Rental FAQ's

Owner Information    (Tenant Information below)
What happens if my tenant doesn’t pay?
A reminder SMS is sent to tenants the day before rent is due, a follow up call is made if the rent is still outstanding after 2 days, on day 3 a Notice of Breach is sent to the tenants giving then 14 days to pay. If after this time rent is still outstanding a Notice of Termination is issued giving the tenant 7 days to vacate the premises. 
 
What happens if we have to go to Court to collect rent?
Our landlords will be advised prior to a Termination Notice being issued. The owner will be informed of the process and advised once the rent has been paid, the property is vacated or the matter is being referred to court. All documentation will be taken by your Property Manager to court, and you will be advised of the courts ruling.
 
 
How often do I get paid?
 We pay all our owners at the end of each calendar month, funds will be deposited direct into your nominated account. A statement will be emailed or posted to you at the end of the month.
 
 
What happens if I don’t understand the statement?
 On receiving your statement, if you should have any queries please contact our office and we will arrange to run through any queries you have.
 
 
What happens if I want to increase the rent?
Our rents will be reviewed on every lease renewal or at least once a year. Should you wish to discuss an increase of rent please feel free to contact your Property Manager.
 
 
What happens at the end of the tenancy?
Tenants are required to give notice prior to vacating. Owners will be advised in writing as soon as this notice is received. Unless we are instructed otherwise, arrangements will be made to advertise your property after a rent review. You will be advised on a weekly basis while the property is vacant, once an application is received you will be contacted to discuss the prospective tenants.

 
What does Landlord Insurance cover?
We strongly recommend landlords insurance. This can be arranged by us for you at the time of signing up. We have enclosed the necessary forms and a brief on what is included in this policy. Alan Bourke Real Estate is paid a referral fee for policies held with Terri Scheer Insurance Brokers.
 
 
What happens if tenants damage my property?
Your Property Manager will be checking for any damage at each inspection. A final inspection will be carried out when tenants vacate. Depending on the level of damage, repairs will be arranged and the tenant will be charged for these repairs. Should it require major repairs, the matter may be reported to the police and your insurer will be advised to arrange for an assessor to view the property.
 
 
Does your building insurance cover damage caused by tenants?
BEWARE some policies do not cover damage to the building that was caused by tenants. The company we recommend have this covered by ensuring their building and landlords policies work together. For more details call our office for an information pack.
 
 
How often do you check on my property?
The first inspection is carried out after 6 weeks, this is to check on the tenants and see that they have settled in. All future inspections will be carried out every 3 months.
 
 
What happens if the quality of the property is deteriorating?
Our landlords will be advised after inspections if there are areas that require maintenance. We also advise if future redecoration is required to keep your property presented to a high standard.
 
 
When do you advertise?
Your property will be advertised prior to the current tenants vacating. Viewings will be arranged with the outgoing tenants where possible to ensure minimal vacancy time.
 
 
Will I get a record of my advertising account?
Your property can be viewed on our website and on realestate.com at any time. Should you require details of any newspaper advertising charged please contact your Property Manager.
 
 
How often do you contact me when the property is vacant?
Your Property manager will contact you every week, give you feed back on how the letting process is going. You will also be contacted to discuss any applications received.
 
Tenant Information
Office Hours
The office is open from Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 5.00 pm.  The office is not open on Saturdays, if you require service outside these hours, all you need to do is phone mobile 0421 568 797 for Dominique Parisot or mobile 0416 148 486 for Sandie Stewart.
 
 
Electricity, Gas & Telephone
We have formed an alliance with Direct Connect, a specialist utility connection service provider, who can assist you in connecting and disconnecting your phone, gas and electricity when you move into one of Alan Bourke Real Estate’s properties and also when you choose to leave. Better still the service is completely free of charge.
 
If you wish to use these extremely convenient service please let your Property Manager know.
 
Rental Payments
You need to pay your rent in advance at all times. If at any time you are unable to make a rental payment, please contact your Property Manager. If we do not receive your rental payment and you have not contacted us then this may lead to you being issued with a Termination Notice. So please let us know if you are going to be late with a rental payment.
Property Condition Report
This report is very important to you as it outlines the condition of the property at the commencement of your tenancy and will be used when you vacate the property to determine if there are any variations that you need to reinstate.
We will provide you with two copies of this report when you sign the tenancy agreement. You should review the Report thoroughly and feel free to make any additional comments if you feel that the report is not entirely accurate.
It is also very important that after you have reviewed the report that you return it to us within 7 days of the commencement of your tenancy, retaining a copy for your records.
Rental Bond
Your rental bond will be lodged with the Bond Administration and is held as security against any unpaid rent or damage to the property. Shortly after lodgement, you will receive written confirmation from the Bond Administration that they have received your rental bond and will provide you with a Rental Bond Registration Number.
Your rental bond will be refunded to you promptly after you have vacated the property provided that your rent is up to date and there are no monies owing for cleaning or repairs to the property.
Inspections during your tenancy
During the course of your tenancy, your Property Manager may inspect your property. We will contact you in advance to arrange a convenient time and will always ensure that we give you at least 7 days notice.  We will occasionally take photos of maintenance items that need the owner’s attention.
Repairs and Maintenance
All requests for repairs and maintenance are best reported via our website. To log your Maintenance Request on line click on the "Maintenance Request" button on the top of our web page.
In the event of an urgent repair required outside office hours, and your Property Manager is un-contactable, arrangements for repairs can be made directly with the tradespeople listed on the front page of your tenancy agreement.
Your Property Manager will attend to all non-urgent repairs within one business day, however, in many instances it will be necessary to obtain the owner`s approval before any work can commence.
Keys
We will retain a duplicate key in a secure location at our office. the reason we do this is in case we need to secure access in an emergency.
If you do want to change any of the locks at the property, you will need to speak with your property manager first and then supply us with a spare set of the new keys.
Insurance
The owner`s insurance cover on the property does not extend to cover your belongings. We strongly suggest that you take out comprehensive contents insurance to cover your belongings against fire, theft and other perils.
In the event that you, another occupier, or visitor accidentally damages the property and rectification work is required, you may be required to pay any excess that may apply to the owner`s insurance cover.
Sub-leasing
Your tenancy agreement states the maximum permissible number of people who can occupy the property. If there is any change in either the original occupants or any additional occupants, please notify your Property Manager immediately.
Unfortunately, you are not allowed to sub-let your property without the owner`s consent. So if you would like to sub-let your property, talk to your Property Manager first.
Termination of a Tenancy Agreement
Your tenancy agreement is a legal contract providing protection for both you and the property owner. You can only terminate this agreement in one of the following ways:
If you intend to vacate at the end of your tenancy agreement, you are required to give 21 days written notice to us prior to the expiry of your agreement. Once the fixed term has expired, unless you have been given notice to the contrary, you may continue living at the property. If you intend to vacate after your tenancy agreement has expired, you must give us at least 21 days written notice in advance.
If any unforeseen circumstances arise and you have to vacate the property prior to the expiration of your tenancy agreement, please contact your Property Manager immediately.
In this situation we will endeavour to find another tenant to take over your tenancy obligations. If this occurs, you will be responsible for the following:
·        Payment of all rent until another suitable tenant moves into the property
·        Payment of an agreement preparation fee of $15.00.
A Vacating Notice may be sent to us using one of the following methods:
·        Posted to PO Box 402, Como WA 6952 or
·        Hand delivered to 240 Canning Highway, South Perth or
·        Faxed to us on (08) 9474 2549.
Unfortunately, we cannot receive Vacating Notices by email or over the phone as they are not legally permissible.
Tenant Repair Tips
Before proceeding with logging your Maintenance Request, please have a look at the Repair Tips below first, to avoid any unnecessary call outs.
 
No power / light?
Please check outside if other owners are in darkness too. Have you contacted your electricity supplier? There may be a fault in the street.
If renting a unit/apartment - Have you checked with a neighbour? If in a block of Strata Title apartments, it may be the Owners Corporation that needs to be contacted for action.
Have you checked your meter box? There may have been an overload and the safety switch has been activated and needs resetting.
Have you checked that one of your appliances is not faulty? Unplug all appliances in the house. Reset the safety switch in the meter box. Plug in the fridge and turn on the power point, check the safety switch. If the safety switch clicks off then you know that there is a fault with the fridge and you will need to get it repaired.
Otherwise disconnect the fridge and plug in the stereo and continue checking all appliances until the faulty appliance is located. If our electrician attends to your repair request and finds the fault is with one of your appliances, then you will be charged for the service fee.
 
No hot water?
Is it Gas or Electric?   Have you arranged for the connection of your Gas or Electricity?
If it is an Electric Hot Water System -
Have you checked to see if your hot water system needs refilling/topping up? There is normally a copper valve on electric hot water systems and an overflow pipe. Pull up this lever until a flow of water starts coming out of the overflow pipe. This quite commonly needs to carried out every six months or so.
Have you checked the fuse in the meter box? Has someone turned off the fuse by mistake?
Have you checked that the water tap on the hot water system itself is turned on?
If it is a Gas Hot Water System
Have you checked to see if your pilot light has gone out? Some gas hot water systems can be easily relit – others may require a tradesperson.
 
Lights are not working or power points are not working
Have you checked your fuse box? If there has been an overload the safety switch may need resetting.
Have you replaced the light bulb?
 
Stove element not working?
Have you checked the connections to make sure they are not loose or dirty? Sometimes pulling the element out and cleaning them and putting back in again can fix the problem.
 
Oven not working?
Sometimes there is a separate switch in the kitchen to activate the oven. This would be a switch near the oven probably at bench-top level. Turn this on and the oven will work.
 
Toilet blocked?
This is a job for a plumber. Call our office to arrange for it to be attended to.
 
Ant infestation
This is a tenant’s cost. Buy ‘Ant Rid’ and leave it in small capfuls near the affected areas.
 
Cockroaches
Buy cockroach baits at a hardware store and place at the back of your kitchen cupboards, behind the fridge and dishwasher.
 
T V reception
If there is an antenna point then Owner is responsible for the TV antenna and reception. If there is no antenna point, then you will need to buy your own ‘TV antenna ears’.
 
Foxtel
If there is no Foxtel and you want to subscribe, please call our office to gain permission from the Owner.   You will need to cancel the subscription upon vacating.
 
Picture hooks
You must have permission from the Owners to nail or attached anything that hooks to the wall.