreement of the tenant or without serving the adequate written notice, they do not have a legal right of entry and have committed an offence. This is a definite area where you want to follow a very strict procedure.
KEYS – Locked out?
Office hours – you can collect our Management set and drop them back within the hour once you provide photo ID and a $50.00 bond. (if our management keys are lost, the property will be re-keyed at your expense)
After hours – you can contact your Urgent Repairs contact details in your Residential Tenancy Agreement at a call out fee of $50.00 cash.
ENDING A TENANCY – Two (2) weeks notice in writing is required if you intend to vacate on the lease expiry date or 21 days ( 3 weeks) notice if your lease has expired.
INSURANCE – We advise all Tenants to insure their own contents as they are not covered under the owner’s policies.
PETS – Unless you have written permission from your landlord no pets are allowed at any property.
SMOKING – No smoking permitted in any property.
FAIR TRADING 133 220 – For your rights and responsibility as a tenant.
It is the policy of this firm that all rent is paid through the Rent Pay System. This allows you the convenience of being able to pay your rent in a number of different ways; you will have already received your log in details and password.
Under the Residential Tenancies Act you are required to pay your rent by the date noted on the schedule in your lease and it must always be in advance, should you have any difficulties in paying your rent please notify us as soon as possible so that we can be of assistance to you in resolving the problem.
This agency does have a strict policy on the payment and collection of rent and you will receive a number and variety of reminders which you should not ignore. The reminder notices and frequency are listed below:
Category | Time Elapsed | Reminder Notice |
| Category 1 arrears | 1 to 3 days in arrears | Text message, email and phone call |
| Category 2 arrears | 4 to 7 days in arrears | Phone call and letter or text message or email |
| Category 3 arrears | 8 to 14 days in arrears | Formal letter and commencement of eviction procedures |
| Category 4 arrears | 15 days in arrears | Notice to vacate rented premises |
It is both a regulation under the Residential Tenancies Act and a strict policy of this firm that all maintenance requests are presented in writing before they can be acted upon. An example of the Maintenance Request Form can be found in the Rental Documents section.
Only URGENT REPAIRS will be accepted first informally but must be as soon as possible confirmed in writing. Urgent repairs are a specialised form of maintenance and directly relate to basic issues of shelter. Some examples are listed below and other examples are contained in you lease agreement:
A serious gas leak
A burst hot water service
A dangerous electrical fault
Any fault or damage that causes the premises to be unsafe or not secure
If such repairs are necessary you must immediately contact our office by email using the maintenance request form found on our website or by phoning our office on 4271 4000. In the event the matter occurs after hours and is an emergency, please contact one of the contractors listed.
| Wollongong Council | 4232 0444 | |
| Sydney Water | 132 092 | |
| Integral Energy (Electricity) | 131 002 | |
| AGL Energy (Gas) | 1300 556 104 | |
| Telstra | 132 200 | |
| Optus | 1300 301 937 | |
| Police Wollongong | 4226 7899 | |
| Crimes/Emergencies | 000 | |
| State Emergency Services | 131 500 | |
After Hours Emergency | ||
| Refer to Urgent Repairs contact details in your Residential Tenancy Agreement |