 Welcome to today's RTA webinar recording on ending the tenancy, a guide for tenets, with a focus on what you need to know when moving out of a rental property. My name is Lynne and I'm a Senior Community Education Officer with the Residential Tenancies Authority. The Residential Tenancies and Rumi Accommodation Act 2008 outlines the timeframes for property managers and owners and tenants when they give notice to end a tenancy. To give you an example, as a tenant, if I want to vacate at the end of my fixed term agreement, I would need to give the property manager or the owner a minimum of two weeks notice. It is important to remember that the timeframes listed in the Act for General Tenancies and Rumi Accommodation do differ. Noting that Rumi Accommodation, so this is your boarding houses and student accommodation, requires shorter timeframes. To end any tenancy, notice must be given in writing. You can go to the RTA's website to download forms and check what notice period is required. For tenants giving notice, this would be a notice of intention to leave, a form 13, or for property managers notice, it's a notice to leave, a form 12. When issuing a notice, you can do so by post, email if your agreement states that you can serve a notice by email, or you can serve the notice in person. Remember, if you do post a notice, you do have to add more time in covering the Australian post timeframe. So let's have a quick look at the vacating process and how it works. After the notice has been given, you'll need to move out and clean. Tenants have a responsibility under the legislation to return the premises in the same condition it was at the start, let's bear wear and tear. It's a good idea to refer to your entry condition report that you received at the start of your tenancy. Ensure your rents pay to your vacating date, so check your rental payment records and also check in with your property manager or owner. Complete the exit condition report and take photos. This is an important step as the report is compared to the entry condition report at the start and it is also the tenants' responsibility to complete this as outlined in the Act. Gather all the keys, remotes, access cards to hand them over to your manager or owner. Vacating inspection is important. You may want to ask your property manager or owner if you can be present or what their process is and when will it be done. And the final step is the boundary fund from the RTA. Moving is a stressful time. There's so much that you need to do and remember. Having moved recently myself, it was a good reminder of what you need to organise when you are changing from one property to another. In this slide I've listed things that you may need to include in your moving plan. The remove list, truck or hire date or if you're utilising your friendship with your family and friends, make sure they know in advance what date and time they're going to be helping you. Allow time to pack. Once all your possessions and furniture are removed you need to clean the property and remove any rubbish. If you're choosing or to engage a professional cleaning company, what date or time are they coming and have you allocated enough time. Notify your utility providers to disconnect and do a final reading for your electricity, your gas and your internet. Organise a mail redirection and you can see Australia Post for more information and it's available on their website at auspost.com.au that's a-u-s-p-o-s-t dot com dot au. Whether you are cleaning or you have engaged someone to do it, do a final check on the premises inside and outside. If you've engaged any tradespeople to rectify any damage or do mowing or gardening, check that they've done a good job. Also check to make sure that everything has been done and nothing's left behind. Look in all the cupboards and drawers one last time and just check those little things that sometimes get missed in cleaning. Complete the exit condition report and take your photos and check your rent pay to date. Is any rent owing? All keys and remotes needs to be handed back including any that you might have got copied. The vacate inspection, check in with your property manager owner early in the move so you know what their process is. When will they be doing it? Can you attend? What happens if there's a problem? The bond refund and updating details with the RTA. It's really important to note a refund can occur once the tendency has ended or handover of the property has occurred. The RTA cannot accept a request for a refund before that date. Remember when completing the fields on a bond refund ensure all the boxes are complete and penalties apply for providing false and misleading information. The quickest and easiest way to get a bond refund is for you and your property manager or owner to reach an agreement about how the bond is going to be paid out. Whether that is a full refund to you or some money being paid to the owner all parties need to agree. Either you or the property manager or owner can submit a bond refund. The RTA encourages customers to use the RTA web services the online platform for bond services. Helpful resources and step-by-step instructions can be found on the RTA's website at rta.qld.galba.au. When completing any forms and submitting them to the RTA whether that's online or in paper form please make sure all the fields are completed. This will avoid any delays or the forms being rejected. Refund plans can only be submitted on the handover date or the bank aid date and not before and refunds are paid into Australian bank accounts. To fast track your refund payment make sure you and the property manager or the owner and any other bond contributors are talking with each other and getting an agreement so your bond can be fast tracked. So what happens if it's not an agreed refund? If you or the property manager or the owner or other contributors do not agree with this at the start we then call it a notice of claim process. People who have not agreed are given 14 days to respond to the claim. If they disagree it proceeds to the RTA's free dispute resolution for conciliation. From there if there is a resolution the bond is refunded as to what has been agreed during the process. If it's not resolved then the matter proceeds to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The conciliator will step you through both of those processes. The RTA has previous webinars on ending a tenancy and also resolving disputes available on the RTA's website. So let's have a look at the bond refund in summary. In this diagram you can see a refund form is submitted. Fast track means if everyone agrees it goes straight to the refund payment and paid out. If someone does not agree during this fast track process the notice of claim process will start and potentially may end with dispute resolution process or still not resolved then QCAT when adjudicator will make a determination as to how the bond is going to be paid. As you can see there's quite a few processes involved and with that also time involved with each step. More information on these steps are available on the RTA's website including the dispute resolution process. As you can see when we say the quickest and fastest way for a bond refund is an agreement between tenants and property managers and owners upfront so the bond can be fast tracked. The RTA encourages all parties to communicate and talk with each other. Share evidence and photos and try and resolve any issues upfront. Even if the process hits to dispute resolution you can still talk with the other party and try and resolve it. To share with you some of the RTA bond data during 2019 to 2020 financial year the RTA received nearly 300,000 bond refunds with a mix from both digital upload and the paper base being posted in. With the introduction of refunds through the RTA web services in December 2019 we're definitely seeing an increase for customers using this digital platform for an efficient and seamless customer experience. For a smooth process at the end of the tenancy remember tenants, property managers, property owners have rights and responsibilities under Queensland Tenancy Law. Have that moving plan or checklist in place so that you don't miss anything. Regular respectful communication is key in any tenancy relationship between yourself and the property manager and the property owner. Be informed check out the RTA's website for ending a tenancy information all the forms, web services for the bond refunds and tips to moving out. You can also check out previous webinars covering essential legislation information to help you understand your rights and meet your obligations. Remember an agreed refund through RTA web services is the fastest and easiest way to get a bond refund. The RTA still accepts paper refund or rental bond forms. Again please make sure it's fully completed including the vacate hand over date, contact and bank details and it is signed. If you're unable to use web services or post the form in please call the RTA. You can keep connected with the Residential Tenancies Authority by subscribing to the RTA news on our website but we can keep you up to date with tenancy topics and you can also link in with the RTA on LinkedIn. The RTA is here to help you and everyone involved in the tenancy whether you're the tenant, property owner or property manager. The RTA's website has a lot of information and resources relating to tenancy and bond information and services and we encourage you to view this at rta.qld.gov.au. The RTA web services for bond matters including lodging, refunds and disputes is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you need further assistance please ring one of our friendly staff members in our contact center on 1300 366 311. Revalable Monday to Friday 8 30 a.m to 5 p.m. Thank you for your time today.