We often speak with property owners who are planning to travel and are investigating options of how to manage their home while they are away. 

For significant periods of travel, some people consider actually selling the home and "starting fresh" when they return, however for most the plan is to return to the property.

In the current climate, as well as temporary relocations for work placements, we are fielding enquiries from people itching to explore domestic travel given the reduction in overseas holiday options due to the impacts of COVID-19. 

​Rental Property Insurance, more commonly referred to as Landlord Insurance, is an essential in the property investor's toolkit. In this article we discuss what landlord insurance is, the approximate cost, and an indication of the most common types of landlord insurance claims.

A common topic of conversation with our investors is whether they should offer their property furnished or unfurnished. There are several factors which contribute to determining what is best in each particular instance, as we will cover below. 

Currently, for a landlord to be able to pass on water usage charges to a tenant, the residential property must be separately metered, the charges must not exceed the amount payable by the landlord (according to the water supplier’s bill or other evidence), and the property must meet water efficiency measures.

A rental property is only considered water efficient prior to 23 March 2020 if it meets the following standards:

After significant development, which we first wrote about back in November 2018, NSW Fair Trading has now announced changes to NSW residential tenancy laws which will commence from 23 March 2020.

The changes have been developed primarily to improve the experience of tenants when renting, and to ensure landlords can more effectively manage their properties. The updates aim to reduce disputes over repairs and maintenance and clarify the rights and responsibilities of both landlords and tenants. 

Each of the changes are covered below, including new smoke alarm obligations, allowance for tenants to make changes of a minor nature, changes to break fees and more as sourced from information published on the NSW Fair Trading website. The changes are effective from 23 March 2020. 

Whenever we meet a new landlord, part of our conversation around preparing the property for the rental market includes a discussion of smoke alarm compliance and testing. Often, landlords may be unaware of their obligations, while others have a limited understanding of what appropriate smoke alarm testing and compliance entails. 

In this post we discuss the primary elements of smoke alarm law in NSW as it impacts landlords, and address the question of whether landlords should feel satisfied with testing smoke alarms themselves.

​When an applicant is interested in securing a rental property and moving ahead with tenancy, the real estate agent will often request payment of a holding deposit. 

The holding deposit removes the ability for the landlord or agent to enter into a lease agreement for that property with any other person within 7 days of the holding deposit being paid (or for a further period as may be agreed with the tenant). 

However, there are some circumstances in which an applicant may have paid a holding deposit but after paying the deposit, finds that they are no longer able to or willing to proceed with tenancy. The applicant may have had a relationship breakdown with a potential co-tenant, an alternative property may have become available which is more preferable to them, etc. 

In these cases the question arises - is the rental holding deposit refundable?