Landlords' Newsletter September 2013

In this edition: How long will it take for your property to rent? House Trashed Over Alleged Rental Dis-pute� Get an Agent! When One Size Doesn’t Fit All – How to Make Special Terms in Tenancy Agreements It’s a Landlord’s Market – Vacancy Rates Tightening Across Queensland!

September 2013

Don’t Get into Hot Water With Your Claims! Blinds and Curtain laws – safety and your rental property A Selection of Properties Recently Leased Quote Calendar of Events

Spring brings burgeoning growth to

more than the birds and bees and

trees - our sales team has expanded

by an additional seven experienced

agents in the last month! This is excit-

ing for us and also for you because it

means that from amongst our twenty

plus agents we are likely to have a

specialist agent for your area, wherev-

er your property is located! Our unique

cooperative system of selling also

means that you have the same

amount of agents teaming up as a kind

of Super Agent to get your property

sold. And the growth of our team alone

is testament to how effective we are at

doing exactly that - so if you are think-

ing of buying or selling, please let my-

self or Helen know and we will be de-

lighted to assist you!

With the warmer weather upon us it's

the perfect time to consider having air

conditioners serviced before the heat

hits hard, and to help ensure they're

running at peak performance prior to

what's shaping up to be a long hot

summer. Our air-conditioning servicers

are offering a special service offer for

the month of September. If you would

like to have this done, please let Helen

know and we will arrange it.

In terms of the rental market for us, it

feels tough. Days on the market have

pushed out and properties are in some

cases, still vacant. I am heartened

though as I check the averages across

the board and can report the Average

days on market for our office is 24.5

(versus 27.9 for Brisbane) and the

average days vacant is 10.1 for us as

opposed to 17.8 for Brisbane). So I

know that the ladies are doing a great

job saving an average of a week's rent

for our owners.

Also, it's great to know that we are

putting in good tenants and keeping on

top of their rent payments, it should be

reassuring for you to know that we

have rent arrears of .02 % right now

for tenants (over 1 day). Having said

that, the trend for broken leases is on

the increase and it's important to note

that the courts have not been holding

all the tenants to their lease obliga-

tions, which I personally don’t find re-

assuring for any of us as landlords,

and which puts even more of a premi-

um on us securing you the perfect ten-

ants!

Wishing you health, wealth, and happi-

ness

Christina

Growing team for Spring and a special offer

www.propertyrentalsbrisbane.com FREE Information Guide For Landlords & Tenants

How long will it take for your property to rent?

That of course depends on the time of the year so here are the latest statistics for July. BRISBANE STATISTICS The Market Source: rentfind.com.au

Brisbane, QLD July 2013 Annual Change

Median Weekly Rent - House $400 2.6% increase

Median Weekly Rent - Unit/Apartment

$380 2.7% increase

Days Vacant (Avg) 17.8 3.7 decrease

Days on Market (Avg) 27.9 3.4 decrease

House Trashed Over Alleged

Rental Dispute� Get an

Agent!

The recent vandalism of a family

home in west Melbourne has ex-

posed the dangers of landlords

self-managing their properties,

according to an award-winning

property manager.

The Laverton home was left in a

state of disarray with broken fur-

niture and debris scattered

across the lawn of the house, a

couch on the roof, and an ironing

board hanging from a tree.

The investment property had

been self-managed by a landlord

who had spent $25,000 renovat-

ing it last year. He told Ten

News he had been shocked by

what he saw.

“It’s malicious, it’s devastating,”

he told Ten News. “I’m very

scared. I don’t want to go there

alone."

Director of Mitchell Property

Management Hayley Mitchell told

Residential Property Manag-

er the incident was a good re-

minder that owners should use

professional agents, rather than

trying to do it themselves.

She explained preventing situa-

tions like the case in Laverton

came down to the way properties

were set up at the beginning.


“If the owner has managed it

themselves, how good is their

documentation? How good is

their conditional report? Have

they got insurance on the proper-

ty, because a lot of insurance

companies won’t insure if they

are self-managed?" she said.

“If we are in a situation where we

end up with a tenant like that,

we’ve got the documentation to

fight it right to the end to get that

money back for the landlord,

whereas in this case, the landlord

is in a position where they’re

probably going to have a big

loss.”

According to media re-

ports, friends of the tenants had

moved in over the weekend and

had trashed the property in a re-

venge attack. Police were cur-

rently investigating an allegation

of criminal damage.

In an interview with Neil Mitchell

on 3AW, one of the tenants,

‘Nick’, phoned in to say that his

housemates were not the cul-

prits.

“We did not trash the place,” he

said. “That was done by I don’t

know. We were there on Thurs-

day, we put all the rubbish on the

front nature strip and then I left

because we were told to leave by

the landlord.

“The owner gave us a week to

clean up the place and then he

came back with the police on the

Friday and he told us to leave. By

9pm that night he didn’t give us

no keys and no nothing and we

left.”

The tenant said he had been

evicted for being a couple of

months behind in paying his rent,

but refuted allegations that

friends of the tenants were be-

hind the act.

Source : Residential Property Man-

ager (8 August 2013)

must follow the rules set out in

the Residential Tenancies and

Rooming Accommodation

Act 2008.

Special terms may cover issues

such as pets, carpet cleaning,

pest control, water charging,

or pool maintenance and how

they apply to the tenancy. They

must not contradict a standard

term or be unreasonable.

For example, a special term can-

not state that a tenant is respon-

sible for repairs under $50, or

that the tenant agrees to pay 6

weeks bond where rent is less

than $700 per week.

A special term in a tenancy

agreement cannot state that the

bond paid by the tenant will be

held by the lessor and not lodged

with the RTA.

This is called contracting out-

side the Act and is an offence.

Special terms cannot require ten-

ants to purchase a particular ser-

vice

For example, a special term may

state that the tenant is required to

clean a pool on a regular basis,

but the tenant does not have to

When One Size Doesn’t Fit

All – How to Make Special

Terms in Tenancy

Agreements

In Queensland, lessors or agents

can include special terms in gen-

eral tenancy agreements in addi-

tion to the required standard

terms, but any special terms


at the same point in 2012.

“While lower vacancy rates

means competition for rental

properties is greater, it is also

attracting more investors, which

is good news for our property

market.”

REIQ analysis of Australian Bu-

reau of Statistics (ABS) data

found that the estimated property

investor activity in Queensland

was up 14.9 per cent to 5,121

dwellings financed in May this

year.

The number of investors was al-

so up by nearly 20 per cent com-

pared to the month before, with

the numbers of dwellings fi-

nanced above the 10-year

monthly average of 4,887.

“When you also consider the un-

derlying dollar value of loans to

Queensland investors captured

by the ABS, it clearly shows that

investment activity is at its high-

est level since June 2009,” Mr

Kardash said. Last year, the

Gold Coast’s rental market was

in oversupply territory at four per

cent, but according to an REIQ

rental survey its vacancy rate in

June had fallen to 2.6 per cent.

agree to pay a pool cleaning

company.

Lessors/agents must give a pro-

spective tenant a copy of

the General tenancy agreement

(Form 18a)including any special

terms before the tenant commits

to the property – that is, before

they pay any money or sign the

agreement.

Under Queensland tenancy laws,

it is an offence for the lessor/

agent to:

• fail to provide a copy of the

proposed agreement to a

prospective tenant

• fail to return a signed copy

of the agreement to the ten-

ant within 14 days of re-

ceiving a signed copy from

the tenant.

The tenant must sign the agree-

ment and return it to the lessor/

agent within 5 days.

The lessor/agent must cover the

cost of preparing the tenancy

agreement.

Source : www.rta.qld.gov.au (5 June

2013)

It’s a Landlord’s Market –

Vacancy Rates Tightening

Across Queensland!

Supply of rental properties in

Queensland is not meeting a

growing demand, according to

the latest Real Estate Institute of

Queensland (REIQ) data.

The REIQ June Residential Rent-

al Vacancy Rate Survey has

found vacancy rates have been

tighter in June than in the same

period last year.

Across south east Queensland,

vacancy rates remained under

three per cent and in most cases

were tightening even further.

“With the exception of Brisbane,

which remains at 2.1 per cent – a

level that is indicative of more

demand than supply – vacancy

rates are trending lower in all oth-

er major regions of the south

east,” REIQ CEO Anton Kardash

said.

“In fact, our data shows that the

Cairns, Bundaberg and Fraser

Coast regions all recorded va-

cancy rates below three per cent

and rates which were lower than


Similarly, the Sunshine Coast

had experienced a reduction in

vacancy rate from 3.3 per cent in

June last year to two per cent this

year.

Following the floods in Bunda-

berg earlier this year, the vacan-

cy rate in that region had re-

turned to more normal levels in

June, as demand reduced.

At the other end of the spectrum,

however, Queensland’s mining

regions continued to be impacted

by lower rental demand, which

was influencing vacancy rates in

these areas.

Gladstone and Mackay’s vacancy

rates continued to show signs of

oversupply at 4.6 per cent and

6.6 per cent respectively in June.

However, Rockhampton and

Townsville both recorded an in-

crease in vacancy rates, partially

due to the downturn in the mining

sector.

Rockhampton posted a vacancy

rate of 3.4 per cent, up from 2.7

per cent, while Townsville record-

ed 4.5 per cent, up from 3.3 per

cent in May.

Together with Cairns, Toowoom-

ba posted the lowest vacancy

rate of any major region, at 1.8

per cent.

Source : Residential Property Man-

ager (5 August 2013)

A deduction for expenses in-

curred because of repairs or

maintenance on an investment

property can be claimed com-

pletely within the current financial

year.

Capital improvements

Improving the condition or value

of an item beyond its original

state at the time of purchase is

defined as capital improvements.

Capital improvements must be

depreciated or claimed as capital

works deductions over time. Cap-

ital improvements are classified

as either capital works deduc-

tions or plant and equipment.

Capital works deductions include

structural additions and renova-

tions such as adding and extend-

ing an internal wall and also in-

cludes items fixed to the property

which cannot easily be removed.

Plant and equipment items in-

clude removable or mechanical

items such as carpet, hot water

systems and stoves.

To determine how expenses on

an investment property should be

claimed, an investor can consider

the following questions:

Has the property or item been

improved beyond its original

condition at the time of pur-

Don’t Get into Hot Water

With Your Claims!

Repairs and maintenance or cap-

ital improvements?

Concerns about the cost of re-

pairs and ongoing maintenance

for an owner’s investment proper-

ty can be reduced by claiming

back these costs when an inves-

tor is completing their tax return.

Before an investor can start to

tally deductions, it is necessary to

understand the difference be-

tween claiming repairs, mainte-

nance and capital improvements.

Repairs & maintenance

Work completed to fix damage or

deterioration of a property is de-

fined as repairs, e.g. fixing part of

a damaged fence.

Work completed to prevent dete-

rioration to a property is defined

as maintenance, e.g. servicing an

air conditioner.


chase?

If an item provides something

new or changes the character of

the original item in any way, it will

be considered a capital improve-

ment.

Was the asset partially re-

placed, or replaced entirely?

Partially replacing an item due to

damage or wear and tear is clas-

sified as repairs and mainte-

nance. If an owner decides to

replace the entire item to improve

the property’s value, it will be

considered a capital im-

provement.

A BMT Tax Depreciation Sched-

ule will only include items classi-

fied as capital improvements. Re-

pairs and maintenance can be

separately claimed as a 100%

deduction with an accountant

when an investor is completing

their tax return.

BMT can answer questions about

alterations, additions, repairs or

improvements and the implica-

tions they may have on deprecia-

tion.

Article Provided by BMT Tax Depre-

ciation.

Bradley Beer (B. Con. Mgt, AAIQS,

MRICS) is the Managing Director of

BMT Tax Depreciation. Please con-

tact 1300 728 726 or vis-

it www.bmtqs.com.au for an Austral-

ia wide service.

pronounced dead at the hospital.

A crime scene was established as

forensic police worked to gather evi-

dence for a report to the coroner.

Early indications are that the boy

had become entangled in cords from

vertical blinds and choked

Source www.smh.com.au 23rd August

2013

New Blinds and other internal

window coverings with cords

must comply with national laws.

The Australian Competition and

Consumer Commission (ACCC)

introduced the regulation follow-

ing concerns that looped cords

posed a child strangulation risk.

Lessors, agents and suppliers

must comply with the new man-

datory standard when supplying

new window coverings in rental

properties.

While it is not essential to replace

all existing blinds, there are sim-

ple ways of minimising risks

posed by older blinds before they

are replaced.

The Office of Fair Trading recom-

Blinds and Curtain laws –

safety and your rental

property

Tragically, a toddler died on the

August 23rd about being entan-

gled in cord from vertical blinds

and choked as reported below.

Toddler strangled by cords from

blinds

A toddler has died after apparently

being strangled by cords from blinds

next to his cot.

Port Stephens detectives are investi-

gating the horrific death of the 19-

month-old boy inside his family's

Mallubula home on Thursday after-

noon.

Emergency services went to the Es-

sendene Garden home about

2.30pm after the boy's mother raised

the alarm.

The Hunter Westpac rescue helicop-

ter was called and flew the critically

injured boy and his mother to John

Hunter Children's Hospital.

Paramedics continued to work on

the boy during the flight but he was


mends adding safety tassels to

cords or adding a hook high on a

window frame to hook up the

cord. The bottom of any blind or

curtain cord should be at least

160cm above the floor.

Lessors have a duty of care to

tenants as well as anyone the

tenant invites into the property,

and must ensure the property is

safe to live in.

Suppliers of internal window cov-

erings must meet all the require-

ments for design, construction

and the marking of corded inter-

nal window coverings such as

warning labels on cords and retail

packaging.

The internal window covering

must also include installation in-

structions and any necessary

safety components required for

installation.

To comply with the standards,

the ACCC advises that suppliers:

• read the ACCC’s regulations

• have checked to ensure prod-

ucts comply with the standard

• register to receive automatic

email updates from the Product

Safety Australia website

Further information is available

on the ACCC website –

www.accc.gov.au

The above information is from the

Residential Tenancies Authority

(RTA) www.rta.gov.au

Although the standard is intended

to ensure all new window cover-

ings are safe, there are many un-

safe blinds, curtains and shades

still in Queensland homes.

Since 2000, at least 10 Australian

children have died from blind or

curtain cord strangulation. A child

can place their head in the loop

created by a blind or curtain cord.

If the child then tries to sit or falls

down, they can hang themselves

in the loop.

Follow these seven easy steps

for blind and curtain cord safety

to make sure your home is safe.

1. Make sure children cannot

reach any blind or curtain cords.

2. Make sure the bottom of any

blind or curtain cord is at least

160 cm above the floor.

3. Move children´s cots, beds,

high chairs or play-pens are

away from windows with blind or

curtain

4. Make sure you child cannot

climb on furniture and reach the

blind or curtain cord.

5. Wrap blind cords securely

around a hook attached high on

the wall.

6. Install a cord tensioning device

for vertical blinds.

7. When installing new blinds,

seek advice from the supplier

about products that use ´wands´

instead of cords to operate the

blinds.

The above information has been

sourced from

www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au

Our agency encourages our les-

sors to have safety checks car-

ried out at their property to en-

sure the property is safe and fit to

live in. Please email your proper-

ty manager to advise if you wish

for the safety checks to be car-

ried out.

16 September Mid Month Accounting 1 October End of Month Accounting

A Selection of Properties Recently Leased

Wilston Unit $310p.w.

2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car accommodation

Quote

“I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else”

-- Winston Churchill

St Lucia Apartment $395 p.w.


RE/MAX Profile Real Estate 141 Boundary Road TEL 07 3510 5221 FAX 07 3876 5544

www.profilerealestate.com.au Bardon QLD 4065 TEL 07 3510 5227 Helen [email protected]

www.propertyrentalsbrisbane.com PO Box 388, Paddington, 4064 Chelsea [email protected]

Errors & Omissions: These details have been prepared by us on information we have obtained and while we trust it to be correct, is not guaranteed by us and you should rely on your own enquiries.

Ascot Townhouse $535 p.w.


Calendar of Events

Documents

Landlords' Newsletter September 2013