2 months notice does not apply from one fixed term agreement to another (rent increase) QLD

One of the most common questions that are asked of Real Estate Excellence is in relation to time frames for rent increases from one fixed term agreement to another. Section 91 of the RTRA Act is the relevant section in this regard (below). The key provision in this section is the last two lines (and only apply to QLD);

Note—


This section does not apply to an increase in rent from one fixed term agreement to the next.


This means that the two months’ notice does not apply from one fixed term agreement to another. The two months’ notice only applies for a periodic agreement OR when the fixed term agreement from the beginning of the tenancy allows for a rent increase during the tenancy. For example a 12 month fixed term tenancy has a special term drafted by a lawyer or the landlord that rent will increase at the six month term (rent cannot be increased earlier than 6 months). In this example, compliance would mean that at the four month mark of the twelve month tenancy, the tenant must be given two months written notice for the rent to increase at the six month mark.


91 Rent increases

(1) This section applies to increases in rent for the following—

(a) a periodic agreement;

(b) a fixed term agreement, during the term of the

agreement.

(2) If the lessor proposes to increase the rent, the lessor must give

written notice of the proposal to the tenant in the way required

by this section.

(3) The notice must state—

(a) the amount of the increased rent; and

(b) the day from when the increased rent is payable.

(4) The day stated must not be earlier than 2 months after the

notice is given.

(5) Subject to an order of a tribunal under section 92, the

increased rent is payable from the day stated in the notice, and

the agreement is taken to be amended accordingly.

(6) However, if the agreement is a fixed term agreement, the rent

may be increased before the term ends only if the

agreement—

(a) provides for a rent increase; and

(b) states the amount of the increase or how the amount of

the increase is to be worked out.

(7) A rent increase is payable by the tenant only if the rent is

increased under this section.

(8) This section applies subject to section 93.

(9) This section does not apply if—

(a) the lessor is the chief executive of the department in

which the Housing Act 2003 is administered, acting on

behalf of the State; or

(b) the lessor is the State and the tenant is an officer or

employee of the State.

Note—

This section does not apply to an increase in rent from one fixed term agreement to the next.

http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/
(c) Real Estate Excellence Academy Pty provides General Real Estate Advice and Services.

AREC 2011 – through the eyes of Stacey Holt – Real Estate Excellence

First impressions count they say, and the first impression of AREC 11 was wow, the organisation and professionalism was second to none! The service from registration (thanks Stephanie Mason) to the actual conference day was nothing short of Excellent!

The first speaker Bob Bohlen (who was moved to first speaker after a late programme change which aptly the conference theme was ‘shift happens’) was amazing. An older gent who started real estate at the tender age of fifty and who has transacted over 9000 real estate transactions in 22 years was truly inspiring. Bob had a simple and gentle approach to his presentation, with a great deal of grace providing many great tips and reminders for us all.

Bob’s tips included

·        Have written personal and business plans – you don’t drive to a new or unknown destination without looking at a map or your GPS – how true Bob!

·        Have an ideal day and week (many agents I work with look at me in disdain when I mention this in my business Real Estate Excellence but they don’t hear  the word ideal and think the word perfect is used – there is no such thing!)

·        Have a weekly prospect list, people who will do business with you in the next 30 to 90 days - buyers and sellers (or landlords)

·        Have time management blocks such as the first hour check emails and then shut your computer down! The next hour is phone calls and the like.

·        Some great sayings from Bob included

o   If you don’t have an assistant, you are an assistant

o   Your job description is “prospecting, selling, listing and negotiating”

o   Welcome change, don’t fight it – embrace change, it provides opportunities

o   Have someone like a mentor/coach who you are accountable to daily

o   Keep your prospect list with you 24/7

o   Revisit your business plan a couple of times a day to focus your energy on what you are want to accomplish

o   What to say to close deals, JAQ – Just Ask Questions

o   Door knocking and letter box dropping work, though expensive due to time taken and printing costs, it is better than not prospecting.

Alan Jones was one of the many highlights for me at AREC11. His ability to capture an audience was magical with so many meaningful tips and advice. There was so much said by Alan that it is impossible to do his session any justice in this article; however some of the highlights include

·        Make the next scene the best scene you have ever done. Onwards and upwards was the key to Alan’s message in my opinion, and in my words, keep striving for Excellence.

·        Success is born with adversity

·        Successful people enjoy (even love) their work!

·        Successful people have a positive attitude and great confidence (fake it till you make it sometimes I say!)

·        Be positive – negativism is corroded (rust starts and if not dealt with takes over)

·        Use negative experiences to discover your strengths

·        Successful people are decisive, disciplined goal setters

·        Believe in something, or you believe in nothing

·        Make sure you gather good people around you

·        Leaders should encourage contributory environments in their teams; identify problems together and creates solutions together as a team

·        When you climb Mt Everest, there aren’t any chairs!

·        Become a headline, not a footnote

Rudy Giuliani was a humble man who struck me as very ‘real’.  His leadership skills were very obvious before today due to the tragedy of 9/11. He was every bit of the person who I have seen on the television; if not more.  

Some of Rudy’s key messages (and again I won’t do his session justice by this summary) were;

·        If you make people dependant, they stay dependant

·        Leaders have to lead by participation

·        You can make a lot of money in a declining market

·        For one hour of presentation, spend four hours preparing

·        Relentless preparation is the key to success

·        To be a leader, you must be an optimist

·        Courage does not mean you don’t have fears; it is what you do with the fear that makes you courageous

·        Leaders must have strong beliefs and be able to communicate them

·        Leaders must have clear consistent vision

·        Tell people what you expect of them

·        Balance your strengths and weaknesses; get someone to help you where you need help!

·        A leader is a motivator and a teacher

Bill Malouf, a selling agent at LJ Hooker Double Bay was exceptional and had some simple yet powerful messages. Simply Bill’s great messages were

·        Be accessible to your clients

·        Have credibility

·        Always be honest

·        Have great product knowledge

·        Nobody can stop you from succeeding other than yourself

·        I want to get paid for the effort I put in and get paid at the end of the month

·        Never make an appointment with a client without doing your research.

Mike Morrison was comical and had a great sense of humour. He had a hard gig coming on just before lunch after a great morning and a later lunch coming. The key to Mike’s message was

·        Have a sense of humour

·        Care for people, don’t just service them

·        Go from service to ‘specialness’

·        People buy people, not processes

Michal Palllier, well wow! A humble quietly spoken agent from Raine and Horne Double Bay who almost made me cry because he was just so ‘real’ and honest. Raw is another word that comes to mind when considering Michael. His manner was nothing short of special, and this session made me feel that I was the only one that he was speaking too. He has that uncanny ability to make you think that you are the only one in the room and that it is a one on one conversation; not 2500 people in front of him!  Michael’s message was one of humility and grace. His key focus is working really hard and doing the right thing by people.

In summing up Michael, and I am far from doing his session justice; I would sell my house with him any day! But regrettably I don’t have one to sell in Double bay (yet!).

Regrettably I had to leave early due to meeting with Clients. I met with some great new people and the exhibitors are fantastic! There are so many great services are available to Real Estate Agents. One of the many things I love about the Real Estate industry is the networking and the wonderful people that are in it!

A few connections I met today include Kylie Davis, the national Real Estate editor of News limited, Brad Pawlyszyn, the state manager for QLD GBC – www.gbcaustralia.com.au Renee Lambert from Real Estate Review, www.aprs.com.au, Lyn Wicks from Poolwerx (and old friend) www.poolwerx.com.au, Terri Cooper (another old friend) from Real Estate Mastery www.realestatemastery.com.au assisting Kevin Turner from REUNCUT www.reuncut.com.au  and Jennifer and Vas from R&W www.randw.com.au (great rebranding of the group!).  AREC11 was money worth spent; though it is only half over, I have sure got my monies worth already. I am looking forward to tomorrow!

Stacey Holt

Director, Real Estate Excellence Academy Pty Ltd trading as Stacey Holt Real Estate Excellence

The Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (RTRA Act) cites the two types of Residential Tenancy Agreements; fixed term and periodic tenancy agreements.

Fixed term tenancies are defined in the RTRA Act as;

Fixed term agreement— (a) for a residential tenancy, means a residential tenancy agreement for a residential tenancy for a fixed term;

Periodic Tenancies are defined as;

Periodic agreement— (a) for a residential tenancy—means a residential tenancy agreement that is not a fixed term agreement;

When property managers negotiate new or existing tenancies on behalf of lessor clients, the question that should be asked is ‘when is the best time for my client’s property to become vacant?”. For example, from Mid December through to Mid January in most areas would be the worst time for a property to be vacant. This of course can be controlled and negotiated by property managers. There would be other times of the year for some areas known to be difficult for letting.

Having said this, property managers should also remember that a fixed term tenancy is only required to have a definite start date and definite end date. Traditionally tenancies have been per calendar month such as from the 29th May 2010 to 28th May 2012 (for a 12 month tenancy). The fact is that the dates do not have to be calendar. For example, a tenancy that was just negotiated in Lutwyche Brisbane recently (a personal investment property of mine) has a start date of 1 July 2010 and end date of 20th January 2011. Tenancies don’t have to be, and technically should not be the traditional six or twelve month as there are only two lawfully identified types of agreements; fixed or periodic.

In Item 6 of the General Tenancy Agreement, fixed term agreement or periodic agreement should only be inserted; though if six or twelve months is added at the moment, it most likely won’t make the agreement ‘fatal’. If required, refer to the fine print under Item 6 of the agreement to see what the government have written; ‘insert fixed term agreement or periodic agreement’.

For some in the industry, this may require a ‘mind shift’ away from the traditional agency practice ways of six or twelve month tenancies; the important points to remember is not only that the law doesn’t identify with ‘six or twelve month tenancies’ and only focuses on fixed or periodic agreements, but also the fact that a duty of a property manager is to ‘minimise their clients losses and maximise their income’. One way of demonstrating this duty is by taking into consideration when negotiating new tenancies or renewals, when is the best time to re let this property again in the future?

One penalty unit equals $100. The legislation can be downloaded from http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/

(c) Stacey Holt Real Estate Excellence - http://www.realestateexcellence.com.au/

Real Estate Excellence launches in NSW

It is with great excitement that Real Estate Excellence Academy Pty Ltd has officially launched in New South Wales. The launch into NSW has come earlier than expected; however due to Industry Demand for services, the decision has been made to launch Education and Training Services.

Real Estate Excellence can provide many services nationally with focus on Federal Laws and Risk Management. As part of the National Strategy of expansion, there is now a FREE subscriber option on www.realestateexcellence.com.au to receive education updates and information. There is also dedicated pages on the website to NSW best practice and compliance.

Further to this, Real Estate Excellence also has a National Facebook business page and twitter account; with both accounts paying particular focus to National issues.
The National facebook account is here facebook.com/RealEstateExcellenceAcademy (National) and www.twitter.com/RealEstateExcel  

For more information, don't hesitate to contact me via www.realestateexcellence.com.au

QCAT creates some certainty about rent payments upon handover

As there are two pieces of legislation to deal with when an agent carries out a vacate namely the RTRA Act and the PAMD Act (Code/s of Conduct), it has been uncertain for as to when rent stops being paid upon handover. The RTRA Act states that the tenancy terminates upon handover whereas the PAMD Code of Conduct requires agents to give a tenant a reasonable opportunity to go back to rectify any matters of concern such as cleaning or damages.


This published decision creates for the first time some certainty as to when rent can be charged to upon handover when the tenant has to go back to rectify any matters.

This decision has some huge benefits for our industry regarding when rent is payable upon handover

QCAT have stated in a published decision that


"It is reasonable to expect a tenant to be liable for rent until the handover has been completed, the keys returned and their obligations to the property as tenants have been finalised – such as affecting repairs or doing cleaning"


To read the case, visit http://www.realestateexcellence.com.au/education-and-training-events-real-estate-excellence/cat_view/36-qld-best-practice-compliance-and-legislation/30-qcat-appeals-and-published-decisions

(c) Stacey Holt - http://www.realestateexcellence.com.au/

Property Management Excellence Career Development Programme (CDP)

Real Estate Excellence is proud to announce the first of a seven part Career Development Series for Property Managers. CDP 1 (set out below) is the first in the series; property managers, assistants and seniors would benefits from all of the sessions being rolled out. CDP 1 is the first programme. Attend one, some or attend them all! If you would to review all of the seven programmes, please email Stacey.holt@realestateexcellence.com.au or visit the website http://www.realestateexcellence.com.au/education-and-training-events-real-estate-excellence/cat_view/34-qld-training-and-registration-forms/39-property-management-excellence-career-development . The registration form is also set out below.

CDP 1 – Property Management Excellence (three hour programme)

• Understanding QCAT, RTA and the OFT

• Understanding key documentation used in tenancy such as the General Tenancy Agreement and the Management Agreement

• Understanding the legislative duty to the lessor and tenant

• Vital risk management procedures and why

• Application Form and processing – Tenant Selection

• Discrimination Law

• Advertising and Showing the Property

• Feedback reports for vacant property

• Tips on Career Development and Advancement

# Includes using and studying the RTRA Act

for more information including dates and cost, please email stacey.holt@realestateexcellence.com.au

The first sessions are being held in Brisbane (JUNE), Gold and Sunshine Coast (JULY) - other areas in Queensland dates are yet to be finalised. One session each region only.

QCAT - headaches and heartaches for some...

I am watching QCAT closely and am starting to worry about what is actually happening. I received this email below from a great property manager yesterday which I must admit made my blood boil (which doesn’t get us anywhere) but more so shake my head with a frustration and even sadness. If this below is in fact true (and I have no reason to doubt the wonderful property management and her equally respected Licensee) it is an outrage and something must be done. I have forwarded the email onto senior staff of the RTA for their information and intend in the near future of writing to the President of QCAT. I am going to forward the email onto the Principal Registrar as well today expressing concerns for disregard of the actual Act/s in question. QCAT was meant to create better justice and easier systems for us all; at this point it is doing neither in my opinion and seems to be creating in the most part a whole new set of issues and headaches (plus heartache for some)


"I was just wondering what your take on something is. My Principal was at a conference were an adjudicator for QCAT was speaking.

He was speaking about Tenants notice of their intention to vacate.

It was said (please note that I was not at the conference and am just relaying information passed onto my from my Principal) that if a tenant was to send us a SMS that they do not want to renew that we are to take that as their notice of Intention to Vacate the property and should act accordingly to find a new tenant and to mitigate any losses suffered by both tenants and owners.

My question is that s327 of the RTRA Act states that


327 Notice of intention to leave


(1) A notice of intention to leave premises must—
(a) be in the approved form; and
(b) be signed by or for the tenant; and
© identify the premises; and
(d) state the tenant intends handing over vacant possession of the premises to the lessor on the day stated in the notice; and
(e) state—
(i) the ground on which the notice is given; or
(ii) that the notice is given without ground; and
(f) unless the notice is given without ground—give particulars of the ground on which the notice is given.


My Question would be could we take a txt or email, as intention to vacate even if not all information as per s327 is in the notice?

Stacey Holt
http://www.realestateexcellence.com.au/













I am sure that this may be a question that you may have seen/ or will get from other agents as I was advised that it was a highly debated topic at the conference.