Wednesday 18 December 2013

National Occupational Licensing System Dumped

On 13 December 2013, the Council of Australian Governments decided that the proposed policy for National Occupational Licensing System (NOLS) should no longer be pursued. This comes as a relief to many throughout the industry who believe a better option exists.
After discussions with the State governments, several concerns surrounding the NOLS model arose. If a policy for NOLS was pursued, there would have been significant costs for the governments and occupations involved so the jurisdictions encouraged that alternative approaches be sought.
An new alternative plan for labour mobility will be particularly beneficial for real estate professionals that live near the borders of two states as it will allow licensees to operate in any state of Australia using just the one license, rather than having to pay a fee or apply for additional licenses.
The NSW government is working alongside the other States to ensure a system is implemented, and the framework is likely to be similar to how the driver’s license system operates.
Stay tuned for more information on this as it develops.

Tuesday 17 December 2013

The Rise of Long-Term Renters

As we have seen the number of Australians who own their home decline over the last decade, we continue to see a rise in the portion of the population who are renting long term – renting for a continuous period of 10 or more years.
Here are some quick stats on the current long-term rental landscape:
  • In the last decade, the percentage of people renting compared to owning a house has risen from 18.4% to 25.1%.
  • $347 is the average amount a household can expect to pay on housing per week – which is 19.7% less than homeowners with a mortgage pay per week.
  • The average renter spends 20% of their gross income on rent.
  • 10 years ago, around 27% of renters had been renting for 10 years or more. Today, 33.4% of renters have been renting for 10 years or more.
  • 31.8% of people feel they need to rent for longer periods of time to save for a larger house deposit.
  • The number of middle-aged Australians renting long-term continues to increase.
  • More and more families are occupying rental properties, whilst the number of single person rental households is declining.
  • A significant proportion of people who rent don’t feel a sense of community in the area they live, and are less satisfied financially.
What does this mean for property managers?These statistics highlight how important it is to value and take care of your tenants, rather than viewing them as dispensible. If tenants are frequently moving in and out, a property is going to experience a lot more wear and tear.
Property managers should encourage their landlords to find long-term tenants and keep the positive aspects of not having a vacancy in mind when considering when and how often to raise the rent.

Tuesday 10 December 2013

CTTT to Become Known as NCAT

As of January 1 2014, the Consumer, Trader & Tenancy Tribunal (CTTT) will become NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).
CTTT is currently composed of 23 separate NSW tribunals and this system can be quite confusing. NCAT seeks to integrate these existing tribunals to provide a single gateway in an effort to improve the accessibility, efficiency and accountability of the tribunal system and increase the public’s confidence in these services.
To ensure NCAT can meet the needs of Tribunal users, it will consist of five divisions – consumer and commercial, administrative and equal opportunity, occupational and regulatory, guardianship and victim support. This is a response to the challenge which has been maintaining consistency and transparency across over 30 tribunals whilst still providing quality service.
CTTT have announced that any matters which have been lodged with them and not heard before January 1st do not have to be relodged with NCAT, and any the resolution of any matters currently in progress will not be affected.

For further information visit: http://www.tribunals.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/

Monday 2 December 2013

Free Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service for NSW

NSW tenants, landlords and property managers can now utilise a free tenancy dispute resolution service which aims to resolve residential tenancy disputes rather than having them heard by the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal (CTTT) which will be known as the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) as of 1st January 2014.
Areas where Fair Trading is able to assist in resolving disputes includes:
  • repairs and maintenance
  • non-urgent health and safety issues
  • alterations and additions
  • access to the premises including inspections
  • non-compliance with the tenancy agreement
  • water saving devices and smoke alarms
  • provisions of correct notices
  • ending a tenancy
  • breaking a lease, and
  • condition reports
Rather than have parties go through the standard initial conciliation process at tribunal, this new resolution service seeks to resolve disputes through a teleconference or onsite meeting. This method relies on the co-operation of both parties and their willingness to reach an agreement out of court – Fair Trading recommends that parties involved in a dispute are open to various suggestions of how to settle the dispute.
In any instance where Fair Trading cannot help the parties reach a mutual agreement in regards to the resolution of their dispute, either party can lodge a claim with NCAT. Additionally, NCAT will continue to deal with all other areas of residential tenancy that Fair Trading does not handle.
Visit the Fair Trading – Residential Tenancy Disputes page, or call 13 32 20 for more information about the free dispute resolution service.

Tuesday 26 November 2013

RentRight: New Mobile App for VIC Tenants

Consumer Affairs Victoria have developed a free mobile app ‘RentRight’, designed to assist Victorian tenants in knowing their rights and responsibilities, whilst also providing various resources to aid renters in managing their tenancy.
This app provides renters with a wealth of information at their fingertips, but provided Property Managers are diligent in keeping up to date with legislation and best practice, there is no need to see the app as a threat or problem.
Some of the key features of the ‘RentRight’ app include:

  • Legislated information for renters on topics where renters may have previously been unclear of their rights and responsibilities. Areas such as leases and notices, standards, repairs, and entry rights are clearly and thoroughly explained.
  • Helping tenants understand condition reports. The app outlines the actual purpose of the report, and also the importance of being diligent with inspecting the property prior to tenancy. It specifies the requirements of both the landlord and tenant.
  • Lodging legal notices for repairs, damages and utilities directly to the property manager. The app can lodge urgent and non-urgent repairs or damage to the premises, with the functionality to include photos in the notice. It can also lodge a legal notice if the tenant has paid utility charges that are not the tenant’s responsibility.
  • Various email templates regarding issues such as ending a lease (e.g. before a lease agreement expires, because the premises are unsafe, because the landlord has given notice to vacate) and breaches of duty (e.g. keys have not been provided, the premises have not been maintained in good condition).
  • Calculating weekly rent costs, to assist renters determine how much their payments will be, whether they are to be paid fortnightly, monthly, six-monthly or annually.
  • Budgeting calculator which is designed to track the various up-front costs that may be involved in renting a new property.


It is vital that Property Managers continue to educate themselves on industry standards, legislation changes and their responsibilities – lucky for our Real+ members it’s easy to stay on the ball.
The various learning modules on the Real+ learning platform help test your knowledge and see which learning areas may need improvement.
You have access to resources such as learner guides to assist in managing arrears, maintaining property and even landlord letter templates, whilst we also aim to keep you informed on industry changes with announcements in the ‘News’ section of the platform.

Tuesday 19 November 2013

New Strata Laws in NSW to Match 21st Century Lifestyle

As property managers, I’m sure we’ve all been frustrated with strata rules at some point or another. Thankfully, proposed new laws are finally bringing strata rules into the 21st century, according to NSW Fair Trading Minister, Anthony Roberts.

Whilst changes are still some time away, the media is going to be heavily focused on these changes over the coming months, meaning your landlords will hear a lot about it all. In order to be prepared for their concerns and questions, we need to be aware of the proposed changes and start to think about how this will affect our processes.
These changes have been prompted by the growth in strata title across NSW over the last 50 years, with more than 30% of NSW’s population now either owning, living or working in strata and community schemes, the department proposes to introduce these new laws by mid-2014.

The new legislation will provide a number of options for more modern, innovative and positive outcomes for all – including owners, investors, tenants and managing agents.
Some of the proposed changes will include:

For tenants:
  • Smoke drift – no longer will tenants be allowed to smoke on apartment balconies.
  • Pets by Default – tenants can no longer be banned from having a pet or require special permission to do so.
For landlords:
  • Renovations – such as addressing noisy timber and tiled floors before they are laid, as opposed to the current system where noisy floors can only be addressed after they become a problem.
  • Overcrowding, building defects, levies, debt recovery, sinking funds, insurance, money management, dispute resolution, compliance and enforcement will also be covered.
Executive Committees & Voting
  • Allow strata schemes to choose alternative methods of attendance at meetings including social media, video and teleconferencing. Postal or electronic votes from owners who are not physically in attendance will also be acceptable.
  • Tenants will have the right to attend and participate in meetings of the owners corporation tenants will not be given new voting rights.
  • Executive committee members in strata schemes will have to declare conflicts of interest and may be required to remove themselves from voting on issues if such conflicts emerge.
  • Strata managers, building managers, caretakers and agents will no longer be allowed to sit on executive committees
  • Proxy votes will be restricted in schemes of more than 20 units to 5 percent of the ownership. In buildings of 20 units or fewer, owners will only be allowed to carry one proxy vote.
What does this mean for you?
We will be keeping a close eye on confirmation of the proposed changes and keeping you in the loop of how it will affect your landlords, and what you can do to update your property management processes and office policies.

For more information about the new Strata Reform, check out the NSW Govt Srata Title Law Reform Position Paper or visit this section of NSW Dept of Fair Trading site.

Tuesday 29 October 2013

New Swimming Pool Laws in NSW

New legislation affecting backyard swimming pools and spa pools has been introduced in NSW to enhance the safety of children around private (backyard) swimming pools and spas. How will this affect you?
Pool owners
Swimming pool and spa pool owners are required to register their pools on an online Register to be provided by the NSW State Government. Owners are required to self-assess and state that their pool complies with the applicable standards when registering.
The NSW Swimming Pool Register is available for use at www.swimmingpoolregister.nsw.gov.au. Owners must register their pools by no later than 29 October 2013. There is a penalty for owners who fail to do so. Owners may also register their pools via their local council.
Owners may apply for a Swimming Pool Compliance Certificate from their local councils or an accredited certifier so they are in a position to confidently register their pool. However, there is a fee payable for this service.From 29 April 2014 pool owners who wish to sell their property must apply and obtain a Swimming Pool Compliance Certificate to be attached to the contract for sale, and pool owners who wish to lease their property must apply and obtain a Swimming Pool Compliance Certificate and provide a copy to the tenant.
A Swimming Pool Compliance Certificate is valid for 3 years.

Monday 21 October 2013

Managing Properties Affected by the NSW Bushfires

Our thoughts go out to all those affected by the Bushfires in NSW... For our Real+ Members managing properties near the affected areas - we wanted to provide you with some information on what to do if any of your tenancies are affected by the disaster. It’s also great information to know even if you are not in those affected areas. 
Office of Fair Trading: 13 32 20
For all Real+ members around Australia this tragic time is a timely reminder to ensure you have efficient procedures in place in regards to landlords insurance. Depending on the policy in your office and state you need to be recommending or ensuring to your landlords to always have up to date Home and Building Insurance so that they are adequately covered in an event such as this.
If you need help setting up an ongoing annual programme to ensure your landlords insurance policies remain up to date, and to eliminate any risk to your agency if your landlord chooses not to insure, don’t hesitate to give us a call at Real+.

Sunday 13 October 2013

What Face Do You Show on Facebook?

Cheeky status updates on Facebook can be fun and create a lot of ‘attention’ from your friends. Downside is, these types of posts give a client or work colleagues way too much information about your personal life and risk painting the wrong impression.

If business acquaintances have access to your personal page, then it’s time to shift your attention from just ‘social’ posting and include posts which highlight your values and character.

‘Un-friend’ any unsavoury types you’re connected to, avoid mixing alcohol and Facebook updates and try to steer clear of compromising photo opportunities.

Ultimately, the responsibility of what appears on your Facebook profile lies with you. If you’re concerned about your image, now would be the time to adjust your privacy settings and photo tagging permissions.

Your social media profile plays a huge part in how you present yourself publicly and should be the very best representation of you. After all, that potential client you’re trying to impress, could be weighing you up on Facebook right this very minute!

Tuesday 24 September 2013

Expert Guest Presenters at Our Lunchtime Webinars!

Our newest initiative bringing even-more value to the Property Management industry!

In addition to the awesome webinars we already deliver, Real+ is now featuring Guest Presenters as part of our regular webinar program.
And the great thing is…
It’s all for YOU!
Our exciting line-up of Guest Presenters includes experts in a cross-section of fields including sales, technology, social media and motivation, to inspire and educate your employees in essential business, technical and communication skills in a unique, interactive environment.

What’s more, each expert presenter will bring their own special insights to challenge you and your team to be better and do better in both your personal and professional lives.

To find out when you can take advantage of these exclusive webinars, check out your Webinar Calendar on the Real+ platform or keep an eye out for our Webinar Invitations in your inbox!