 Thank you for joining in today's RTA recording where the topics have been created in response to questions our audience participants from past live webinars have submitted over the last six months or so, along with questions from our recent RTA regional roadshow seminars. Today's recording will run for approximately 20 minutes and you can pause and watch the recording at your own pace. My name is Lynne Smith and that's my pleasure to present today's topics to help you understand and be informed of the tenancy laws and practices for the Queensland rental sector. Today's recording is a part of a series that we will be releasing over the coming months not only will we be looking to address topics from past questions submitted but also look to address any issues or topics that are identified through our contact centre calls, our dispute resolution service or our investigations team. This recording will look at questions around charging solar electricity, subletting, swimming pools, reasons for entry, dealing with damage and death and divorce situations. Please note the RTA cannot provide legal advice and you are encouraged to seek your own independent advice to make informed decisions. With regards to solar electricity it is important to note the residential tenancies and roomy accommodation act does not make specific reference to solar electricity, solar panels or the solar bonus scheme. These are all managed by the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy and a link to their website is on your screen. Questions regarding this topic have also been around who gets the solar electricity rebate. Under the solar bonus scheme the rebate or the benefit is paid to the person who has electricity account in their name. So it's important to be clear upfront what setup is in place. Understanding that the owner may have paid a significant amount of money to install the solar panel system at the start and may be looking to recoup that money and from the tenant's side looking to reduce their household costs and have cheaper electricity. However the options can vary and that may include the tenant has the electricity account in their name and then they receive the rebate. The owner has the electricity account in their name and then there are three options here. They pass on the full electricity amount to the tenant, they pass on a portion of the rebated electricity amount or they pass on the full rebated amount. Another option is that the rent is inclusive of electricity therefore the landlord is continuing to receive the rebate the rent covers the cost of the electricity used by the tenants. So whatever option is decided upon it's important that it is clear upfront as part of any advertising. If a tenant drives past a property and sees solar panels on the roof do they automatically think that they will be receiving cheap electricity. Again the importance of clear communication and promotion. Whatever has been agreed upon the RTA strongly recommends that any agreement is put in writing as to how the electricity will be charged and how any rebate will be applied. With regards to subletting it is imperative to understand what type of tenancy setup is looking to be amended. Whether this is a co-tenant moving in or out or whether it will be a head tenant subtenant arrangement. Type of questions submitted to this topic are in relation to can the owner stop other people from moving in to share or can I sublet a room in the property? What are the rules around subletting? Firstly the tenant must seek written permission from the owner or the manager to sublet. The owner or the manager cannot refuse without good reason and they can ask for information that they would normally receive as part of an application process and that may include proof of identification. There is that reasonable test that needs to be applied. So is it okay as an example is it okay for one person living in a two-bedroom unit to get permission for a second person to live there? Well the answer is probably most likely yes. Is it okay for four people living in a three-bedroom home seeking permission for another three people to move in? Well the answer may be no. It's really important to point out here that across Queensland local councils have bylaws relating to the number of unrelated people living in a property. This is important particularly when it comes to share housing and what type of setup is in place. With regards to head tenants and subtenant relationships the head tenant will take on the role and responsibilities of a landlord and the subtenant being the tenant rents directly from the head tenant. The actual owner of the property therefore does not have a direct relationship to the subtenant. With regards to whatever arrangement is in is put in place the owner does have the right to know who and how many people are living in the rental property. Tentancy agreements or roomy agreements will state how many occupants can reside. Tenants can be breached if they exceed that number and with any amendments to any tenancy arrangements it should always be in writing. For tenants doing share housing make sure as people move in and out your manager or owner is aware and that the bond contributions are dealt with and the RTA is formally advised by the way of change to share bond contribution form. The RTA receives a lot of questions about who is to maintain a swimming pool. It's important to point out two parts of the legislation first. Lessons obligations under section 185 to maintain a property and ensure it's in good condition and not in breach of any health or safety laws and carry out repairs. There is also the tenants obligations to keep the premises clean and careful the property and not cause damage and to return it in the same condition it was at the start of the tenancy that's fair wear and tear. That can be found under section 188. Firstly the pools also must meet the Queensland safety and legislative requirements. Pool safety laws come into effect from December 2010 and required pool and required that pools across Queensland to be registered and before a property is leased or sold required a current pool safety certificate to be in place. By 2015 all pools across Queensland including homeowners also need to meet the pool safety standards. A pool safety certificate will have an expiry date so it's best to check and ensure it's still current. Information regarding pool safety can be found at the Queensland Building and Construction Commission website where you'll find information about the registration compliance and what happens if you're non-compliant. Remember this applies for all shared pools in building or townhouse complexes as well as non-shared pools for individual houses. It's important to look at what happens if a tenant puts up a portable pool. So come summertime the weather is warmer and people may look to put up portable pools. If it meets the requirements as what is classified as a swimming or bathing pool and holds at least 300 millimeters of water then the pool safety laws apply which means it needs to meet the legislative requirements and that includes things such as safety fencing and CPR signage. Tenants are encouraged to review the requirements before putting up any pool and also speak to their owner or manager for further guidance. So let's look at the big question and that is who is to maintain the pool? This is something that can be varied and in some cases the rent has been slightly increased before being promoted to have the pool maintenance included therefore the property owners either have the cost to maintain it. In some cases it's up to the tenant to maintain the pool throughout the tenancy and then there may be a mix of both the owner and the tenant having mixed responsibilities. Let's face it if you've never rented or owned a property with a pool it may be daunting at first to look after one. Checking water levels, clearing out the skimmer box regularly, backwashing, cleaning and checking to make sure the chemicals and all the salt balances are correct. There's no right or wrong in these scenarios as to who does what. The main thing is that the pool is maintained and then it's understood and recorded from the start in writing who has what responsibilities. Not taking away from the owners responsibility under legislation to do maintenance and that might fall into the category of replacing a creepy quality part or a filter. It's really important it's up to the parties to negotiate and sure it's in writing. Consider if the tenant is to maintain the pool that there are clear instructions on what is required, how to do it, how often and when. In some scenarios the tenant or the owner may choose to engage a third party such as a pool supplier or maintenance person to carry out the regular tasks required to ensure the pool's been careful. Just be mindful that any special terms that are placed in a tenancy agreement that is not in breach of the residential tenancies and room accommodation act or contracts outside the legislation. The RTA has done previous webinars on the rules of entry and while this has come up again the RTA wants to ensure owners and managers and other parties involved in entering a rental property do so lawfully. The legislation outlines the rules of entry under section 192 to 199. Notice needs to be given to the tenant for the entry to occur however you can have mutual agreement between the owner and manager and the tenant. It would be best practice to ensure that that's recorded by way of email or a diary note. The reason why this topic is mentioned is because while the legislation outlines the reasons for entry sometimes there seems to be a conflict with that the intent and the reason do not align. The RTA's concern is where notification is given for one thing but the intent leads to something different and as an example entry for evaluation to be conducted and whether the value of a person has been accompanied by the owner or not the intent of the entry is to conduct evaluation of the rental property not to conduct a routine inspection to see how the tenant is looking after the property. If you have entered on the grounds of evaluation then you should not be conducting a routine inspection nor issuing a breach notice if the premises are not being kept in a clean and tidy condition. The act outlines time frames for notices that can be given to a tenant and for what reason. With regards to how many routine inspections can occur and over what period there cannot be more than four routine inspections per year not less than three months since the last one. While the tenant may give mutual agreement for an entry to occur less than a three month period the legislation is very clear as to when entry can occur. There is also the process to follow if upon entry for a routine inspection that a significant breach has occurred and the RTA has done a webinar recording available on their website regarding breaches including that significant breach and what that involves. So just before I move on I'll also just flag at this time of the recording the COVID-19 emergency response regulations and the amendments that are in place from April to December 2020 regarding entry. More information on the regulations along with the residential practice guide can be found on the RTA's website. The RTA receives numerous inquiries regarding what is fair wear and tear and what is damage what can I claim and what happens if the damage is more than the bond amount. The tenant has responsibilities under legislation to return the property in the same condition it was at the start of the tenancy less fair wear and tear. They also have responsibility not to cause damage or allow someone else to cause damage. Fair wear and tear are signs of normal or reasonable use of the premises by the tenant. Wear and tear can occur over time and items can also deteriorate through no fault but by environmental factors. Small scarf marks on the lower walls carpet pile flattened from foot traffic these are signs of fair wear and tear. What is not wear and tear is damage holds in walls large stains on carpet whether that's intentional or accidental. What is not neither wear and tear nor damage may fall into the cleaning category grease grime and dirt it's not wear and tear. The property owner ensures the premises are clean and fit for the tenant to move into at the start and then during the tenancy the tenant is to maintain the premises in a clean entirety manner and at the end return the property in the same condition it was at the start less fair wear and tear. Every situation should be dealt with on a case by case basis. The important message to take home is the importance of the entry condition report being completed at the start of the tenancy taking photos and documenting the real property condition. Likewise at the end exit report and evidence again. The RTA has short videos available on the website for both owners and tenants regarding the process. Tenants are responsible for their own tenancy history if there is damage at the end of the tenancy or clean that has not been rectified then the owner or the manager can make a claim on the rental bond. If there is money owed due to cover the damage that's over and above the bond amount then they can also lodge a dispute resolution request with the RTA seeking money over and above the bond. A notice of unresolved dispute will be issued for the owner or the manager to take it to QCAT to get an order in pursuing the outside outstanding money. If an order is made then there are processes to follow if the tenant does not pay and that may further involve going through the magistrates court. In a lot of cases landlords may also have landlords insurance to add that extra peace of mind in case of a situation where the bond may not cover the amount owed. I cannot provide you with financial or legal advice and landlords are encouraged to do their own due diligence and seek professional advice in this field. Unfortunately the death topic comes up in relation to questions asked what to do in these situations. Whether this is a sole tenant that's passed away, a co-tenant or who deals with what with who. Who has the right to the tenant's possessions? Legislation outlines that should a sole tenant pass away the tenancy agreement ends on the earliest of whether it's two weeks notice from the tenants representative to the owner or the manager or two weeks notice from the owner or manager to the tenants representative. A mutual agreed date by the owner manager and the tenants representative a day decided by QCAT upon application. If no notice is given by any party then the tenancy agreement ends one month after the tenants passing. This is a sensitive situation and should be treated as such and with respect. Most tenancy applications will have a next of kin details on their form in case of any emergency situation. However when it comes to the tenants possessions then that may fall to the executive of the deceased tenants estate and keep in mind it may not necessarily be the next of kin. Good compassionate communication between the tenants representatives and the owner or the manager is required. From the RTA's point of view we will require written notification from the next of kin or the executive of the estate to discuss any bond information. We have been asked by real estate agents in the past is it their responsibility to notify the RTA that the tenant has passed? No not officially it's not however we do get some agents informing us so we will make notes of what's actually occurred. Having said that we will need to ensure the tenants representatives make contact with us and we have their contact details to deal with them direct. If there is a claim on the bond then the bond process will follow its normal path. Some of the questions we receive relate to the parting of co-tenants so whether this may be way of divorce separation or another way. Questions about what involvement does the owner have do they get involved with who and who stays or who goes or how to end the agreement. Again another sensitive topic but something that does actually happen in the rental situations. Any issues between the couple or the co-tenants are their issue and not the involvement of the property owner or manager. One important point in this situation is to be careful with regards to any breaches of privacy. There is a whole topic on domestic and family violence and it's not my intent today to go into such an important topic and we will cover this in a more detailed webinar recording later. Just quickly noting on domestic and family violence the new COVID-19 regulations have placed amendments for both the tenants and owners and managers in relation to domestic and family violence situations. So with regards to the tenants parting from an owner or manager's point of view they will be needing to find out what is the intent of the co-tenants if they're both listed on the agreement or is there one name on the agreement. Is the agreement to end or is one party continuing to stay on in the rental. Is it a lease break situation or are they seeking to mutually terminate the tenancy on the grounds of excessive hardship. Any amendments or any agreements need to be done in writing. Any changes to the bond contributors need to be addressed as well. Similar to what I mentioned earlier with co-tenants in the subletting topic the change of bond contributors needs to be completed and lodged with the RTA. With the changes it's up to the co-tenants to sort out the bond money between themselves and then as the outgoing tenant is paid out they need to sign over their portion on the bond to the remaining tenant. Remember you can continually connect with us through LinkedIn or subscribe to the RTA's news articles through our newsroom. We are providing updates on current tenancy and bond topics and trends. For more information on these topics or other tenancy and bond information please go to the RTA's website rta.qld.gov.au or if you have any questions at all please contact our contact centre and speak to one of our friendly staff on 1300 366 311. Remember if you need any tenancy assistance the RTA is here to help you whether you're the tenant, property owner or manager, rooming provider or a resident. Thank you for your time today. Please stay tuned for more tenancy information being delivered through this type of education and various other channels from the Residential Tenancies Authority. Thank you.