Helpful Information for the Tenant

Terminating your tenancy agreement

As your Residential Tenancy Agreement is a legally binding document between you and your Landlord, there are legal obligations for both parties in regard to lease termination.

If you wish to terminate your tenancy after the lease agreement has expired, you must give 21 days notice in writing prior to vacating. If your tenancy agreement is still current and you wish to vacate, you are breaking your lease.

This means you are responsible for meeting rental payments until a suitable replacement tenant is found or until the expiration of the lease, whichever is sooner. You will also be responsible for advertising costs, the letting fee and GST. Contact your Property Manager immediately if you decide to terminate your tenancy and find out exactly what your obligations are.


Utilities

Tenants are responsible for utility connections and ensuring accounts are in the correct names. Tenants are required to arrange to have a meter reading prior to vacating the property.


Maintenance & repair requests

All maintenance requests must be made in writing. You may do this on-line via e-mail, or via fax using the request forms provided in your Tenancy kit. Phone requests will only be accepted in an extreme emergency.

Where possible, we aim to attend to requests immediately, however in some instances we are required to obtain quotes and Landlord approval, in which case there may be a short delay. It is the tenant’s responsibility to provide access and keep appointments with tradesmen.

Maintenance of gardens/grounds is the responsibility of the tenant. Please ensure that the grass is kept cut, that excess paper and rubbish is removed.


Keys

If you are successful in your application to rent a property, you will receive and sign for a set of keys to the property. Please ensure you have enough duplicate keys cut for your own use as the keys we have at the office belong to the landlord and must stay there.

We have all locked ourselves out from time to time. If it happens during the day, we have duplicate keys at our office. Unfortunately if it happens after hours you are in the same boat as everyone else and will have to organise a locksmith to attend to gain access to the property.

If you lock yourself out during the day you can come down to the office with identification and a $20.00 deposit which will be refunded providing the keys are returned that same day.

Please get an ’emergency’ key in case this happens to you!


Inspections

Before the commencement of your lease, your Property Manager will complete an inspection and full Condition Report; you will be given the opportunity to check this and add to it once the lease is signed. This copy should then be returned to our agency within 7 days from the lease commencement.

This is the report we refer to at the end of the tenancy. It is therefore in your best interest to read through the Condition Report and Tenancy Agreement thoroughly and ensure you retain a copy in a safe place. Regular inspections will also be conducted by our Property Management staff during the tenancy period.

A letter containing details of the inspection will be sent out well in advance before the inspection date. A specific time is not given because our property managers carry out a number of inspections during that particular time period. If you are unable to make the inspection we will use spare keys to gain access to your property. If you wish someone to be present at the inspection please make them available for the entire time period allocated in the letter.


Insurance

It is the tenant’s responsibility to insure personal possessions against any loss, damage or theft.


Rental payments

Rent will be payable in advance as per your Residential Tenancy Agreement. Please contact your Property Manager immediately if you cannot make a rental payment on time. You will be provided with 4 options which will enable you to pay your rent. These options include:

  • RE Connect One Card (Direct Debit)
  • Money Order
  • Bank Cheque
  • Centrepay
  • Eftpos

Bond

Once the lease signing is completed, your Bond will be lodged with the Rental Bond Board where it will be held for the duration of your lease. A Bond is held as a security deposit against any damage or undue wear and tear on the property. Once you vacate the property an inspection will be conducted by your Property Manager. Providing the property report coincides with the original Condition Report (providing for fair wear and tear), you will be asked to fill in a Claim of Bond Form and we will fax the form to the Rental Bond Board giving them permission to release your bond; this process can take up to 21 days.


Looking for a rental property

All properties are located on our website www.griffithre.com and are regularly updated. Viewing available properties can be done via arrangement for a private appointment or by attending open for inspections. Open for inspection times can be found on the website, by phoning our office or by walking into the office to pick up a brochure.If you are interested in a property, you will need to fill in an application form and provide appropriate supporting documentation. A decision normally takes between 24 and 48 hours and is at the absolute discretion of the landlord.

Griffith Real Estate Property Management ensures that all applications are processed and submitted for consideration. A copy of our application form can also be found on our website and submitted electronically.