Concerns and complaints

A: If you believe that you have been denied a lease or had a lease terminated on unreasonable grounds, including but not limited to your gender, race, age, disability, sexuality, political or religious beliefs, ethnicity or marital status, then you can lodge a complaint with the Equal Opportunity Commission.

A:

It is mandatory that at the start of the lease for the property manager to prepare a property condition report. The property is checked to determine if everything is working and clean and to note any existing damage or wear and tear, such as scuffed walls or a chipped bench top.

At the final inspection when vacating a property the inspection happens one last time and a final property condition report is prepared and given to you within 14 days of the termination of the tenancy.

The property should be in the same condition as shown on the original property condition report (with the exception of fair wear and tear).

If the owner has any concerns then you would be approached in order to reach a resolution. If you don’t agree with the deductions to be made from your bond and you cannot resolve the issue with the owner through the managing agent, then the dispute would have to be resolved in the Magistrates Court.

The magistrate would listen to both sides, examine any documents (property condition reports) and hand down a decision.

To learn more about this process visit the Department of Commerce’s website.

A:

Under the Residential Tenancies Act tenants must be given a 30 day notice if the bank has taken possession of the property because the owner has defaulted on mortgage payments.

In this instance, you will have 30 days to find another rental or make other arrangements.

During this 30 day period the tenant will not be required to pay rent.

A:

There are several tenancy databases that property managers can use around Australia.

Mostly they make a note of those tenants who might have a really poor history in the rental housing system, e.g. if people have left a property owing the owner more money than is available in the Bond or if a court order terminated any previous residential lease agreements, this can be noted against their name.

When property managers are considering applications from prospective tenants they will check names against these nation-wide databases to protect the interests of the owner.

If you are listed on a database you will be advised through a formal notice by the person who intends on making the listing.  

If you believe the information is wrong, outdated or misleading you can raise this directly with the particular company that owns and maintains the database.

A legitimate 'black mark' will remain on the database for a three year period before being removed - similar to demerit points if you are a licensed driver.