In the vast majority of instances, tenants are signed to a fixed-term lease of six or twelve months. However, circumstances can change during the lease in ways which are not anticipated at the start of the tenancy. This could be a relationship break up, change in work circumstances, disagreement between tenants, or any of a number of other reasons. 

In this article we take a look at what happens when tenants wish to make changes to the names on the lease, and what happens where there is disagreement over who stays and who goes.

If you are reading this page as an investor with a rental property in Newcastle or Lake Macquarie, it is highly likely you have had a tenant in your property who may not be leaving your investment in the clean condition you expect before renting it out to another tenant or returning to the home yourself. 

​When a tenant signs a fixed term lease, they are providing a commitment to remain in the property for the full term. This provides the landlord a degree of stability and security, knowing that the weekly rental income can be counted on for the duration of the agreed period. 

Sometimes however, a tenant may need or wish to break the lease early. While this is possible to do, there are usually costs involved for the tenant as well as the otherwise unanticipated time and effort to put the property to market, run open inspections, and so on to find a replacement tenant. 

Winter is prime-time for property maintenance. The cooler wet weather and winds can bring rise to property maintenance issues which may have gone un-noticed during the warmer months. 

For the sake of tenant safety, and also financial savings, it is better to focus on repair prevention rather than cure. Following are the key areas prospective landlords, current landlords and tenants alike should consider assessing around their property as maintenance season looms. 

The level of cleanliness of a rental property is crucial for both landlord and tenant. As a landlord, ensuring your home is in top-top condition at the start of the rental period will help ensure this is the state the property is returned in. A beautifully prepared and presented home will also often achieve higher rental return and a greater number of high-quality applicants. 

When a tenant is vacating a property at the end of their term, the condition of the home is required to be similar to the condition it was provided in at the start of the term - as documented on the ingoing condition report and accompanying photos. If not, the rental bond paid at the start of the tenancy can be withheld to recover costs of cleaning and repairs which may be required to return the property to its previous condition. 

So, how can a landlord be sure that their investment property is as clean as it can be before a tenant moves in? And how can a tenant ensure they have covered everything when cleaning the home at the end of their lease term? Our detailed and downloadable cleaning checklist will help!

As we write this article, there is a deluge outside our office. The combination of rain and wind is reminiscent of the April 2015 super storm in which many parts of the Hunter received record rainfall.

Regardless of the whether outside your window, it's never a bad time to check your level of preparation should a severe storm appear on the horizon.

When it's hot, there can be nothing better than taking a dip in a pool - especially if the pool is in your own backyard. These days, installing a temporary inflatable pool can be an appealing option.

Legally, and for very good reason, there are regulations to be aware of before you "dive in" to an inflatable pool solution.