 Just a hit 10 o'clock, so welcome to the RTA's webinar on everyday tenancy scenarios made easy. My name is Lauren, I'm from the communication and education team here at the RTA, and with Mia's Lynn also from the communication and education team. Good morning everybody. I'll be helping me do some polls and answering some questions throughout. Before we get further, I'd like to respectfully acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of the country and their continuing connection with land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to all traditional owners and elders past, present and emerging. So today's session will be focused on the scenario topics listed on the slide here. We'll stop to answer some questions after every scenario and have a final question session at the end. We'll record the webinar today and it will be made available on the RTA website probably next week. And one thing to note is the RTA cannot provide legal advice and you're encouraged to seek your own independent advice to make informed decisions. We do want to make this an interactive session, so please ask questions or make comments throughout. To do so, use the chat function in the toolbar. At the end of the session, there will be a quick survey that comes up. We'd appreciate you filling it out as your feedback allows us to identify how we can improve our communication and education activities. We'll also be doing some polls throughout the session and I'll throw over to Lynn now who will do the first one. Thanks Lauren. Okay, I'm just going to launch the very first poll for everybody. What we're asking you is whereabouts are you joining us from today and also which group in the rental sector do you identify with. So whether you're a property manager, a landlord or a tenant or a room provider or in the community housing support sector. And again, as I said, where you are also joining us from South East Queensland and big shout out for anyone who may have actually been impacted with the floods recently. I know it's a little bit terrible situation between literally Gimpy and the Gold Coast. So big shout out to everyone for that. Okay, I'll just end that poll Lauren. I think really some people just still completing it. So I'll just leave it a bit longer. Okay, looks like we've got probably nearly everybody joining us from South East Queensland. I'll just share those results for you. Okay, so Lauren looks like we've got about nearly half of the people joining us today are property managers or agents. And it does look like a lot of everybody is coming in from South East Queensland. Beautiful. Thank you, Lynn. Over to you. Alright, so we'll jump into our first scenario. You are a property manager, a tenant from one of your properties Alex tells you they're experiencing a domestic and family violence situation. Alex lives in the house with co tenants, but is the only one experiencing the violence. The person who is allegedly committing the violence does not live at the premises. However, Alex still wants to leave, but they're not sure of the process. So on October 2020, the Housing Legislation Amendment Act came into effect and provided options for people experiencing domestic and family violence, along with the already existing provisions. If you're not familiar with all the new changes, a great starting point is to go to the RTA website and from there you can download domestic and family violence flow charts, such as the one that's on the screen now. There's a lot of components to it, but we'll break them down and go through each of them in the following slides. Before we get into the specifics, I wanted to point out that the flow chart provides an option path for a tenant who wants to stay at the property. Due to time constraints, I'm not going to run through that today, but please note that that option exists. In today's scenario, Alex tells you they want to leave. Alex must provide the notice ending tenancy interest form, along with supporting evidence such as a domestic and family violence report. Within seven days, you, the property manager, must let them know if you intend to go to QCAT to have the notice set aside or not. You're not in a position to make judgment on whether Alex is experiencing domestic and family violence, and the application to QCAT cannot be made in relation to that. You can only go to QCAT to have the notice set aside if it is in relation to the notice not complying with the requirements. For example, supporting evidence wasn't completed by an authorized person. If you were going to QCAT to have the notice set aside, you'd follow the path in orange. In this scenario, you aren't, and for lack of a better word, the notice is accepted by you. You advise Alex you won't be going to QCAT to have the notice set aside. At this time, you must tell Alex when the remaining tenants will be notified that Alex has ended their interest in the tenancy. Once the seven-day notice period expires and Alex has left the premises, their interest in the tenancy ends. Seven to 14 days after this, the remaining tenants can be issued a continuing interest notice. If the remaining tenants were bond contributors, they may also be asked to do a bond top-up. When it comes to bond, please note there's a different form to use than normal, and other bond contributors don't need to sign the bond refund form submitted by Alex. Now, we didn't discuss it in this scenario, but let's pretend there was some damage. If this damage was done as part of domestic and family violence, Alex can't be held responsible and bond cannot be withheld. The Act doesn't specifically say who would be liable for damage done by domestic and family violence, and this would depend on individual circumstances and must be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Alex has co-tenants, so they could potentially be liable for damage costs, and if they wanted to, the co-tenants could then pursue the perpetrator for compensation via a civil court. Alternatively, the property owner could claim the damage through their insurance. Each instance will be unique, and if you have specific questions, please seek independent legal advice. If there was damage caused by Alex outside of domestic and family violence, then they'd be responsible for that as per your normal tenancy responsibilities. And due to the sensitivity of this situation, confidentiality must be upheld and penalty points can apply. So the best way to access domestic and family violence information is to search for domestic on the RTA website. We have a variety of resources available, such as flowcharts, fact sheets, and previous webinars have delved into domestic and family violence in more detail. I'll check in now with Lynn to see if we have any questions on this topic. Thanks, Lauren. No, actually, no, we do have one question. What if the tenant left behind doesn't want to continue? So I'm going to look at your scenario there, Lauren, that one has left. If the other one that is behind does not want to stay, if I can't afford it. If they are not the person involved in the domestic and family violence situation, they can look at trying to either mutually agree to end the tenancy or they could put an application directly to QCAT on the grounds of hardship to end the tenancy. So there's some other options there as well. So back over to you to keep going. Lauren, I'll also just put in the chat some links to the information on domestic and family violence as well. Perfect. Thank you. And just scenario two. Leslie is a property manager. One of her tenants contacts her to say a wild storm last night caused a roof leak and there is now significant water damage to the property. The tenant believes they can still live there safely but wants the owner to fix the roof immediately. What are some things Leslie should consider before she responds? So natural disasters happen and in Queensland it's not uncommon to get storms, cyclones, floodings, bushfires. Some of the things Leslie should consider are those listed on the screen. So let's start off with the extent of the damage. How extensive is the roof link relink rather and has it made the property unlivable? A property becomes unlivable when it is fully or partially destroyed can no longer be used lawfully as a residence. For example, it doesn't meet building or council requirements anymore or the building is condemned due to health and safety risks. If the leak was severe and the property has been deemed unlivable, the tenancy agreement doesn't automatically end. It can only end if one of the following occurs. The property manager or owner and tenant agree in writing, the tenant gives a notice of intention to leave on the grounds of non-livability. The property manager or owner gives notice to leave on the grounds of non-livability or QCAP makes an order that the place is unlivable. The notice to leave or notice of intention to leave must be given within one month of the natural disaster. The agreement ends the date the notice is given. However, the person giving the notice may choose to give a longer period. So for example, three extra days might be given to allow the tenants in time to get their belongings out or to make some other living arrangements. If the tenant refuses to leave, the property manager or owner can apply to QCAP for a termination order. And there might be time for the tenant wants to stay even if the property is partially damaged. This should be negotiated with the property manager or owner and health and safety laws should be considered when making the decision. If the tenant has been given a notice to leave but they believe the property is still livable, they can lodge a dispute resolution request with the RTA. When it comes to fixing damage, the property or owner and tenant should talk to each other as soon as possible to discuss the state of the property and work out what action needs to be taken. The property manager or owner is responsible for any maintenance and repairs needed to bring the property back to a livable condition. So that includes things like your fences, windows, doors, roofs. These repairs do need to comply with relevant health and safety laws and suitable timeframes for the repairs should be negotiated with the tenant. Please don't forget entry rules still do apply. The tenant is responsible for removing or cleaning their own possessions. And it's important that the tenant is aware that the property manager or owner may be in discussions with their insurance company about repairs and this could impact timelines. Often following a natural disaster, tradespeople are in really high demand so this could cause delays. That's why communication and patience between both parties is really key here. Depending on the circumstances, there may be a conversation about rent reduction. Rent reductions may occur when services, facilities or goods to be provided under the agreement are no longer available or the amenity or standard of the property decreases substantially. A tenant may choose to stay at the property and ask for a rent reduction or they may want a rent reduction because they've had to leave the property and return after damages have been repaired. Either way, any rent reductions should be put in writing. The RTA resources available on this topic are natural disaster web pages, fact sheets and relevant webinars. And do we have any questions on this one, Lynn? No, look, everyone is sitting a little bit quiet out there today, Lauren. So just a reminder for everyone, please use a little chat function if you do have any questions as we go through. And at the end of each session that Lauren is going through, we'll look to answer those questions. So yes, none at this point in time. So I'll keep going over to you, Lauren. Thank you all. Okay, on to scenario three. So Robert has been renting a unit next door to Bushland and he moved out once his agreement ended. No issues were identified in inspections during the tenancy. Once he vacated the unit, Robert claimed he left it in the same condition as it was when he moved in. The owner does a vacate inspection and claims otherwise. Now there's a disagreement over the rental bond. So a good place to start would be to see if there's an entry condition report. And if it was signed by everyone at the start of the tenancy within specified timeframes. In this case, there was Robert also took some photos and sent them to the owner. The RTA takes a significant number of questions about bond bond refunds and the process in general really. But a lot of these calls could be resolved if an entry condition report was done. Often the tenant doesn't understand a link between entry condition report and getting their bond back. They want to move in, get settled, and an entry condition report really isn't high on the priority list. But linking it back to bond can help. I've heard about a property manager who used to write on a post-it note, fill this out by such and such date to help get your bond back. And they stuck that on the entry condition report. That tactic worked and it started the tenancy on a really good note with less likelihood of a bond dispute down the track. So in this scenario, we said Robert had completed the entry condition report. The next point to consider was there an exit condition report. Robert did complete one. He took supporting pictures on his phone and gave the report pictures and keys to the owner. The owner did a vacate inspection two days later and inside the unit she found scratches to the wall and a dirty oven. In the garage she found some food scraps, animal droppings, and some debris on the floor. And she took photos of all of this. With the aim of self-resolution, the owner and Robert met. They compared the entry condition report, exit condition report, and the state of the property now. And they both shared their photos. Robert stated he may have accidentally damaged the wall moving out and definitely forgotten to clean the oven. But any droppings, food scraps, and debris were not there when he vacated and his photo supported this. Robert suggested this occurred after his agreement ended and perhaps those across them or some other animal had entered the property. He and the owner were able to resolve the issue between themselves. They agreed on a bond refund amount that took into account the scratches on the wall and the dirty oven. But Robert was not liable for the garage as this happened after his tenancy responsibilities ended. And both parties were happy with this result. If they weren't able to do self-resolution, they could have accessed the RTA dispute resolution service. If the matter was still not resolved, it could have been escalated to QCAT. So some resources available for this topic are the entry condition report web page. And we've got educational videos, both for a property manager or owner and for a tenant. And if you need to add a dispute resolution service is always there as well. Lauren, no questions. No questions. No, it's unusual. But look for the property managers today. I know that they're probably acknowledging that this is something that they have actually heard and seen before. But just to let everyone know too, our dispute resolution service, about half of the disputes that the RTA receives are in relation to disputes over the bond amount. So it's really encouraged that people do that self-resolution, talk with each other on both sides and try and get a result as you went through in your example. As I said, we always reckon good communication is key to resolving a lot of disputes. But no, no one's saying anything yet, Lauren. So come on, everybody. If you've got any questions, please again, use that little chat function for us. So we'll jump to our next scenario then, scenario four. Shannon and Tony are friends who decide to rent together for one year while going to university. Six months into the agreement, Shannon tells Tony she's dropped out of university and has booked a ticket to travel overseas. Tony calls his property manager and explains the situation. He's worried about finding a new place and with exams approaching, he doesn't have time to look for a new property. He wants to know his options. Thankfully, Tony has a really great property manager who explains his rights and responsibilities. She reminds Tony that as part of the agreement, he's still responsible for full rent being paid, even if Shannon leads the country. The property manager runs through Tony's available options. The first option is both Shannon and Tony leave, and there are four ways they can do this. The first is mutual agreement. So the property manager or owner and Shannon and Tony could mutually agree in writing to end the agreement early on a specified date with no penalties. The second option is they and the agreement early by giving a notice of intention to leave. As it be breaking a fixed term agreement before the end date without grounds compensation will probably need to be paid. The property manager explains this would be reasonable re-letting costs, reasonable advertising costs and compensation for loss of rent until a new tenant is found or until the end date of the agreement, whatever happens first. She mentions she can start advertising straight away to help with mitigating losses. Tony says that as he and Shannon are studying, they may not be able to afford this option. The third way is the whole interest in the property is transferred to another party. Essentially Shannon and Tony could find someone else to take over their agreement. This person or persons would have to be approved by the property manager or owner. The fourth way is Shannon and Tony apply to QCAP to end the agreement due to excessive hardship. The property manager knows that QCAP decisions are based on an individual basis and doesn't make any assumptions on what a potential outcome might be. But she does let Tony know that if QCAP doesn't end the agreement Tony will still be responsible for the agreement including making sure the whole rent is paid. Now none of these options sound appealing to Tony plus he doesn't really want to move out. So the property manager explains the second option of Shannon leaving and Tony staying and she says this could happen via two ways. The first is Tony could choose to take over the tenancy agreement himself. He states he can't afford it. The second way is Tony stays and he can find someone to effectively take over Shannon's responsibility in the tenancy agreement. This new person would have to be approved by the property manager or owner. Tony thinks is the best option and he goes home to discuss it with Shannon. And some RTL resources available on this topic are some web pages, webinars and forms that you'll need there as well. At this point I'll pop over to Lynn and she'll answer any questions that you've got and we'll also do another poll as well. Okay, thanks Lauren. I'm just going to launch a poll now just so that everyone can jump on board with this question. So what situation happens in the real world in relation to the Shannon and Tony situation? In your circumstances, what would you have found most likely would occur? So what we're asking is it like mutual agreement? Is there lease break? Do they transfer the interest of all parties or find a new co-tenant? All the remaining ten just takes over the whole agreement. So I'll just leave that up for a moment. It is a popular topic, Lauren, in relation to particularly lease break. If people do that. But yes, we'll just give that just a moment longer. Everyone just jump on board. That's great. Okay, so I'll just end that poll and I'll just share the results. So we're looking at probably two thirds will be a lease break situation. Or they could be looking at getting a co-tenant and just a small percentage there in relation to the remaining taking over the whole agreement. Okay, thanks everybody. And as I said, don't forget pop your questions in the chat function if you have any more. Absolutely. Thanks, Lynn. So we'll go to scenario five. You're a property manager and your niece approaches you for information and advice. She and her friend are moving out of home and wanting to rent for the first time while they study at university. Ideally they want to rent somewhere together. They're under accommodation options and the renting process. What information could you refer them to? So it can be helped breaking up the information into before looking for a property, applying and during an agreement. Before looking for a property, your niece and her friend should be aware of the basics. They should know their rights and responsibilities, especially if they're going to be co-tenants. Do they realize what this means for them, especially if one person can't pay rent or wants to move out? I'm sure they really don't want to end up in a situation like the Shannon and Tony scenario we just ran through. They should also work out a budget and know what they can afford. Know what property features they need based on work and lifestyle too. So for example, do they both have cars and do they need two car parks? Do they prefer public transport? So is that accessible? Do they lack their personal space and so would they prefer a larger personal room or do they prefer a bigger common room? They should think about the type of rental options that would be best for them as well. So do they want to rent a unit together or do they think maybe renting from the same student accommodation provider would be better? And they should have copies of documents and any information needed for the application ready to go. So for example, some identification, evidence of income, contact details of personal reference maybe. And there might be other people who are looking at the same property. So if all of this is ready to go, they'll be able to start the application process quicker. When it comes to applying for the property, they should always read the agreement and before signing make sure they understand the components. So that's things like does the rent include electricity or does it not? Is there furniture? What about yard maintenance? They should be aware of the length of the agreement and know that sometimes links can be negotiated and also be aware of any special terms. They should also get a receipt for any money they pay, whether this be rent or bond. And they should be whether the bond needs to be lodged with the RTA within 10 days. Now they can do this themselves via web services or the property manager can do it. They should also make sure that they get a copy of any relevant documents. So that's a copy of the tenancy agreement, entry condition report, any body corporate bylaws, things like that. They keep applying for properties but never manage to secure one. Are there any tips you can give them? Lastly, they need to be aware of any aspects that occurred during the agreement like receiving an entry notice for inspections. During the agreement, there also might be some issues that happen. And these, of course, should be first tried to be resolved directly between them and the property manager or owner. But sometimes things can't be resolved directly and a breach notice needs to be issued. Your niece and her friend might be aware of what a breach is. So let them know the intention of a breach and that it isn't a personal attack. Information I've run through just now is from a new renter checklist moving in. When the time comes, there's also a moving out checklist and that might be really handy for some people out there. We also have a web page just for students, a student podcast episode and some educational videos. And I don't think there's any questions that have come in. So I'll go to that. No questions coming in yet, Lauren. But look, everybody, I have put some really useful links in the chat as well for a lot of the topics that Lauren is going through. So particularly that last one, there's a link to our page on with all those student first time renting resources as well. So on to our last scenario, Violet has been renting a house for three years directly from the owner. During a recent inspection, the owner told her they were selling the property and followed up with a notice of less intention to sell. While it was curious about how much the house was being sold for and went online to see the listing. The listing had pictures of her personal property in it, including photos and she assumes they were taken by the owner during the recent inspection. She calls the owner who apologizes and takes the pictures down. However, Violet is still upset and wants to take this further. She calls the RTA for information. So the residential tenancies and Rimming Accommodation Act 20 2008 rubber states that the less or less as agent must not use photos or images showing a tenant's possession in the advertisement. The selling agent needs written consent from a tenant to use photos or images if it shows their belongings. It's important to note that there are penalty provisions to not have a tenant's written permission to use photos of their possessions in advertising. So with all that said, in this scenario, the written permission didn't happen. So there might be potentially a breach of the act. Before giving Violet her options, we need to work out whether there's a dispute or an investigation. A dispute relates to tenancy and bond disputes or breaches of a tenancy or Rimming Agreement. It's a simple matter and if it's not resolved progresses to QCAT for adjudication. An investigation, however, deals with alleged breaches of a penalty provision of the legislation. It's a criminal matter and depending on the seriousness of the offence could end up in the magistrates court. If a case does progress to investigations, there are a number of outcome options from education to prosecution. Each case is unique and should be assessed on an individual basis. So in this instance, there appears there was a breach of the Act, Section 203, so it may progress to an investigation. In other scenarios, if you need help deciding whether the matter is suitable for investigation or not, there's an online tool on the RTA website that can help. If the matter is suitable for investigation, download the investigation request kit. The easiest way to access information on investigations is by clicking the Investigations tab and you can find it in the circle on your screen there above the blue banner. The issue in this scenario related to taking photos in a rental property. If you want to learn more about this topic, we have videos and fact sheets that might help. If you're interested in common investigations, this information is available in the RTA Annual Report, which can be accessed online. As an FYI, in the last year, the seven most common investigations were non-launchement of a bond or late-launchments, failure to provide a bond receipt, unlawful entry, quiet enjoyment, special terms not compliant with the Act, photos used in advertising without written permission, conducting open homes without written consent. And are there any questions on this topic or any other questions there, Lynn, that have come through? No, we have an extremely quiet group today. I think everyone didn't have their morning coffee. Look, I've got, there's no more questions that's come through at this point in time. Oh, no, I take that back. Rachel has just come in and just asked a quick question in relation to open house. If a tenant agrees verbally, is that okay? You can have mutual consent to obviously gain entry, but the legislation is pretty clear that if you are conducting an open house, you do need to have the tenant's written consent. And probably, Rachel, it would be deemed best business practice. Like, even if they've agreed that you actually follow that up in writing and make sure that you've covered yourself in that regard. Okay, that was kind of the only question towards the end of the session there, Lauren. So... Easy done. Thank you for that, Lauren. I'll let you kick in just in case we get a couple more before we finish up. Yeah, look, if you do have last-minute ones, please send them through. As highlighted throughout the session, our website does have a lot of information and would recommend if you are using any forms to please go down to go to the website and download them there because they will be the most up-to-date version. If no other questions have come through, that's the end of the session today, and thank you so much for your participation. Please fill out the survey at the end as this will help our future outreach activities and it will also help us deliver sessions that are useful and interesting to you. So, thank you again. Take care and thanks for joining us.