 Thank you for watching today's RTA recording as part two of your questions answered where the topics have been created in response to questions asked by participants from past events and addressing issues and questions identified through our call centre, our dispute resolution and investigation areas. Today's recording is going to run for approximately 15 minutes. At any time you can pause and watch the recording at your own pace. My name is Lynne Smith and it's my pleasure to present today's topics to help you understand and be better informed of the tenancy rules and practices for the Queensland rental sector. This recording will look at questions around what accommodation is covered and not covered under the Residential Tenancies and Rumi Accommodation Act, gardens, gutters and garages, garbage and rubbish, keys and locks and mould. Please note the RTA cannot provide legal advice and you are encouraged to seek your own independent advice and make informed decisions. So let's now look at what is covered. The legislation covers two main areas. You've got your general tenancies, which is your houses, your townhouses, your units, flats, granny flats and shared houses. This also includes movable dwellings or your permanently let caravans. You rent the whole premises, you may also have body covered bylaws if you rent an apartment or a unit and you may also have park rules if you're in a caravan park. The other part is rooming accommodation. This room is room only type accommodation. So this is like your boarding houses and also your student purpose built accommodation. You have shared facilities like your kitchen and bathrooms and you may find that there's house rules that will apply. After the Act, section 18, parties to a rooming agreement may choose to opt into a general tenancy agreement and follow those rules and timeframes. A general tenancy, however, cannot opt into using rooming accommodation laws. We're now going to have a look at what the Act does not cover. So your borders and lodges are not covered. However, if a bond is paid, it must be lodged at the RTA. Rental institutions. So these are your onsite campus accommodation, hospitals, home buyers and holiday accommodation. Rental purchase plans and head leases and commercial leasing. Manufactured homes. And these are the rules that are under the Manufactured Homes Residential Parks Act 2003. The support accommodation, the first 13 weeks of approved support accommodation is not covered. However, after the 13 weeks, it is going to fall into the Residential Tenancies and Roomie Accommodation Act. And if a person is given temporary refuge accommodation, some more information about what's not covered can be found in the legislation under sections 29 to 44. Also, the reminder, the rules governing real estate agent practices are administered by the Office of Fair Trading and the rules regarding the Boarding House and Roomie Accommodation Setups are administered by the regulatory services under the Department of Housing and Public Works. So starting with gardens, the question quite often asked is who's responsible to do the lawns and gardens? So section 185 is the lessons general obligations. At the start of the tenancy to ensure the premises are fit for the tent to live in, clean and in good repair. At the start of the tenancy, the probably should be ready to go for the new tenant. It's important to set out the condition at the start and take photos, not just inside the property but outside as well. Section 188 is the tenant's general obligations, so the tenant must keep the premises and inclusions clean having regard to the condition at the start of the tenancy. In most cases, it's going to be the tenant to maintain the lawns and gardens under their tenancy agreement. And that's going to include mowing, edging the lawn and with gardens weeding and maintaining the garden, which maybe it's going to include things like some pruning and regular watering of plants. With regards to watering, it can be tricky, particularly during drought times for Queensland. Again, tenant to maintain the premises and also both parties should look at who is paying the water. For a lot of houses or individually metered units across Queensland, the tenant may be paying water. If the garden is excessive, then parties might need to negotiate a lesser amount of water charging to maintain those gardens and plants. Any arrangements about special trees, garden plants should be included in the special terms. So if a plant needs specific attention that's beyond the normal, and please remember, tenants are not deemed to be horticulturists, then instructions need to be provided. As for fallen branches, most likely this could be deemed as part of wear and tear or from a storm. Either way, if it's a significant in size, then the owner may need to make arrangements to have it removed. If it's just part of maintaining the premises for smaller branches, then the removal may generally fall to the tenant. In some situations where a tenant doesn't own a mower or equipment to maintain the lawns and gardens, tenants and owners and managers may negotiate for the owner to take on that responsibility and the rent to include lawns and gardening. And that may then become a special term. An owner then may outsource that to a trust person to regularly attend the property to carry out the work. Depending on where you live in Queensland, and again, remember if it's summer months or winter months, have an impact on how regularly lawns are mowed and how often gardens need to be watered. Good communication and clear instructions up front can avoid problems down the track. Remember, the tenant is to return the property at the end of the tenancy in the same condition it was at the start, less fair wear and tear. The RTA has also a podcast available on gardens and lawns, and you can download and listen to that as additional resource. And there's also a previous webinar recording and fact sheets on our website about water charging. So gutters and downpipes, who's responsible? The owner or manager needs to carry out maintenance as part of their obligations. And generally, if the tenant has not done anything to block the gutter or the downpipes or the drains, then the owner or manager will be responsible for cleaning them. The balance of risk for people being up on ladders needs to be taken into account, and therefore you find in most cases, owners generally take on that responsibility. However, if the drain pipes are blocked because the tenant caused the blockage, then they may be responsible to rectify it. It's a timely reminder as we head into storm season, which is just around the corner, it's time for owners and managers to consider cleaning out the gutters now and ensure that during any heavy rain or storm that they're not blocked or overflowed. So for garages and car spaces, very clearly, if the property is promoted with a lockup garage or car parking area, then the tenant is to have access to these areas. All remotes and keys required to access these areas is to provide it to the tenant at the end, and at the end of the tenancy, the tenant is going to return the same. For apartments, it's a good idea to ensure the tenant is aware of what car spaces belong to the apartment or unit they are renting and what are the rules around the body corporate bylaws for visitor parking. Again, making sure the tenant has information and aware of what they can and cannot do. In some buildings, there might be a security gate operated by a remote. Again, the owner or the manager will need to ensure the tenant has accessibility and the remote to gain access. At the end of the tenancy, the exit reports compared to the entry condition report. And there is an area to write down the condition of your garages, your car ports or your spaces. It's important that any damage is rectified. And again, the tenant returning the premises in the same condition it was at the start, less fair wear and tear, along with returning all the keys and remotes to these areas. So for garbage and rubbish, who pays for the removal of rubbish? Across Queensland, local councils provide garbage or wheelie bins to properties. It's up to the tenant when they're residing there to put out the bins for collection. And in most situations, it's going to be a weekly garbage collection. For some rural properties, however, that may have alternative arrangements. In body corporate buildings, there may be chutes or special bins allocated. Owners and managers should ensure tenants, in particular first-time renters, are informed what occurs with the bins and for any special allocated areas. Any excessive rubbish left behind after the tenant has vacated, it's up to the tenant's responsibility to rectify. Again, referring to those tenants' responsibilities under the legislation, returning the property in the same condition at the start, less fair wear and tear. No, it's not cool to leave old furniture and rubbish on the footpath when someone vacates. This could be breaching council bylaws and also a health and safety risk. If a tenant has excessive rubbish before they vacate, they could ask their owner or manager for a council rubbish tip voucher to help remove the rubbish and illicit cost. Again, good communication is key. And if a tenant moves into a rental property with items left behind from the previous occupant, ensure that these items are recorded on the entry condition report and take photos and talk with the owner or manager about what is going to happen with the items. For keys and locks, this comes down to questions about how many keys must an owner give a tenant at the start? And can a tenant change the locks without the owner or manager's consent? The owner or manager must ensure the premises are reasonably secure and all locks are in good working order. At the start of tenancy, the tenant must be given a full, complete set. This would mean any window locks, door locks, deadlocks, letterbox locks, security screen locks, gate locks, and garage door locks. So for every other subsequent tenant listed on the agreement, they're to be supplied with a full entry set of keys. And that means that they have to have the ability to enter the property and that might include, say, like a front door and a dead lock, a security screen door and maybe a key to a gate. Changing of the locks can occur with the other parties' consent and also if an owner or if a tenant or an owner has a reasonable excuse to change the locks, they must give the other party a copy of the key. The legislation also allows the party to make an application to the tribunal about keys and locks. And whether it's a maintenance issue or changing the locks or giving of keys, it also includes what points the tribunal may take into account. And that includes the community standards about adequate security for the premises, requirements of insurance companies to allow the tenants to obtain insurance, the likelihood of breakings and the tenants' personal safety. Information on keys and locks and the tribunal can be found under sections 210 to 213 of the Act. On this note as well, locks may also fall into an emergency repair should the property not be safe or insecure. And emergency repairs are outlined under section 214. Mould, this is always a popular topic and who is responsible for what. The main message here is generally we're looking at how the mould was caused. So it really depends on how it appears in the first place. If it's a problem with the premises, like there's a leak or a leaking roof or water damage, then it's the owner's responsibility. If the tenant has not allowed ventilation, like keeping the bathroom window closed or didn't use the exhaust fan, then the tenant would generally be responsible to clean the mould. Keep in mind we live in Queensland with various weather conditions across the state. We sometimes get a wet season and living tropical and subtropical parts of the country. So mould can sometimes just be caused by the environmental factors, which is just out of everyone's control. The key here is getting on top of things early in treating the mould once it's burst appears. If there's any sign of mould, reporting it to the owner or manager first so they can investigate the cause. Sometimes it might be an owner or manager calling in an expert or a trace person to make that decision if it's unclear how the mould is caused and also looking at the best method to treat the mould. Remember you can continually connect with us through LinkedIn or subscribe to the RTA News articles through our newsroom where we provide updates on current tenancy and bond topics and trends. For more information on tenancy and bond situations, please contact the RTA's, or please go to the RTA's website at rta.qld.gov.au or if you have any questions, contact our friendly staff in our contact centre on 1300 366 311. The RTA's website has a lot of information on maintenance and repairs, water charging, starting and ending a tenancy, and both the owner and the manager and the tenant's obligations. If you need any tenancy assistance, remember the RTA is here to help you whether you're the tenant, the property owner or manager, rooming provider or resident. Thank you for your time today. Please stay tuned for more information being delivered through various educational channels from the Residential Tenancies Authority. Thank you.