 Well, good morning, everybody, and welcome. And thank you very much for joining us for today's webinar. My name is Mark Fiddler, and I'll be hosting today's webinar. Joining me today, and to keep things ticking along in the background, is Deb Bond. Morning, Deb. Good morning, everyone. Deb and I are both community education officers here at the RTA, and we will take you through what we've got to discuss today. Before we do get started, I'd like to respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodians and the land on which this event is taking place, and elders past, present, and emerging. I also recognise those whose ongoing effort to protect and promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island cultures will leave a lasting legacy for future elders and leaders. So in today's session, we will look to cover the topics listed on the slide. We'll discuss the rights and responsibilities for both parties as listed in the act, and we will answer any questions you have as we go along. Once I have run through the topics on the screen, I'll then provide some answers to the questions that you provided when you registered, and we do thank you for those questions that has helped us put together today's webinar. We do encourage you to engage with us by dropping any questions that you do have into the live chat function as we go along, and at the end of this session today, you'll be asked to complete a short survey on this webinar, and we do encourage you to provide topics that you would like us to cover in future webinars or education sessions. So getting into it, when I proposed the topic for this webinar, we were in the middle of a long dry period, and all reports suggested that it would be, it continued throughout the summer. In some areas of Queensland, we've now had a few weeks of storms and rain, so thoughts about preparing for a dry hot summer seem a little bit distant, but whether conditions continually change, and what we're looking at at the moment is the potential of a cyclone in Northern Queensland. So again, some of the information that we will discuss today will be relevant to preparing for those sorts of events. So regardless of the conditions, there's still things that need to be considered when you're looking at your tenancy agreement and when you're putting it together. So you want to ensure that your agreement covers the condition of the property, and you also want to consider that anything that can impact the agreement, especially around weather conditions and that sort of stuff. So if your property, or if a property that you manage or that you own has gardens or lawns that require care throughout the tenancy, then it is recommended that your special term set out exactly how you expect the property to be cared for. Now when it comes to a tenant's responsibility, it's not expected that they have specialist knowledge of how to care for particular plants, hedges or gardens. So if specialist care is required, a property owner or a manager may need to consider whether you should provide a gardener or a handyman to maintain the property. In those situations, you need to ensure that the tenant is aware of any responsibilities that they may have, and even if they can meet those responsibilities. So if it's in regards to lawn care, does the tenant have a lawn mower or is one going to be provided for them? What other tools might be required that the tenant may or may not have? It's those sorts of things that you need to look at when you're setting up your tenancy agreement. The other thing I recommend is that the property owner or manager doesn't leave things to chance. So if you've got expectations on how you want things to be left at the end of the tenancy, then ensure that your special terms are clear and that your tenant does have instructions for what to do. And if there's any tenants on here today and listening on, when you're moving into a property with established lawns and gardens, make sure that you're clear about your responsibilities in looking after them. So generally, regular household jobs in the yard, such as mowing and weeding the garden, can be considered part of your obligations as a tenant. So we'd encourage you to discuss the special terms and the requirements within them at the start of the tenancy to ensure that both parties understand them before the tenancy starts. Now, just a point for those that are in rooming, accommodation or managing unit complexes, generally the lessor is responsible for maintaining the common areas. If tenants in units have a private garden or a lawn space, then we recommend that the special terms of your agreement provide details of how it should be or will be cared for. In these situations, if the lessor is arranging garden maintenance for the private garden or lawn, then entry provisions do need to be considered. And finally, what is your contingency plan? So if we do experience drought or water restrictions, is there an expectation that the tenant will need to water more or make changes? Is there an allowance for water within your special terms if they do need to water more? So communication with your tenant will be important if these circumstances occur. Now I'll touch on some of the water-charging aspects of things a little bit more in the upcoming slides. So in regards to pool care, so if a property does have a pool, there are a few things that need to be considered when you're putting together your tenancy agreement and then further expectations or considerations if we experience weather conditions or extreme weather conditions. So just as a tenant's not expected to have specialist garden knowledge or gardening knowledge, tenants renting a property with a pool are not expected to be experts at maintaining a pool. The maintenance of a pool should again be covered in the special terms of your tenancy agreement. The property manager or owner cannot enforce the tenant to engage a specific business for cleaning the pool. Generally, the tenant can be responsible for everyday tasks, such as clearing leaves from the pool and maybe responsible for basic maintenance such as filter cleaning and even checking the pH levels and the chemical levels and those sorts of things. But again, these things should be discussed with the tenant and their understanding of their requirements before signing the tenancy agreement. And ideally the property manager or owner should be providing instructions for any of the tasks that tenant must carry out. Now if pool maintenance is to be covered by a contract between the property manager or owner and an external company, then these terms should be included within the tenancy agreement. A property manager or owner cannot require the tenant to enter into a maintenance contract or require the tenant to use a particular company to provide maintenance services. It's important to remember that those things are covered under the act. Now obviously again, severe weather conditions can impact pool maintenance. And longer dry periods can lead to excessive evaporation requiring excess water use for top ups. But heavy rain periods can impact the chemical balance of the pool. So again, we recommend if these types of weather events occur then the property owner and manager should be working together to resolve any issues if the special terms haven't already covered these situations. And the last thing on pools and it's not particular to weather or maintenance but it is required that pools must be properly fenced and have a current pool safety certificate. A copy of the safety certificate should be included with the tenancy agreement. And certificates are valid for two years for non-shared pools and one year for shared pools. So when I talk about shared pools that's in situations like a unit complex and those sorts of things. Now Deb will drop a link into the chat for more information on pool safety certificates and where to find more information in regards to those things. So in regards to mould and we know that this is a topic that's very common across Queensland and a lot of our information sessions we always get questions about mould. We understand that it can occur for a variety of reasons. They can be environmental, it can be maintenance issues or it can be a lack of ventilation any of which of these can be exacerbated by weather conditions. Now who is responsible to clean it? It comes down to how and when it appeared in the first place. Now sometimes it will be clear who's responsible for example, if it's from a leaking roof and there's mould on the ceiling then we would understand that this is a maintenance issue and be up to the owner or the manager to rectify. But if there's mould in the bathroom from not using the fan or opening a window and ventilating the room properly then that could come back to the tenant's responsibility to clean and ensure that it is fixed up. Now sometimes it's no one's fault and it's purely because of the environment. Determining what's the cause of the mould may point to where the responsibility sits to rectify but it may also require the parties to work together to rectify the situation. If it's not clear how the mould got there in the first place then potentially an inspection by an external professional or someone experienced may be able to assist. Now there are many products available to remove mould and yes, you can search these on the internet. We are not the mould experts but we do ask you to be mindful that some products will just discolor the mould but not remove the spores and so the mould can come back. Please ensure that you do do your research and ensure that the product or service you have is right for the situation. Now one of the new minimum housing standard points is that the property needs to be free of vermin, damp and mould at the start of the tenancy. Responsibility after that will depend on what causes the issue. So if you are a property owner or manager and you are aware of any tips or tricks that will help to avoid mould in the property then we encourage you to pass that information on to the tenant. So if you know, for example, that you've got an evaporative air conditioner or evaporative air cooler and running it constantly causes a moisture build up and leaving it off for a few hours here and there will avoid that situation and avoid mould. We really encourage you to have those conversations with your tenant and ensure that they're aware of ways and opportunities for them to avoid mould building up in the property. So when it comes to air conditioners it is another topic that we do get questions here quite regularly at the RTA. So the lessor is ultimately responsible to keep the premises and inclusions in good repair and this does include the air conditioner. Now the tenant can be responsible for cleaning filters and keeping the unit itself clean but these things again should be set out in the special terms and the tenant should be aware of the requirements before entering into the agreement. Any other repairs are generally likely or likely to be the lessor's responsibility. Now one question we do receive regularly is that of regular maintenance or services? Now there's nothing in the act that requires it specifically but as most of us regularly service our cow to keep it running smoothly it might be a good idea for lessors to consider doing something similar with the air conditioner. It's also a good idea for property owners or managers to provide the tenant with a copy rower of the air conditioning manual. This will provide details about how to remove filters for cleaning and other troubleshooting tips that the tenant can check before needing to get a technician. The more information provided in the agreement special terms or by providing manuals or instructions the smoother things can run. Now we spoke earlier about watering lawns and topping up pools. So how does all of that impact water charging? And most of you will be familiar with the water charging requirements as per the legislation. So I won't go into too much detail about that. You'll see the fact sheet there on the screen. We do encourage you if you have any questions around the water charging aspect of things or looking for information around water charging to jump on and have a look at that fact sheet. Now if there is an expectation for the tenant to maintain lawns and gardens to a particular standard and that requires regular watering especially during dry periods then consideration might need to be given as to what portion of the water that the lessor is going to cover. We mentioned earlier ensuring that special terms around garden maintenance and pool care are included. We suggest the same when it comes to allowances for water. So what happens in an agreement where there's an extreme weather event during the agreement and that impacts the special terms. Maybe it's a dry, long, long dry period and the tenant needs to use more water than agree or it might be wet and the tenant doesn't need to use any water that's been provided for them. So that can impact the charging and what might be in the special terms. We really encourage the parties to work together in these situations and find a solution that works for both. Obviously if you're unable to resolve the matter yourselves then you can lodge a form 16 and come to the RTA for dispute resolution. So let's expand a little on the extreme weather event and look at a dry period and where it gets to a point where water restrictions come into play. Now as you'll see on the slide there the tenant is required to abide by any water restrictions that are in place and this will need to be taken into consideration if a tenant's ends. So even though you may as a lessor have expectations that the gardens and lawns will be handed back to you in a particular condition if water restrictions stop the tenant being able to water then obviously the property is not going to be given back to you in the condition that you expected. So in those situations you need to take into account the reasons why and then make your adjustments when you're doing your end of tenancy inspections and those sorts of things. Again communication between the parties in these circumstances is important as there may not be anything written into the agreement to cover something that has occurred midway into the tenancy. So when it comes to the condition of the property at the end of the tenancy we'll touch on the basic requirements and then recap some of the considerations that we've discussed so far today. So as you'll be aware and well aware that the tenant must leave the premises in the same condition it was at the start of the tenancy fair wear and tear accepted. The tenant obviously must also comply with any special terms in the agreement about the end of the tenancy. Now lawns and gardens will be assessed or included in assessing the condition of the property at the end of the tenancy and that's why it's important to consider what we've discussed today. Now we spoke earlier about not leaving things to chance and ensuring that your special terms are well written. If they are then it can make things a lot easier for both the tenant and the property owner or manager at the end of the tenancies as expectations are set out clearly and both parties know where they stand and what they're required to do. So as we've discussed today when assessing the condition of the property at the end of a tenancy then the property owner and manager may need to consider if the changes in weather conditions or the introductions of water restrictions have impacted the premises and take that into consideration when looking at the condition of the property at the end of the tenancy. So when we're putting today's webinar together and you may recall through the registration process we asked you to provide us with any questions or topics that you wanted us to cover. So an example of some of those questions are up on the slide there and I'll just run through a little some responses in regards to those. So a question was raised around tenants in community housing and who's responsible for lawn maintenance. So as I discussed earlier it can be the tenants responsibility to mow lawns and weed gardens and keep things maintained to a basic level. Some of the things that you probably need to consider from a community housing aspect of things is whether your tenant actually has the capacity to do those things if you're putting them into the special terms. So do they have the physical capability? Is there a mower supplied or does the tenant have one? And what options are available to the tenant? So do they need to arrange if they're required to maintain do they need to arrange a lawn mower company to come in and do it and those sorts of things? So by all means there, as I said there's a general expectation that the tenant can be responsible for lawns and garden maintenance but you do need to consider the capacity of the tenant and the circumstances around the tendency in that situation. So it really does need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Your expectations should be agreed up front and noted as special terms. So while we're on the topic of lawns we have some questions here around lawn grubs, lawn or plants dying and the cost of water use due to dry conditions and the extent of care that a tenant has for maintaining turf and especially new turf. So hopefully a lot of the information I covered earlier has answered some of the questions around the tenant's responsibility for weeding and mowing but just to recap and as I said a moment ago it's not unreasonable for that tenant to be expected to mow and weed but your agreement should set out their responsibilities. The tenant does need to leave the premises as near to was at the start, fair where and tear accepted. So as we mentioned earlier this can extend to lawns and gardens but as we also discussed where the conditions need to be considered when assessing these things. So if you get heavy rain periods you've provided allowances for getting rid of lawn clippings and those sorts of things. What does the tenant do? If there's more clippings that can go in the bin all of those sorts of things need to be considered. Are we really encouraging in extreme weather conditions that you do have those conversations with your tenants in those circumstances? So if plants or lawns are dying then you need to have a look at why. So what do the special term state about looking after them? Is it allowance made for water? Is the tenant under watering or are they over watering and causing issues? So you may need to look at what's going on there and if the tenant isn't meeting their requirements under the special terms then they can be considered to be in breach of the agreement. Now the question about lawn grubs is a great one. If you know that your property is susceptible to lawn grubs then I'd suggest you advise your tenant of what to look out for and ask that they advise you as soon as possible if they notice any signs of lawn grubs. It might be a good idea to arrange for spraying. Lawn grubs are an environmental issue so it's not the fault necessarily of either party but we do suggest that both parties work together to find a solution. And at that early observation and picking up early that there is an issue can avoid any problems. I've had issues with lawn grubs at home and I know it can make an absolute mess of your lawn. I didn't get onto it early enough. I now know what to look for. So if you do and are aware of the sorts of things let your tenant know what to keep an eye out for. She had some questions around air conditioner services and gutter cleaning. I'll touch on the air conditioner service and I did speak to this when we spoke about air conditioners around that aspect of regular maintenance. So as we said there's nothing in the act that requires regular maintenance or services on a regular basis. But really as we talked about and use the analogy in regards to your car if you're regularly servicing then you've got a better opportunity to ensure that the life cycle or the life span of your air conditioner is better and that it continues to work as it should. Now if the owner does refuse to agree to regular services then there might not be a lot that can be done but if a failure to service it causes damage or causes the output of the air conditioner to diminish to diminish then the owner may find themselves requiring a technician anyway because the act does require the inclusions to be in good repair. So it's also important to mention here that if the special terms require the tenant to keep filters and the unit clean then they do need to do so. So a lack of cleaning from the tenant's perspective that leads to damage could find the tenant footing bill for repairs. So I mentioned appliance manuals earlier if one hasn't been provided that remember that throwing the maker model into a search engine such as Google be able to find most manuals and give you some information around what to do and how to look after those particular things. So when it comes to gutter cleaning this is a question that we've been getting in our contact center for years. Now the act is silent on the topic of gutters specifically but it does make reference to obviously ensuring that the premises are clean and fit to live in and that it is maintained in a way that remains fit for the tenant to live in. Now it might be reasonable to expect that regular gutter cleaning is a less or responsibility as a regular maintenance issue as it's highly unlikely that the tenant is actually doing anything to cause the gutters to fill up. If the less or doesn't or complete regular maintenance on the gutters then the risks could be water backing up and leaking into the walls or causing damage to the premises. So the less or may look to add something to the special terms here but again they need to consider the tenant's ability to be able to do so safely. So if you've got a high rise Queenslander it might not be reasonable for the tenant to be able to access the gutters to keep them clean in that situation. So it is important to consider the safety aspect both of the tenant but also of the gutters building up with debris and leaves and that sort of thing. We've already had multiple bushfires this season and summer has just begun and now we've got in Northern Queensland the potential of a cyclone. So gutters that don't allow the water to disperse could be a risk and cause damage in that situation. So it's also worth checking out QFES's website it's Queensland Fire and Emergency Services website for details around preparing your property for emergencies and Deb will drop a link into the chat. Now that's it for me in regards to the information that I've got. If anyone has any questions certainly let me know. Deb have we got anything there? Yep. So Donna just wanted to clarify about the pool safety certificates. So her question was does the pool safety certificate get included in the tenancy agreement? Or is that something that you maybe provide with it or is it just on display near the pool? What are the expectations there? So the best thing to do, Donna would be to jump onto the website that we've provided in regards to pool safety. My understanding is for a shared pool so in a unit complex my understanding is that it does need to be provided copy provided near the pool for an individual property with a pool then we do recommend that a copy of the certificate be provided with the tenancy agreement. So just as an addendum or part of the special terms but a copy of the certificate be provided in that way. Yeah, thank you Mark. And then the other question that came in from Elisa was around whether special terms have to be written by a solicitor. So that is a good question. We actually did an information recording a couple of, well about a month ago I think or a little bit longer on special terms and we did address this in there. So for, if you're a property manager you can't write special terms into the agreement yourself. They do need to be written by a legal expert or legal practitioner. If you are a property owner writing a tenancy agreement you are able to write your own special terms in but the key to that is that those special terms do need to meet the requirements of the act. I would encourage you to jump on and have a look at that information piece that I did a couple of months ago because it does provide a little bit more information around your responsibilities of special terms. What is able to be included? What falls outside of the act? Who's responsible for writing and those sorts of things as well? Thanks Mark. That's all the questions that we've gotten so far. If anyone has any other questions you can pop them in the chat real quick. Hopefully the information's been thorough enough Deb that we've covered everything that we need to. But if anyone does have any last minute things certainly let us know. And thank you for the questions we received when you registered too. They really help us to make sure we're covering what you want to know. And just before we do finish up and we'll keep an eye on if there's any questions come in. So just from an RTA perspective please make sure that you've signed up for our monthly RTA news email so we can keep you informed of any key topics or changes. We do produce a range of educational resources including recorded webinars on tenancy legislation and key topics. We also have a Talking Tenancies podcast series that goes through a whole range of different topics and are really interesting to listen to as well. So there's a lot of detailed information on the recent tenancy changes if you are looking for information there. And you can access both the podcasts and our webinars through our website. Now this is our last webinar for this year. As I said before there will be a short survey that pops up at the end of the session and your feedback within those surveys helps us to continue and improve our communication and gives us ideas for topics for webinars and podcasts for next year. So please if you do have the time take the time to fill that survey out and let us know. We also have a LinkedIn. So if you are on LinkedIn feel free to jump on there and follow us as well. And one lucky last question Mark from Nari who wanted to know if hedging is standard lawn care or if it should be an addition in the special terms. Yeah again if it's fairly standard if it's a not too high and not too difficult to manage the hedge then it can be put in as a tenant responsibility. But if you've got a six foot high hedge or intricate that needs to be shaped and all of those sorts of things then that may not necessarily be the responsibility of the tenant. But if it's a three foot high and it's neat and it's square and it's fairly simple and you can provide the instruction to the tenant and be confident they have the ability to do it then yeah there shouldn't be any reason that you couldn't add that to a special term and have that as a tenant responsibility. Okay, thank you Anne. Sorry we've got one more question. So can 100% water consumption be charged and still have a requirement to water and plant lawns or should there always be an allowance of water for the garden? I think it's the question is asked. It's a fair question in regards to water charging the tenant can be responsible for 100% of the consumption. I would argue or suggest that if there are expectations and especially if you are looking to have gardens maintained to a particular level and lawns maintained to a particular level then it might be reasonable to consider providing an allowance within that. There's nothing specific in the legislation. The legislation simply says that the tenant can be responsible for 100% of the water if the property's water efficient and the agreement provides for the tenant to pay water but some of the I guess disputes that we do see at the end of tenancies are around that water charging aspect where the lessor has an expectation for the gardens and lawns to be maintained and are not providing any water to do so. Now in the last few weeks in Brisbane it wouldn't be an issue because you probably wouldn't have had to turn your tap on but certainly in the six months prior to that where it was really dry then the tenant potentially needing to use more water than what they may well have done to keep those lawns up standard and that sort of thing. So it's probably not unreasonable to expect or to provide an allowance but there would be nothing preventing you from charging the tenant 100% in that case if you wanted to. Okay, thank you. I think that's it for our questions. All right, thank you very much for those. Hopefully I've answered those and provided a little bit more information. Just finally before we do finish up to our contact details which you'd all be very much aware of but obviously the contact centre is available from 8.30 to 5.00 Monday to Friday on 1300-363-111 for those requiring interpreter if you call that number and you will have free access to interpreters if you so require and obviously all of our information or a lot of information can be found on our website anytime it's 24 seven. So we'll do appreciate you joining us today and stepping through that information with us and we will hope to see you in 2024 for when we start our webinar series again next year. So thanks very much and I will now end the webinar.