Imagine this scenario: a tenant slips down a flight of external stairs at a property owned by one of your landlords and injures themselves. The wooden stairs of the older style property are slippery, unlit and have no handrail. The tenant sues for damages. Who is liable? You may be surprised at the answer. The…
With housing affordability at an all-time high in most parts of the nation, the cost of living rising, interest rate hikes on the cards and wages stagnant, households are under considerable stress right now. And this stress does not exclude landlords, most of whom are hardworking mum and dad investors. This article shares some tips…
We’re in for a wet summer according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), who have officially declared that La Nina has returned to the eastern states. Now is the time to ensure the properties you manage are adequately prepared. With persistent and at times heavy rains lashing the eastern states over the past few weeks,…
The introduction of minimum housing standards has been seen as a positive initiative by the rental sector. However, as property managers, to be expected to determine the structural soundness and safety of a property you manage is both ludicrous and dangerous. You should always seek professional advice as the risk of doing anything else is…
The damage that mould can cause, both to a property and the health of the inhabitants, can be costly. The question is whose responsibility is it? It is a proven fact that the presence of mould in a home can be harmful to our health. If we ingest, inhale or come into direct contact with…
With some states and territories changing their legislation to allow tenants to make ‘minor modifications’ to the property they are leasing in order to make it feel more like home – without landlord consent in some cases – what can you, as a property manager, do to protect your landlords in the event that a…
Experts warn Australia has a largely unrecognised problem of sub-standard housing with more than a million Aussies reported to be living in poor or very poor conditions, according to a study of rentals across Australia. The ABC reported a story that sheds light on this hidden reality. David Billet and Craig Vrybergen have both been…
Did the COVID-19 crisis have you working from home for some of this year? If so you’re not alone. With EOFY almost upon us, it’s important to know that there are certain expenses you can claim a deduction for if you were forced to work from home due to the health crisis. This may result…
The REINSW refers to the upcoming NSW rental reforms as “sweeping changes”. So exactly what is changing and how much of an impact will those changes really have on you, your landlords and tenants? All states and territories in Australia have now responded to demand for minimum housing standards for tenants. As a result we…
With much of Australia struggling through a long drought, bushfires burning in large parts of New South Wales and Queensland and no decent rain in sight, it’s important to understand the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords in these situations. Bushfire season has started very early this year with some of the worst fires…
By now you would have heard the news about the QLD government’s proposed rental reforms and the subsequent responses from the REIQ and others about Stage 1 of the proposal. But what are the reforms trying to achieve? Rental reforms are nothing new in Queensland and elsewhere. In July this year New Zealand implemented national…
It’s tax time and that means most of your landlords would be gearing up to complete their annual tax return. One thing they may not be aware of however is that the ATO has announced a crackdown on investment property deductions. According to the ATO, 2.2 million Australians claimed over $47 billion in tax deductions…