The Letterbox - August 2012 - From NSW Office of Fair Trading

Below you'll find the NSW Fair Trading's most recent enewsletter called "The Letterbox". This newsletter is an invaluable source of information, for landlords, tenants and property managers alike and is well worth subscribing too.

You'll find the online version of the newsletter here. Or alternatively you can head straight to NSW Fair Trading's website here.

Throughout the newsletter I'll post some of my own comments in purple. Enjoy, and let me know if you have any questions!


Welcome to the latest edition of The Letterbox, NSW Fair Trading’s enewsletter about tenancy issues. This edition focuses on ending a tenancy.
Ending a tenancy
Whether you’re a tenant or a landlord there are many reasons why a tenancy might end.
As a tenant you might want to terminate the lease because you're moving to a new home or because you think your landlord is in breach of the agreement. 

If you are a landlord you might want to end the tenancy because you have sold the property or you may have issued an eviction notice because you believe your tenant has broken the lease, for instance by not paying rent.
Whatever the reason, it is important that you understand how you can prevent an early termination if it’s not what you want, and the obligations you have when you are ending a tenancy.
Information on these matters can be accessed by downloading compilation fact sheets on Ending a tenancy – information for tenants (in PDF format size: 1.03mb) and Ending a tenancy – information for landlords (in PDF format size: 590kb) from the Fair Trading website. 
Read on to see Fair Trading policy experts answer your questions.
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Answers to your questions on ending a tenancy
Q. I want my tenant to move out. I am aware that I must provide them with written notification but I am not sure how much notice I must give them to vacate the premises. What are the time limits?
A: The amount of notice you need to give your tenant depends on why you’re terminating the tenancy.
Generally, if the lease is due to end and you want to terminate the tenancy you must give the tenant a minimum of 30 days notice to vacate. If the lease has passed its fixed term and you simply want to end the tenancy you must give the tenant 90 days notice to vacate.
There are other minimum time periods you must give the tenant to end the tenancy on specific grounds. Some of these include:

• 14 days notice for rent arrears or others breaches of the agreement; and
• 30 days notice if the premises have been sold after the fixed term has ended and vacant possession is required by the buyer under the terms of the sale contract.

Go to the Giving a termination notice page on the Fair Trading website for more information about notice periods.
The Serving notice page on the Fair Trading website also provides useful information when you are terminating a tenancy.
Q: I am a tenant and I have 11 months left on my lease. The oven does not work. The landlord keeps promising me he will fix it but no action has been taken. Will I have to pay any fees if I move out before my lease ends?
A: Repairs to a stove are urgent repairs. If the landlord does not fix the stove within a reasonable time, and you have given them a reasonable opportunity to have it fixed, you could issue the landlord with a termination notice for breach of the agreement and move out after 14 days.
No fees are payable if you terminate a tenancy early for breach of the agreement.
If the landlord disagrees with you, they would need to take the matter to the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal and prove they have not breached the agreement.
Another option for you would be to ask the Tribunal to terminate the tenancy and seek compensation for your losses.
Because oven repairs are classed as urgent repairs you can also arrange for the oven to be fixed and be reimbursed up to $1000 by the landlord. If the stove costs more than $1000 to fix or you can’t afford to pay for it up-front, you can apply to the Tribunal for an urgent hearing to get the repairs done. You can also ask for the rent to be paid into the Tribunal or for a rent reduction until the repairs are carried out.
Go to the Getting repairs done page on the Fair Trading website for more information.
Q. My tenant and I are half way through our lease. I have just sold my property. The tenant wants to stay for the remainder of the lease but the new owners want to move in. What can I do?
A: Under the residential tenancy laws, if the property is sold during the fixed term of the agreement, the lease goes with the sale and the new owner is bound by it.
The tenant does not need to move out and can stay in the property for the duration of the lease. If the new owners want to move in they can negotiate with the tenant and pay compensation to end the lease early.
For more information, go to the Giving a termination notice page on the Fair Trading website.
Q. I am about to move out and the landlord said I have to get the carpets professionally steamed cleaned. I vacuumed the carpets regularly and never damaged them. Do I have to pay for carpet cleaning? See my response to this question from December 2011 here
A: No, unless you have kept a pet such as a dog or cat on the premises, you cannot automatically be asked to have the carpets professionally steamed cleaned when you leave the tenancy. Compulsory carpet cleaning clauses are prohibited and not enforceable.
When you end the tenancy, you are required to leave the premises as nearly as possible in the same condition as when you first moved in, allowing for any fair wear and tear. Furniture marks on the carpet and worn carpet in high traffic areas are examples of fair wear and tear, which you are not responsible for.

I'm not sure if I agree with high traffic areas being considered fair wear and tear - these areas come up great with a good professional steam clean. As far as I'm concerned high traffic areas are no different to hand marks on walls or powerpoints, I would expect them to be cleaned up too.

However, if you have damaged the carpet such as by spilling wine on it then you would need to have the carpet cleaned.
Go to the Fair wear and tear section on the Getting your bond back page of the Fair Trading website for more information.
Q. I have recently moved out of my rented property. How do I get my bond back?
A: If you haven’t done so already, you should contact the agent or landlord to arrange a mutually convenient time to do the final inspection and fill in the outgoing condition report. This report details the condition of the property at the end of the tenancy.
If you and the agent agree on how the bond should be paid out, you can both sign the bond claim form available from Fair Trading and lodge it. This way, the bond can be paid out straight away.
You should try and sort out any bond disputes directly with your landlord or agent before your bond claim form is lodged. This way you can avoid having to go to the Tribunal if there is a dispute about your bond.
If there is a dispute over the bond that can’t be resolved, you can lodge the claim form yourself without the landlord or agent’s signature. If you do this, Fair Trading will send a letter to the other party advising them that they have 14 days to dispute your claim in the Tribunal. If the landlord or agent does not apply to the Tribunal within the 14 days, your bond will be paid out to you once the 14 days is up.
Tenants can go to the Getting your bond back page on the Fair Trading website for more information.
The landlord can also make a claim on the bond without the tenant’s signature. If the landlord lodges a bond claim form without the tenants signature, Fair Trading will attempt to contact the tenant in writing giving 14 days to dispute the claim at the tribunal, after which the bond will be paid out to the landlord.
Landlords can find more information on Making a bond claim page on the Fair Trading website.

A landlord or Agent has 30 days to finalise a bond. Sometimes this can be done a lot sooner, however regularly we are waiting on things such as invoices from cleaners, and once they are received the bond will then be finalised.

Q. My tenant has moved out but they have left behind all of their furniture. What should I do?
I am currently dealing with this exact problem.
A: You should first check that the tenant has actually moved out and is not on holidays or sick in hospital.
There are penalties under the legislation for unlawfully dealing with goods left behind by a tenant.
You should try and contact the tenant by phone, email or in writing first and check with the neighbours if you cannot contact them. If the tenant has also stopped paying rent this might be a good indication that they have left the property. If you are unsure, you can apply to the Tribunal for an order that the tenant has abandoned the property as well as orders about how to deal with the tenant’s goods.

Make sure you take lots of photos to indicate the state of the property. If the lawn is over a foot high, if there are cobwebs on the door frame and there is junkmail scattered about the premises then these photos will help show your reasons for believing the property to be abandoned.

If you are satisfied that the tenant has gone, you must store all of their furniture in a safe place (either on the property or elsewhere) for 14 days. Any personal goods such as birth certificates and passports must be stored for 90 days.
You should then contact the tenant in writing, in person or by telephone if you can, telling them you will dispose of their furniture if they don’t collect it within 14 days. If after 2 days you still cannot locate the tenant, you can leave a notice on the front door of the property or another prominent place.
If after 14 days the tenant doesn’t collect the furniture you can dispose of it by taking it to the tip or giving it to charity.
Alternatively, you can sell it and forward the proceeds to the tenant (or the Office of State Revenue after 6 years as unclaimed money if you can’t find the tenant). You are allowed to deduct your reasonable costs of sale and any occupation fees if the tenant left behind so many goods that they stopped you from re-letting the property.
Go to the Goods left behind by your tenant page on the Fair Trading website for more information.

This is a pain in the bum, because most of the items left behind are worthless, and therefore cost you a lot of money to remove and/or store them, which you're very unlikely to see again. Another reason why you should have LANDLORD PROTECTION INSURANCE! Very important!

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Status update – Fair Trading is now on Facebook 
Fair Trading is reaching out to the online world through its new Facebook page with over 1,400 likes in the first 24 hours.
Matching the success of Fair Trading’s Twitter account, Facebook has already proved to be a step in the right direction for community engagement. 
“We have a long history of providing high level customer service and engaging with our clients,” says the Commissioner for Fair Trading, Mr Rod Stowe. “Now we are taking that even further by asking the community of NSW to join our social network.”
Being on Facebook has made services more accessible to the community. It provides up-to-date information on changes to legislation including encouraging people to ‘Have their say’ on reforms, and allowing online audiences to be involved in conversations.
Join the rapidly growing group of followers by hitting ‘Like’ on the NSW Fair Trading Facebook page.
The Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal (CTTT) are also using the Twitter and Facebook communication platforms. Go to the Social media page on the CTTT website for more information about their Twitter and Facebook account.
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Did you know Fair Trading has a YouTube channel?
With over 35 videos on a range of topics, Fair Trading’s YouTube channel is worth checking out.
You can watch videos on buying or selling a home, strata living, picking a good real estate agent, discrimination in the rental market and loads more.
Visit Fair Trading’s YouTube channel.
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Listen up! Consumers have their rights read
Fair Trading has updated its popular audio resource Your home, Your car, Your money.
The 21 audio files help empower vulnerable consumers to exercise their consumer rights and combat unscrupulous operators.
“The audio resource contains valuable information on selling, buying or renovating a home, living in strata schemes, buying a car, door-to-door sales, preparing a will, moving into retirement villages, scams and traps for the unwary when using the internet,” Fair Trading Minister Anthony Roberts said.
You can listen to the audio files on the Your home, your car, your money page on the Fair Trading website or by ordering a free audio CD pack by telephoning Fair Trading on 13 32 20.
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In the next edition 
The next edition of The Letterbox - due for release in November 2012 - will focus on the topic of pre-agreement charges, ie. limits on bonds, holding fees and paying rent in advance. We invite you to email your questions to us at theletterbox@services.nsw.gov.au by Friday 7 September 2012.
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Feedback
We want to make sure The Letterbox is relevant and interesting. Please send us your comments, suggestions or topics you wish covered to theletterbox@services.nsw.gov.au
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