 Hello everyone and welcome. Today we're doing the RTA's webinar on Tips for Resolving Tenancy Disputes. My name is Lauren. I'm from the communication and education team here at the RTA. With me is Stephen Watson, a senior conciliator with the Dispute Resolution Team at the RTA. We'll be sharing his knowledge and co-presenting with me today. Hi everybody. My name is Steve. I've been with the RTA about 10 years now, just coming up on 10 years. I'm most of that time in the dispute team and I've been a senior conciliator for three to four years now. So yeah, across all this stuff. Thanks so much for joining us, Steve. Before we go any further, I'd like to respectfully acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of this country and their continuing connection with land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to all traditional owners and to elders past, present and emerging. So on top of the topics listed on your screen today, Steve will discuss some common scenarios and practical ways to help using his valuable insight and experience. Please note the RTA cannot provide legal advice and you're encouraged to seek your own independent advice to make informed decisions. We want to make this an interactive session. So please ask questions or make comments throughout. To do this, use the chat function in the toolbar on your screen. At the end of the session, there'll be a quick survey that comes up. We'd appreciate you filling it out as your feedback will allow us to identify how we can improve our communication and education activities. We'll also be doing some polls during the session. We'll start the first one now on what sector you're from and where you're located. So let me launch that one. That should be up on your screen now. Okay, we're starting to get some responses there. Okay, perfect. So you can see here that we've got mainly some property managers and agents, but we do have some landlord and also some people from another category. So a bit of a diverse bunch here today, which is great. Before we get into how to resolve disputes, it's useful to know why disputes happen in the first place. Steve, would you be able to tell us more on this? Yeah, absolutely. As per the screen there, communications, a huge one, probably going to sound like a broken record by the end of today. But that's the main reason why disputes tend to escalate or occur. People not being aware of their rights or responsibilities, being blindsided, not even knowing that there's a dispute occurring or having no information about what the dispute is. I guess, assumptions, people making assumptions. So never make an assumption that somebody should know this or that may be evident to you, but the other person may not be aware. Different expectations, what a tenant wants compared to what a property manager wants, compared to what an owner wants, or a completely different. The other big one there is avoidance. Some people get embarrassed about that situation so they bury their head in the sand. That only escalates the matter. The longer a matter is not addressed, the harder it is to fix. And then people voicing opinions and not using facts. Getting personal, getting emotional doesn't help at all. Although that is of course human nature, but it's something just to be aware of. Also a clash of personalities. It happens, sometimes it's unavoidable. But if you're a property manager, maybe there's another colleague that can help. Maybe there's a manager that can step in. If you're a tenant, perhaps a co-tenant or a support person. And of course, if that doesn't work, then you go on to the RTA dispute resolution service, which is where we come in, which is something we'll touch more on later. Alright, thanks so much for that, Steve. It's good to know some background information there. Absolutely. So on your screen are the top dispute reasons over the past three years, and you can see they're relatively consistent. Our data shows that in the last financial year, around 52% of disputes are bond related and around 11% are for disputes on claims greater than the bond amount. Not included in this graph was another column, which was other, and that was around 9% for the last financial year. Topics which fell into this other category included things like overpaid rent, tenancy database, rent reduction and increases owner moving in or sale of a property. But overall, as you can see, there are two main types of disputes, bonds and tenancy matters. So I'll actually get Steve to run through some of these in more detail for us, please Steve. Yeah, of course, as you can see in that previous slide, bonds is the big one. Bond disputes obviously follow on when tenants are vacating or when the vacating inspection has been done. It's a critical point in the lead up to vacate when the tenants are due to hand over the keys. It's an opportunity for parties to talk, to really communicate about the vacating process. Encourage when you talk to tenants that the quickest and easiest way to get a bond refund is an agreed refund. Obviously, if it's a disputed refund that can blow out the time frame. We know from experience that most tenants are focused on where they're going rather than where they're leaving. So it's important to encourage them to be organised. There's a vacate information list on our website. We've got a previous webinar, we've got a podcast about vacating in rental properties. And then of course, the next big category is the tenancy ones. Repairs being the most common. It's not only common dispute that we have, we tend that it's one of the top cause in our core centre as well. So nearly 10% of our disputes relate to repairs. This is probably where people can avoid coming to a dispute where you can get in early and address the situation and talk to the other party. If you do talk, it does avoid things escalating where breaches are being issued and generally things getting messy. So a proactive property manager or landlord might like to get in early and offer a rent reduction or a level of compensation so that the tenant doesn't get frustrated and escalate the dispute. Then there's entry. Again, there's laws around when property managers or owners can enter but to placate a tenant you might want to obviously talk about this earlier. And the tenancy is the next big one, about 6%. And of course we all know what the rental market is like at the moment. So whether it's seeking an extension of time, incorrect timelines on the notice, breaking lease or big reasons for a dispute. And then water charging is probably the last one. So obviously there's rules on when you can or can't charge water if you're a property manager or an owner is a property water compliant. Some of these also the disputes we get relate to bills not being issued in a timely manner. Or, you know, sometimes as a landlord you might forget to issue the bills and then you try to give the tenant all the bills at one time and obviously the tenant's going to be upset with that. So again, communications key to talking through all these issues. Absolutely. Yeah, communication is definitely vital. So here at the RTA we see resolving disputes as a three step process. First, we encourage all parties to attempt self-resolution. If there's an issue, make sure you're clear about your rights and responsibilities and you can check with the legislation or with us if you need to. Communicate with each other, just as Steve said, and have a conversation as soon as you're aware of the issue. Some conversations can be difficult. If they're held early on, they may save you time and financial resources down the track. Part of negotiations is that you or the other person may need to compromise, so it's good to keep that in mind as well. If you can't resolve the matter during this first step, you can access the RTA's free dispute resolution service. And if the issue is still not resolved, then it can be referred to QCAP for adjudication. Some self-resolution tips are on the screen there, but I'll get you Steve to really elaborate on some parts that you think the audience would really appreciate. Again, we've mentioned it a few times already, I'm probably going to mention it a few times. Communication is the key to resolving disputes. So open and honest and civil communication, being mindful of the language you use, includes your tone as well. Sharing evidence and information, ask the other party to share what they've got as well, keeping information from each other rarely fixes disputes. And it can cause friction and it can lead to a lack of trust. Focus on the facts and also listen to the other parties to ask questions. By asking those open-ended questions, you can sort of start to understand where the other person's coming from and understand what their issues are. And that gives you a chance to work with them to fix the issue. We touched on it just before, but telling your communication. So everybody's busy these days, so I know it's easy just to use a standard template and sometimes they work. Sometimes it's not the case where there's a breakdown of communication, standard templates. Sometimes don't fix the issue and they can actually lead to the issue escalating. So maybe more personalized communication, because communication is not one-size-fits-all. You need to be mindful of the language you use and other people's educational or literacy barriers and how the communication is delivered but also received. Someone may be a first-time renter and they may not know their rights or responsibilities, whereas the other end of the spectrum, somebody who's been renting for quite a while may not want to be spoken down to. They may know what they're talking about already. Is it best to email somebody? There's other forms of communication. If somebody's in their 70s or 80s, maybe email is not the best choice of communication. So make sure your communication is clear. Make sure it's correct. Doesn't clarify the situation. Try to take the emotion out of it if you can and make sure it's delivered in a courteous tone. Empathy is also another big one, Lauren. A lady I used to work with who was a seasoned property manager used to tell me that property manager is about managing people, not all those properties and putting yourself in their shoes so you can help. Yeah, so it's again about that communication and just talking to the other person. Yeah, great. Thank you so much for that. What we'll do is I'll get you to run through some ways in which we can apply some of those tips you just mentioned in a really common way via scenarios. But before we run through these scenarios, I'll do another quick poll with everyone. This time it'll be on what limits you from resolving disputes. So I'll give everyone time to do that and thank you for those people in the chat that have been telling us about some audio issues. Hopefully it's a little bit clearer now, but we'll please let us know if there are difficulties ongoing. That poll now and we can see here that the vast majority of what limits the audience members is one side not willing to compromise and negotiate. A little bit there with not being able to contact the other person, but that main willing to miss or lack their role to compromise. So thank you so much for everyone for doing that one there. Fantastic. All right, we'll jump then to the scenarios. So we've got scenario one here. George is a co-tenant with his elder colleague mother, Konstantina, who only speaks broken English. George is often out of the country for work and is difficult to contact. The property they rent for is the sale and the agent would like to have an open home. So Steve, what would you recommend in this situation? Yeah, difficult with language barriers. I've actually had a similar case to this, a real life case, and it can be further confused by sales agents as well. So sometimes you can have disputes like this with a sales agent or property agent and the tenant as well. Obviously, the tenant doesn't have to allow an open home unless you get written consent from the tenant. Email if you can email her the Konstantina and she can translate that or good. Maybe face to face is a better option though. Maybe telephone is a better option. There are translating companies such as translations with a Z who can hook you up with a translator who can better help you communicate. But what about maybe Konstantina's got some concerns other days or times when she's out of the home where she preferred having an open home? Does she get frail or does she get tired very easily? Maybe you can work out inspections around those times where she needs to rest. Does she feel uncomfortable with a male agent and prefer a female agent? Maybe leaving, you know, giving brochures or leaving easy to read documentation around that she can translate. Probably I'd also recommend following up with George's son just to keep him in the loop and maybe, you know, maybe use him as a go between person and see if he can be a support person for his mom. The best way to go. Yeah, absolutely. And you did mention that that was very much a real life example for you. I think Australia is such a multicultural place. So it's something that someone will either have experienced or will experience further on in their career. So really good tips there. Now we're over to repairs. So a property Julie with renting was damaged in a recent storm. While it is livable, the kitchen needs significant repairs and one bedroom cannot be used due to a leaky roof. It's been two weeks since Julie reported the damage and no repairs have started. Julie calls the property manager and states she's becoming frustrated with being fully unable to with being unable to fully use the kitchen. She also explains her children are having to share a bedroom and this is putting stress on the family. She wants the repair sorted out as soon as possible. I was actually thinking about this scenario on the way to work case in point about what we're talking in open communication. In this case, Julie's hasn't heard anything from the property manager. So she's got frustrated and she's reached out. Whereas if the communication was a little bit better, perhaps a property manager had kept Julie in the loop that the repairs might take a while. So, you know, even just to reach out and say that the order has been placed and that the property manager is doing the best their best to get a trace person in. Reassure the tenant that they are following up and let them know that repairs are going to happen as soon as possible. Often acknowledging a situation where the other party feels frustrated and empathizing with them can help placate the situation. If there has been widespread storms normally, you know, both insurance companies and tradesmen are over overworked and there's an increase in demand for their services. And that can obviously push out timelines. So realistically, the property manager can't control when a trade person is available. But keeping the tenant in the loop is probably key to resolving this before it escalates to help with the situation both parties could possibly agree on a rent reduction. I know a lot of property managers and owners particularly, you know, that's not their go-to, but it can help again help the tenant feel less frustrated and it can avoid the unnecessary cost of escalating the matter. QCAT later on. Yeah, good point. We're possible. We definitely want to try and self-resolve before we go to QCAT and repairs in particular, really quite timely with the weather we've been having at least in the southeast Queensland region of the state. So this one is on the claim greater than the bond. We've got Tori's tenancy has ended and she has vacated the property. There was significant damage and independent assessor states it'll cost $2,320 to fix. Tori's bond was $2,000. Neither party has yet submitted a claim for them. Yeah. Generally, both parties want things resolved as quickly as possible. And the property owner or the owner, so the property manager or the owner might be willing to accept the bond, maybe as full and final. This is where, you know, both parties signed a legal binding agreement that the bond going to the owner is the end all. The owner may be out of pocket in this case, $320. But again, it can save time and hassle of the matter escalating through QCAT later on. Obviously, it depends on the amount. You know, in this particular scenario, the owner is going to be out of pocket $320. But if the agent is charging the owner to go to QCAT, $320 may not be that much of a compromise. But, you know, if the claim itself is $4,000 and the bond is only $2,000, then the owner is probably going to consider their individual circumstance as well. And I guess one thing to stress about this too long. Sometimes with funders, full and final claims or agreements, it can affect the insurance as well. Sometimes insurance companies aren't keen on paying out the, you know, the cost if the bonds being finalised already. And it, you know, some insurance companies try to go out to the tenant as well. So probably recommend just the owner talking to the insurance company before they agree upon anything full and final. Yeah, good, good point there. And I also liked your point about that if it was a different out of pocket amount that that may have changed the outcome. I think that was a good reminder that every situation is unique when dealing with disputes and it's not a one-size-fits-all approach. So this one, we've got a few issues going on. In addition, Louise's tenancy agreement has ended and she's vacated the property. While doing the exit report, the property manager notices damage that was not on the original entry condition report, particularly a large scratch on the line of flooring. The property manager calls Louise who says the removalist did the damage and will be paying the compensation. On top of this, there's a disagreement over the state of the garden, which was originally well maintained and now many of the plants are dead. The conversation Louise raises that the property manager didn't fix the dishwasher for the last five months of the tenancy. Yeah, we get a few of these disputes as well in my team. Often there's an argument that external agreements and arrangements, you know, something for the property manager to finalise, you know, things like removalists or cleaners or yard maintenance people who are brought in by the tenant. It doesn't really matter who the service provider is. The agreement is with the tenant and that service provider, not with the property manager or the landlord. So it's not really something the property manager or landlord needs to resolve. The tenant's responsibility in this case, I would argue, is their responsibility to leave the property in the same condition they received it last February and tear. So she's responsible for any, you know, her agreement is with the landlord in this scenario or the property manager. It's probably up to her to reach an agreement with the landlord and then for her to be reimbursed or follow up with the removalists with the garden. Gardens are tricky. It depends what's in the special terms. What's in the entry condition for compared to what's in the exit condition report 10x generally required to have any specialist knowledge of gardening. So if that's, you know, required, then maybe that should be considered if the gardens and above average condition or report contains plaques. I don't know that that needs special care. And what about the weather lately, you know, have we been in a drought that's affected the way the garden is? Have we had two weeks of continuous downpour raining, which has seen the garden overgrow? Is that something that the tenant is responsible for? That's where parties should negotiate and talk to each other, you know, about the level of responsibility or damage. The dishwasher potentially a rent reduction. You know, it's only a recent thing, but has a tenant let the property manager know this could be an example of what a tenant should communicate. Vacating disputes about upon or one dispute shouldn't be tipped for tap. You know, it should be something that tenants should have arguably followed up already. And that's the issue with multiple issues going on. It can potentially affect the outcome of a dispute or of a self resolution that can complicate matters, which is again why communication is key to ultimately aim for self resolution. You need to treat each other with respect and communicate. This is a simple answer. Yeah, sorting things out early and mutual respect. So on to our last scenario here. So do you rents a property that is water efficient and water charging was included in the special terms of the tenancy agreement. Judy has been sent a water bill after a month has passed. No payment has been received by the property manager. However, they have been staff shortages due to COVID and this wasn't noticed. At the next quarter duty is issued another bill after a month has passed. She's not paid this one either. The property manager looks into Judy's account and see she's now got two unpaid bills. Again, communications are key. You know, making sure that information can share that the bills have been passed on. You know, obviously everybody gets busy, but if you pass the bills on as soon as possible, you know, that's that's community. That's communicating to the other party that's letting them know that there is a bill instead of holding it off one go. So maybe just reaching out to Judy and seeing what the issue is is probably the way that I would start has she just forgotten. Does she think that her water is coming out of the rent. Ask first and then respond accordingly. Does she think that she's not responsible? Has there been a leak that she think the premises is water efficient? Or maybe she just wasn't aware that water was an issue. We all know that a lot of tenants don't read the special terms in their agreement. So talking through those special terms when the agreement signed is probably key. I'd also say, you know, although the property manager has been busy, not following up probably not on the property manager probably more on the tenant in this case. Judy's probably still liable, I'd argue. But then, you know, maybe she's having financial difficulties and she's ashamed or embarrassed. I mean, she's trying to bury her head in the stands. So maybe the property manager reaching out and talking about things like, you know, a payment plan rather than just making her pay the bill in one go. Maybe there's a compromise here that can be reached by both parties. Some good things to consider. And thank you for running through all those scenarios with us. I would really personally find scenarios are a good way to learn entering the insight world is really useful. So I hope the audience has thought that as well. We'll jump back into some content here. We've got the RTN. When the RTN receives a dispute request, it's first of all assessed for suitability. The RTN website list matters that are unsuitable for conciliation. But some examples of these are things like where a claim may exceed $25,000. The matter falls outside the RTN's jurisdiction. So it can be something like a neighborhood dispute. And one or both parties are unable to be contacted. The process is voluntary. So we can't force someone to participate. If someone's not willing to participate, they may need to progress to QCAT and the RTN will issue a new result dispute. Most conciliation is done by telephone and conferencing, where the conciliator has both the tenant and the landlord or property manager on fire at the same time. The conciliator has undergone specialized training and continues to receive ongoing training. The conciliator isn't partial. It does not take sides nor do they make decisions. They're merely there to provide a safe environment for parties to have their say and assist with some legislation information. This is a confidential process. Anything that is not admissible should proceed to the tribunal. The RTA does resolve about 70% of disputes where we conduct the conciliation process, but if an agreement can't be reached through conciliation, a notice of unresolved dispute is issued and you can proceed to QCAT if you choose. Remember though, if the dispute resolution request has been submitted, you can still keep talking to each other and still try and resolve the matter. So Steve, if a dispute does progress to conciliation, how do people best prepare for it? Yeah, I think we might have some sound issues there, Lauren, too. Okay, alright. That's better. So tips to prepare for conciliation. So, Lauren said in the previous slide that we do prefer to have both parties on teleconference with one of our trained mediators. And that's, you know, we find that 75, 78% of people who participate in the process get a resolution if they both actively participate. So tips for preparing for conciliation. First of all, you'll be contacted by an intake officer who will talk you through the process. But then when it actually comes to the conference, we do ask that you set aside some time, set aside an hour. We know that most people are busy these days, but, you know, taking an hour at a time can avoid, you know, the process escalating or spending time and effort at QCAT later on. A couple of months down the track. So if you can go to a quiet room, be prepared for the conference and have your documentation ready. If you're a property manager and you're driving in a car on the way to inspection and trying to do the conference at the same time, not only is that dangerous, it's probably not going to maximise your outcome. So remember to focus on the actual issues. Be prepared to describe the who, what, when, where, why. Talk to the other party. Again, without opinions coming down and saying that the tenants' slob or that they didn't live very well, not going to, you know, help get a resolution. It's only going to get the other persons back up. If you're a property manager, have a conversation with the landlord beforehand so you know what level of negotiation you're prepared to work with. And that can speed and, sorry, lead to a speedy recovery. It may be beneficial to remind the landlord that if the case does get a kick out, possibly there'll be charts for your time to represent them. So sometimes the process is about agreeing to something you're happy with, but not something you can live with, but not something you're necessarily happy with. Sorry, I got that wrong way. And be open-minded to ways of resolving the issue that may not be referred to choice. Again, negotiation, compromise, communication, critical. Well, sorry, I've got, there we go. All right, so what's the benefits of our free dispute resolution? So I've already spoken about them, I guess, but yeah. I mean, the main one is it's free, guys. And it's time and cost saving. We're pretty flexible and it's up to you. You get a say in your outcome instead of having to go to QCAT where it's not only cost you time and money, but it gets taken out of your hand. So, you know, again, if you need our process, our free dispute resolution service, it is there. Yeah, well, thank you so much for that, Steve. So on top of the webinars, like the ones we've done today, the RTA also produces other various educational resources, including our podcast series. You can see the podcast series up on the screen there. It does talk about self-resolution in tenancy disputes. So that could be something that you're interested and would like to listen to further today. You can also follow us on LinkedIn. We will go through some questions shortly. Before we do, though, I'll do one last poll. And that one's launched now and it's just really asking, do you feel more confident resolving disputes after today's session? We've still got some answers coming in. So far it looks like overwhelmingly people are answering yes. We've got the majority of somewhat confident they are. So I'm glad we've had some improvements. Maybe going back, listening to that tenancies, Talking Tenancies podcast or rewatching this webinar can help. We also do have some more information on our website as well if you think that that could be useful and beneficial. Fantastic. So I'll look at our chat to see if we've got any questions that have come in. If also you didn't quite catch some of the things that I mentioned before. Sorry with the audio issues that have been happening. Feel free to ask those questions in the chat now and we can answer them for you. Looks like we've got a relatively quiet bunch. We do have one question that's come in. It's more of a scenario. Someone's just said that their tenant doesn't respond to anything they really send out and then they find it quite difficult to navigate that situation. Steve, what can you do when someone really doesn't respond and it's hard to self-resolve if both parties aren't coming to the table? I was going to say just before that a quiet group is good. That means that we've covered everything. But yeah, in this particular case it is difficult if one party ceases communication and not to sound cynical but I guess in this scenario the best course of action is try to do everything you can. The legislation is pretty great but it does talk in a few cases about being reasonable although there's no definition of what reasonable is. But if the matter does escalate and end up a QCAT in front of an adjudicator that perhaps showing that you've tried to do everything you can, maybe the other person's not communicating for a few reasons. Maybe they're avoiding the situation. Maybe they're just busy trying to reach out, trying to communicate with them as best you can. Not only shows that you're trying to be reasonable later on but maybe you get through changing the way you communicate. If it's just by a call, maybe you call showing up as a private number, maybe reaching out as the email. But yeah, trying to do what you can to show that you're reasonable and that you're trying to do what you can to end the dispute before it escalates is probably the first step and then following through with the other party. And if it doesn't work, if the other party can't or won't communicate, maybe dispute with us to try to get us to jumpstart the conversation. And you did mention throughout that it's always good to share information and I'm assuming that that would include pictures, especially if there was things like repairs or damage and things like that. The pictures that are sent through between parties, do they have to be date stamped? Good question. I mean, there's no law that says they have to be first of all but it's probably about a level of trust between you and the other party. You know, date stamped can show when the photos were taken, if there is that breakdown of trust. You know, sometimes parties will argue that those photos are before they moved in. So date stamping those photos absolutely show. I'd probably say if it does go through to QCAP, most QCAPs don't have the ability to look at photos. So they need printed photos. That's when the date stamping will come important. And again, it's about backing yourself up. And you know, in case the process gets escalated, showing that you've done the right thing. So not necessarily, but if there is a breakdown of trust, maybe date stamped is the way to go. Good question. Fantastic. I don't think we have any other questions that have come through. If you do have any last minute burning questions, please type them now. Otherwise, we will wrap up shortly. One last point to note is we do have the website, www.ca.qld.gov.au if you did want more information, or you can call through. We do have a question. I did want to also mention that because of the audio issues, I did read earlier in the chat that someone said that they were exiting the chat. We can, and it will be put on the website, these webinars later on. So you can always listen back to them if you're having current audio issues they are. And the one question that's come through is, my tenant's excuse is not accepting an increase in years. They're saying they have to spend their income on other things such as a college course and health issues and things like that. So where would you stand on someone potentially not accepting an increase in the rental price per week but due to some other things including health issues? Yeah, it's tricky from a tenant's point of view balancing those priorities. If I was cynical, I'd say, well, that's the tenant's problem, not a property manager's problem. Everybody's got a cost of living, everybody's got other costs involved. But having a roof over your head is pretty important. Obviously there's ways in a legislation or reasons that you can raise rent, processes that you can raise rent that don't really allow a lot of options for the tenant. They've got to work out their own priorities yourself. You can't control what other people do. You can only control what you do and if the rent is way below the median, I guess you've got to weigh up as a property manager or an owner. The cost of finding a new tenant and getting new tenant in as opposed to keeping the rent at the same price. I mean, maybe is there a compromise there? You want to increase the rent $50 a week in line with the median rent around that area. The tenant doesn't want anything. Maybe there's some middle, maybe $20 a week will help both of you. But if it comes to that, yeah, the tenant's got to decide what their priorities are. I mean, it's whether or not you can continue to pay your mortgage with the rent the way that it is. Again, it's about communicating and talking to each other, I guess. Okay, great. Well, thank you for that. I think that's the end of all the questions that are coming through. And thank you again for everyone attending. It's great to have a really nice, beautiful bunch and some interaction today. So thank you so much and we'll see you next time. Thank you. Thank you, everybody.