General FAQs

Like all industries in South Australia, a number of Acts of parliament apply to the real estate industry.

First there is the Land Agents Act 1994 which outlines the responsibilities of all people working in the real estate industry including the establishment and management of Trust Accounts, Licensing of staff, and other matters. All practitioners must be properly qualified and licensed under this Act.

Secondly the Residential Tenancies Act of 1995 governs and regulates the rental part of the industry. This Act outlines the duties and responsibilities of Agents, Property Managers, Landlords and Tenants.

At Kevin Hodges Real Estate, we fully comply with all the requirements of these Acts of Parliament. All of our staff hold the appropriate qualifications and licenses.

More information is available at these web sites:

http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdb/au/legis/sa/consol_act/rta1995207/

https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A/LAND%20AGENTS%20ACT%201994.aspx

Click here to download summary pdf

We suggest that you print for your records but we will also keep you informed and updated via our Facebook page and regular newsletter.

The time it takes to rent your home depends on market conditions. However, in recent years it has averaged between 14 and 30 days. Keep in mind, that the overriding factor in renting, is to not only find tenants, but to find the right tenant. This may not be the first one who applies for the property.

To make the time as short as possible, we put your rental home into our system as soon as it is “rent ready”. This means it is listed on four different web sites, complete with full-colour photos.

Our Property Managers know how important the time factor is, especially when there are mortgages to pay, so they conduct viewings of your property after hours and at times to suit tenants. We make sure no-one is missed!

Landlord responsibilities are spelled out in the Residential Tenancies Act. If you have access to the Internet, you can download this document from the Government web site: http://www.ocba.sa.gov.au/tenancies/

We provide the following extract from this web site: “The landlord rents residential premises to a tenant. The landlord must abide by the requirements of the Residential Tenancies Act. One of these requirements is that the landlord must ensure the premises (and ancillary property) comply with health, safety and housing standards. The landlord must provide the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness and repair and must maintain them (having regard to their age, character and prospective life). The landlord is to abide with all the conditions included in the tenancy agreement and supply agreed services.”

The Landlord has an obligation to:

• Provide the premises in a clean and reasonable state
• Maintain and repair the premises
• Ensure that the tenant is given reasonable peace, comfort and privacy whilst living in the premises
• Pay council rates and taxes; provide and maintain locks to ensure the premises are secure

You also have the right to inspect the property, but appropriate notice must be given to the tenant first. The amount of notice required is all spelled out in the Act. In addition to maintenance, it is essential that you keep the property insured, particularly keeping in place appropriate Public Liability Insurance.

When your property is vacant, we generally inspect it each week and of course, when we take prospective tenants to it for a viewing.

The next inspection is done prior to the residents moving in. This is known as the first inspection, as it is the first one for those particular tenants. This is a fully detailed and written report comprising several pages which is required under the Residential Tenancies Act. At this time, a series of photographs are taken both inside and outside the home and filed electronically for future reference.

We then guarantee to inspect the property at least three more times during the twelve month period. The first of these may be done within a period less than three months, depending on where that particular property fits into our area groupings. A full written report is then sent to you after each inspection. We also conduct inspections that may arise from a particular need. For example, the property manager may need to ask the tenant to do something, like clean up an oil spill. The tenant will be given seven days to comply and the property manager will go back on the eighth day to make sure the work has been done.

When that particular tenant concludes their tenancy, a further inspection is done. This is known as the final inspection, as it is the last one with that tenant. Providing everything is satisfactory, the bond is released to the tenant. If not, then a claim is made against the bond for cleaning, lawn mowing or whatever the need may be.

Requests for maintenance should come from the tenant to our office. As a part of our on-going service, our property managers will notify you of any matters that they may see while conducting regular inspections. Once we have received a request from the tenant, we will handle this in the following way:

Firstly, it may be something simple that our property manager can fix over the phone. For example, the tenant will be directed to do some basic checks to see if they can fix it. If the matter needs a tradesperson to attend, the property manager will check the instructions we have from you on file and follow those instructions. These could be:

• Call you with all requests for you to take action
• Receive verbal instructions from you to engage a tradesperson
• Go ahead and engage a tradesperson providing the cost does not exceed a pre-determined limit that you have given us in the Property Management Agreement

If you are unable to be contacted, we will then contact any emergency persons you have told us about. In the event that no-one can be contacted for instructions, and it is a genuine emergency, we will go ahead and use our discretion to have the matter rectified.

You are quite at liberty to sell your rental home at any time. Naturally, the tenant’s lease cannot be changed, and the property will need to be sold with the lease (and tenant) intact. This does not usually present any difficulty.

If you wish to sell your property, your property manager will refer you to our Sales Department, and our expert sales staff will be able to appraise your home and determine which is the best method of sale.

Our people are highly trained and skilled in negotiating with tenants to gain their co-operation during the selling period. Whilst it can be of some inconvenience to the tenant, we have never found it a problem. Often we will have another landlord wishing to buy your property. This can certainly minimise your costs and inconvenience to the tenant.

We ensure a smooth changeover occurs.

We strongly recommend that you have this type of cover in place. We recommend EBM Insurance Brokers. Their website is: www.ebminsurance.com.au
In the event of a claim exceeding the bond, this insurance is invaluable.
In summary, the policy will cover the following (for full information, please refer to your policy documents which will be provided to you):

• Loss of Rent
• Malicious Damage
• Accidental Loss or Damage
• Deliberate damage
• Earthquake
• Representation Costs, Legal Expenses, Liability and Tax Audit
• Theft, or damage caused by theft
• Legal Liability $20,000,000.00

Naturally various excesses apply just like any policy. Please contact www.ebminsurance.com.au for full details or call our office for a brochure to be sent to you.