Tenant Information

Tenant Information

Why does Ferry Property insist on our Property Managers meeting new & prospective tenants?

 

We believe that by meeting prospective tenants, each party has the opportunity to discuss all aspects of the property, whilst pinpointing any problem areas that may need attention prior to signing up.

Tenant Forms

To Do Checklist

  1. Complete the Form 1a – Entry Condition Report within the next 3 working days, sign all 3 pages & return to Ferry Property.  
  2. Contact Ergon Energy 13 10 46 to arrange connection of electricity supply
  3. Contact Telstra 13 22 00 / Optus 13 39 37 to arrange connection of your telephone service
  4. Contact Origin Gas 13 24 62 / Elgas 13 11 61 to arrange connection of gas supply (if applicable)
  5. Contact your insurance company to advise of your change of address. As our landlords are not responsible for your personal belongings, it is in your best interests to ensure that you have Contents Insurance for your personal belongings.
  6. Take the Stress out of cleaning – organise for a cleaner,   carpet cleaner & fumigator for the clean up of the property you are vacating. 

Rent Payments

It is a tenant’s legal responsibility to pay their rent in advance at all times. Rent payments can be made at our office weekdays between 8.30am – 5.15 pm or on Saturday mornings between 8.30am – 12.00 pm. If paying be money order, please write your name & property address on the back.

Rent can be paid at our office which is located at 21-25 Sturt Street, Townsville by EFTPOS or cash. Alternatively, we offer the RE Connect oneCard which allows you to pay your rent 24 hours per day/7days per week. You can use most popular electronic methods available today e.g. Pay by Phone, Internet, BPay, Credit Card and others making paying your rent easier and more convenient for you. Please refer to the RE Connect oneCard terms and conditions for further information at www.reconnect.com.au.

Rent Arrears

If you experience difficulty in paying your rent on time, PLEASE contact your Property Manager to discuss your options. 

REMINDER – If your rent falls 7 days in arrears, you will be issued with a Form 11 - Notice to Remedy Breach. If your rent should not be caught up to date by the expiry date on this notice, you will be issued with a Form 12 – Notice to Leave.

Rental Bonds

When securing a new rental property, you are required to pay a rental bond (usually the equivalent of 4 weeks rent).This money is processed through our office before being forwarded to the Residential Tenancies Authority to be held in trust, until such time that you vacate the premises.

Rental Bonds are refunded in full ONLY after all keys have been returned to our firm & an inspection of the property has been completed. It is in your best interests to return the property to the same condition you found it when you first moved in.

ATTENTION:  BOND MONIES CANNOT BE APPLIED TOWARDS RENTAL PAYMENTS.

Form 1a - Entry Condition Report

This form itemises the condition of the property & any items of furniture supplied when you first move in. It is most important for you to check it very carefully, add any further comments in the right hand column, sign & date all 3 pages then return the completed report to our office within 3 working days of starting your lease. (You will receive a photocopy for your own records)

Upon vacating the property, your Property Manager will use your returned copy of the report to complete a thorough inspection. It is in your best interest to ensure you return this form. Failure to do so will require us to use our original office copy. If there is damage noted at the inspection & it has not been noted on the report, you could be held responsible for costs to repair.

Maintenance/Repairs

A Maintenance Request Form must be completed to report all items of maintenance/repair as they arise.  This may be faxed to 4772 2381 or emailed to rent@ferryproperty.com.au

Routine Maintenance Inspections

We like to keep in touch with our tenants & visit regularly (4-6 monthly). We will notify you with a Form 9 – Entry Notice, to advise of the day & time of our visit. It is a good idea to contact us if you will not be at home, so that we can take a master key along with us.
DON’T FORGET – Please restrain your pets on the day.

Handy Helpful Hints

  1. Air-conditioners – don’t forget to clean the filters & front vents regularly.
  2. Bathrooms – Help to keep mould at bay by providing adequate ventilation after bathing. (Open windows).
  3. Garages/Carports – Please supply an oil drip tray for your vehicles to catch any oily drips.
  4. Walls/Floors – Keep your furniture a safe distance from the walls, to protect your furniture & walls from scrapes & bumps. Also ensure that your furniture has protective carpet strips or similar under the legs to protect flooring.
  5. Hooks – Refrain from putting up any new hooks. If you would like a few hooks installed, please notify us in writing stating where you wish to have them & how many. We will send your request on to the owners of the property for their consideration.
    REMEMBER – stick-on hooks, blutac & adhesive tapes can stain or peel the paintwork. Please refrain from using these also.
  6. Lawns & Gardens – Your lawns need to be mowed, edged & watered regularly. It is a good idea to keep gardens weed free as well.

Breaking Your Lease

We are happy to assist tenants who find it necessary to break their lease. However, the following conditions do apply:

  1. The tenant is responsible for payment of rent until such time that a new tenant is secured for the property or the lease expires (whichever occurs first).
  2. A letting fee equivalent to one weeks rent plus GST is payable.
  3. Advertising expenses are also payable for advertising on the internet and in the Townsville Bulletin on a weekly basis, at cost.
  4. The tenant must continue to maintain the lawns & gardens regularly (mow, edge, weed & water)
  5. If a swimming pool is installed at the property, the tenant must continue to maintain the pool, again, until a new tenant is secured for the property.

Vacating Procedure

Tenants are required to give Fourteen (14) days written notice of intention to vacate.
We recommend that to obtain a full refund of rental bond, the following items be attended to before returning the keys.

  1. Cleaning – Please ensure that the premises is clean & tidy as per your Entry Condition Report standard. We understand that people are busy with work & moving yet need to find the time to clean also. We can certainly recommend a reliable cleaner to do the job for you at a competitive price.
  2. Carpet Clean – Ensure all carpeted areas have been cleaned by a professional carpet cleaning service, as you are required to hand in a copy of the receipt with the keys.
  3. Fumigation – If any pets have been kept at the premises, you are required to have the property fumigated for fleas & ticks. Again, a copy of the receipt will be required to be handed in with the keys.
  4. Curtains & Blinds – Please clean all curtains as per washing label instructions, iron if needed & re-hang them correctly. Please contact us if you are unsure. Vertical Blinds & Venetian Blinds can be easily cleaned by a reputable company. Please ask us for contact details.
  5. Lawn Maintenance – All lawns are to be mowed & edged. Gardens are to be weeded.
  6. Rubbish Bins – Please empty both bins of all rubbish. Clean & dry bins before storing them safely in the garage/carport area or to the rear of the property.

On the day of vacation keys & receipts are to be handed in to our agency prior to 10am, along with your forwarding address & all contact phone numbers.

We will then complete a full inspection of the premises within the next 24 hours. We will contact you to advise if there is further cleaning etc required. Should we not be able to contact you within 24 hours of inspecting the premises, Ferry Property reserves the right to arrange a cleaning service or repairman to complete the task.

REMEMBER – Your tenancy does not terminate until all keys have been returned to our firm. You will be responsible for rent until they have been returned.

Attention Tenants

We would like to take this opportunity to inform you that our office is a member of TENANCY INFORMATION CENTRE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD. As the name suggests it is a National Information Service to Real Estate Agents reporting on troublesome tenants.

Our office is a strong supporter of the service and therefore wishes to advise you that should you default in any way under the terms and conditions of your lease, your information will be listed. Once listed, your information will remain on file indefinitely until any problems are rectified.

This will increase the difficulties when re-locating as TENANCY INFORMATION CENTRE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD has a very strong membership throughout Australia. We look forward to a harmonious Agent/Tenant relationship as we will only follow this course of action when absolutely necessary.

Building Units & Group Titles Act (Section 30)

Third Schedule By-Laws

  1. Noise – A proprietor or occupier of a lot shall not upon the parcel create any noise likely to interfere with the peaceful enjoyment of the proprietor or occupier of another lot or of any person lawfully using common property.
  2. Vehicles – Save where a by-law made pursuant to section 30(7) authorizes him to do so, a proprietor or occupier of a lot shall not park or stand any motor or other vehicle upon common property except with the consent in writing of the body corporate.
  3. Obstruction – A proprietor or occupier of a lot shall not obstruct lawful use of common property by any person.
  4. Damage to lawns etc on common property – A proprietor or occupier of a lot shall not:
    1. damage any lawn, garden, tree, shrub, plant or flower being part of or situated upon common property; or
    2. except with the consent in writing of the body corporate, use for his own purposes as a garden any portion of the common property.
  5. Damage to common property – A proprietor or occupier of a lot shall not mark, paint, drive nails or screws or the like into, or otherwise damage or deface, any structure that forms part of the common property except with the consent in writing of the body corporate, but this by-law does not prevent a proprietor or person authorized by him from installing:
    1. any locking or other safety device for protection of his lot against intruders; or
    2. any screen or other device to prevent entry of animals or insects upon his lot.
      Provided that the locking or other safety device or, as the case may be, screen or other device is constructed in a workman-like manner, is maintained in a state of good and serviceable repair by the proprietor and does not detract from the amenity of the building.
  6. Behaviour of invitees – A proprietor or occupier of a lot shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that his invitees do not behave in a manner likely to interfere with the peaceful enjoyment of the proprietor or occupier of another lot or of any person lawfully using common property.
  7. Depositing rubbish etc on common property – A proprietor or occupier of a lot shall not deposit or throw upon the common property any rubbish, dirt, dust or other material likely to interfere with the peaceful enjoyment of the proprietor or occupier of another lot or of any person lawfully using the common property.
  8. Appearance of building – In the case of a Building Units Plan, a proprietor or occupier of a lot shall not except with the consent in writing of the body corporate, hang any washing, towel, bedding, clothing or other article or display any sign, advertisement, placard, banner, pamphlet or like matter on any part of his lot in such a way as to be visible from outside the building.
  9. Storage of flammable liquids etc – A proprietor or occupier of a lot shall not, except with the consent in writing of the body corporate, use or store upon his lot or upon the common property any flammable chemical, liquid or gas or other flammable material, other than chemicals, liquids, gases or other material used or intended to be used for domestic purposes, or any such chemical, liquid, gas or other materials in a fuel tank of a motor vehicle or internal combustion engine.
  10. Garbage Disposal – A proprietor or occupier of a lot shall:
    1. save where the body corporate provides some other means of disposal of garbage, maintain within his lot, or on such part of the common property as may be authorized by the body corporate, in clean and dry condition and adequately covered, a receptacle for garbage;
    2. comply with all local authority by-laws and ordinances relating to the disposal of garbage;
    3. ensure that the health, hygiene and comfort of the proprietor or occupier of any other lot is not adversely affected by his disposal of garbage.

Keeping of animals

Subject to section 30 (12), a proprietor or occupier of a lot shall not, without the approval in writing of the body corporate, keep any animal upon his lot or the common property.

YOUR CO-OPERATION IN COMPLYING WITH THESE BY-LAWS WILL BE APPRECIATED BY ALL.