Prospective tenants are required to complete a detailed tenant application form in full and provide details of current and past employment, current address and previous address. You will also be required to provide a copy of your driver’s license. These details are thoroughly checked by our property management team. We also engage National Tenancy Database to provide us with your past rental history and bank/credit history. After completion, a selection is made by the landlord. As soon as an application is approved, an REIV tenancy agreement is prepared for the landlord and the tenant to sign. This is a legally binding agreement whereby both parties agree to adhere to the conditions set out in the agreement.
When you commence your tenancy, you will be given two sets of working keys to the premises. Extra copies you may require should be cut at your own expense. It is our recommendation that you change the barrels in all external doors upon moving into your new home. The cost associated with this is at the tenant’s expense. Please be aware that if you do change the locks you are required under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 to provide our office with a complete set of keys for any new locks, likewise, any change to security alarm codes must be relayed to this office.
We can recommend our preferred locksmith at your request. In the event that you lock yourself out of your home, please contact our office to confirm that a spare set of keys are held. You may collect these during office hours, you will be required to pay a $50.00 refundable deposit and photo identification in order to collect the keys. Please note, keys may only be collected by a person named on the tenancy agreement. In the event this occurs out of hours, please contact our office on 03 5261 5155, our answering service will provide you with the name and telephone number of the property manager on call. In these circumstances, any locksmiths costs will be incurred by the tenant.
This document is as equally important as the lease agreement as it establishes the condition of the property at the commencement of your tenancy. The condition report is used as a comparison at the end of your tenancy and is the basis on which your bond is refunded. Please ensure you check the condition report thoroughly upon moving in. You have three working days after the commencement of your tenancy to sign the report and return it to our agency. If you neglect to return a signed copy of this report, you could forfeit your right to object if there is a disagreement at the end of your tenancy.
A full set of colour photographs are taken of the interior and exterior of the property as a visual record. The extensive photography involved includes inside the oven, cook tops, toilets, fixtures and fittings etc. By keeping a correctly documented condition report ensures the property is returned in the same condition at the end of the tenancy . This is done for every property.
Rental is due and payable in full on the date indicated in the lease agreement. This is payable monthly in advance. Rent must be paid direct to the owner via internet transfer. We are vigilant in our monitoring of arrears and pursuing outstanding money for our landlords. We will send you an email, SMS, letter via surface mail or call you on the telephone to remind you. It is important that should any unforeseen circumstances arise and you are unable to pay your rental by the due date, that you contact your property manager to discuss the situation. We will then discuss the issue with the landlord. Under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 a landlord may serve you with a notice to vacate if you allow the rental to be overdue by 14 days.
We require all repairs and maintenance requests to be advised in writing to our office. Where urgent attention to a problem is required, an initial telephone call followed up by written confirmation is acceptable. A maintenance request form may be accessed here on our website or up above on the Tenant’s page under “online forms”. As we act on direct instructions from your landlord, Torquay Links Property and the landlord will not pay or reimburse any maintenance accounts not previously authorised or instructed by this office. In the case of an after hours urgent repair (as specified under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997), please contact our office on 03 5261 5155, our answering service will provide you with the name and telephone number of the property manager on call. Please find hereunder a list of items determined as urgent maintenance as specified in the Residential Tenancies Act 1997.
- A burst water service.
- A blocked or broken lavatory system.
- A serious roof leak.
- A gas leak.
- A dangerous electrical fault.
- Flooding or serious flood damage.
- Serious storm or fire damage.
- A failure or breakdown of any essential service or appliance provided by the landlord or agent for hot water, water, cooking, heating or laundry.
- A failure or breakdown of the gas, electricity or water supply.
- Any fault or damage that makes the rented premises unsafe or insecure.
- An appliance, fitting or fixture which is not working properly and causes a substantial amount of water to be wasted or
- A serious fault in a lift or staircase in the rental premises.
Routine inspections are carried out by your property manager every six months. We will notify you in writing of the time we intend to conduct the inspection. Should you wish to be present at the inspection and the time is not suitable, please contact your property manager to arrange a mutually convenient time. Landlords are provided with a written report after each inspection of both the internal and external presentation of their property.
We recommend that you insure your furniture and personal possessions against loss, damage or theft. The landlord does not have any obligation to insure your possessions.
Your landlord has approved your tenancy in the names stated on the lease agreement. If a new person wishes to occupy the property, they must complete a tenancy application form and be similarly approved. Any changes in occupants will affect the bond refund when you vacate, therefore it is imperative that these procedures are strictly adhered to. Contact your property manager to discuss and confirm this process. If the lease agreement is in joint or multiple names, all parties are individually and jointly responsible until further documentation is approved and executed. In other words, if the agreement is in multiple names and one party does not have the funds to meet their commitment, all other parties are responsible to meet that commitment.
A minimum of 28 days written notice must be given to our property management department. This notice cannot be for a date earlier than the lease expiry date and the notice is taken from the date our office receives the notice. Please note that rent is payable up until the date that all keys for the premises are returned to our office. After receiving your advice on vacating, your property manager will request availability of the premises for inspections to be undertaken prior to vacating the premises. This will allow our office to show potential tenants through the property. The preference for these inspections will be late afternoon weekdays, no weekends. In the event that you have to vacate earlier than the lease expiry date you will incur additional costs for breaking your lease agreement. Please contact your property manager to discuss your situation and for a full list of charges that will apply.
Prior to vacating, it is the tenants responsibility to arrange for a final metre reading (at least 48 hours prior to vacating) for any telephone, gas, water or electricity supply to the property and advise the above supply services of your forwarding address.
When a tenant vacates a property and returns the keys to our agency, one of our property managers will carry out a final inspection. This inspection is to determine the condition of the property on vacating, compared to the condition of the property at the commencement of the tenancy. An agent has ten working days from the termination of the lease or from the date the keys are handed back to finalise the refund of the bond. Should any dispute arise regarding the refund of the bond due to damage to the property, the matter may be referred to the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) for determination.