March 2013
RentCover Report – we’ve got you covered
Welcome to the March edition of the RentCover Report.
There’s plenty in this issue for landlords and property managers to think about.
For starters, how much time do you have to carry out urgent repairs on rental
properties? One landlord has found out the hard way that it’s not that long.
We also check out some time-saving technology, designed to make life easy for
busy property managers and landlords.
And, with Easter just around the corner, it’s a good time to take a look some
worthy causes that our team supports – from helping homeless Australians; to
rescuing children; and supporting Multiple Sclerosis research.
I hope you enjoy this edition and look forward to bringing you more insights next month.
Sharon Fox-Slater
General Manager, RentCover
News in brief…
NSW real estate agents and property agents face
change on the insurance front – new minimum
levels of professional indemnity cover. Every agent
will be required to take out professional indemnity
cover of at least $1 million for a single claim and $3
million in total. The changes are outlined in new
clauses in the Property Stock and Business Agents
Regulations.
Are you a property management star or promising
rookie? Nominate yourself or your company for
the Australian Real Estate Awards by 22 March
2013!
Property commentator Terry Ryder has warned the current oversupply of apartments in inner Melbourne
is going to get worse before it gets better. Rental vacancy rates are already high - sitting at 11.5 per cent in
Southbank, over 9 per cent in the CBD and close to 9 per cent in Docklands.
A two-year-old boy’s three-story fall has provided a grim reminder on high-rise dangers for children. The
boy fell from the window of his apartment and landed in a lane 13 metres below. Early reports are that he
avoided major head or spinal injuries, but was being monitored in intensive care for internal injuries.
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CareFlight says it is called to more than 12 cases of children falling from windows in Sydney each year.
Police, doctors and CareFlight are urging parents to install locks that stop upper-storey windows being
opened more than 12.5 centimetres – or use reinforced screens.
In a move being interpreted as a signal that interest rates will stay on hold until the middle of the year,
Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens has said it was “prudent” not to move for now and that both
house prices and rental yields had strengthened.
How do you know if a rental listing is overpriced? The answer’s simple, according to Let’s Rent Managing
Director, Lisa Indge, in an article for Smart Property Investor. She says you’re asking too much if the property
attracts strong interest via the internet and good numbers at open for inspections – but you end up with
few or poor quality applications. Mid-range properties should lease within three weeks in her view.
Tenants find love close to home
There’s an unwritten rule against sleeping with a housemate –
but 14 per cent of Australian renters admit breaking it.
The relationships weren’t just “flings”, according to a survey
by realestate.com.au of 2,300 renters. Eight per cent said they
were still together with their housemate and four per cent
plan to marry.
General Manager of Sales and Operations, Arthur Charlaftis,
said it’s not surprising that people were finding partners
through sharing a house.
“Nearly a third (29 per cent) of private dwellings in Australia are rental properties. That’s a lot of houses
being shared and a lot of people meeting through sharing a house,” he said.
The statistics were released on Valentine’s Day ahead of the full survey’s planned April launch.
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RentCover lends a helping hand
Heart for the Homeless
RentCover has been part of Heart for the Homeless, right from
the beginning. It’s a founding sponsor.
The charity collects unwanted furniture, clothing and nonperishable food when Australians move home – and distributes
it to charities that help the nation’s 105,000 homeless people.
Last year, Heart for the Homeless collected an estimated
28,600kg of usable goods, valued at about $114,000, which
would have been dumped.
RentCover Business Relationship Executive, Michelle Stone, is the group’s Queensland ambassador.
“Heart for the Homeless seeks to rescue the average of 15-50kg of usable goods which would normally be thrown out
each time a person moves home by linking the person moving with a local charity which picks up the goods,” she
said.
Destiny Rescue sponsor child
The Melbourne-based RentCover office staff club together to sponsor
abused Thai teenage girl, Srey Na, through Destiny Rescue.
Destiny rescues children who have been raped, sold to brothels, drugged
or beaten and left for dead and girls at risk of being prostituted. They are
trained in vocations such as sewing, t-shirt and screen printing,
hairdressing and jewellery making.
RentCover receptionist Kathy Ernest has supported Destiny Rescue for
six years, beginning when she and a friend donated sewing machines they
had previously used to make costumes for dance schools.
“We try to find enough business from dance schools in Australia to keep
the girls in work with their sewing in Thailand,” she said.
Kathy is due to make her fourth trip to Thailand to visit Destiny Rescue
later this year. She has huge admiration for the organisation, particularly
for men who put themselves in personal danger by posing as customers
seeking young girls in brothels.
RentCover fundraisers to support Srey Na have included a quiz night,
sausage sizzle, Christmas meal and raffle. “It’s nice to know you are
helping someone out,” said Executive Account Manager and quiz night
organiser, Alison Cadwallader.
Srey Na is going to school, learning sewing skills and helping to care for
younger girls at the Destiny Rescue Centre.
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MS Angels
RentCover’s General Manager Sharon Fox-Slater is doing her bit as an MS Angel.
The MS Angels are a group of well-connected businesswomen dedicated to helping to raise awareness and
money for multiple sclerosis.
“MS is an absolutely dreadful disease which mainly hits women in their early 30s, just as their family and
personal lives are blooming,” Sharon said.
“MS symptoms vary from person to person and can include extreme fatigue, problems with balance, visual
disturbances, difficulty walking, slurred speech and, in severe cases, partial or complete paralysis.
“I invite you to check out the MS Research Australia website to see how you can help this important cause,
from wearing red lipstick as part of the Kiss Goodbye to MS campaign to donating money or volunteering
your time.”
In the courts
Fix urgent repairs within three days
Here’s an important question for landlords and
property managers - how long is too long when it
comes to carrying out urgent repairs on a rental
property?
The answer: no longer than three days, according
to the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal
(CTTT) in New South Wales.
The tribunal ordered a NSW landlord to pay $1000
to a former tenant after it found urgent repairs had
not been completed quickly enough.
The tribunal also ruled that the delays meant the tenant was justified in breaking his lease and did not have
to pay a break fee.
The Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal (CTTT) said the repairs – to a dishwasher, toilet, washing
machine and the split system – were all urgent and should have been fixed within two or “at the most”
three days.
Most of the repairs were done within a week – but it took three winter weeks to repair the split system used
for heating.
“The landlord was aware that the tenant was renting the premises at winter time with his heavily pregnant
wife and four-year-old child,” the tribunal found.
The CTTT reportedly processed 48,000 tenancy disputes last year, part of a record-breaking 64,000 overall
case load.
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PM sentenced to jail, fined
A South Brisbane property manager has received a suspended jail sentence and ordered to pay $12,280 in
fines and restitution after being convicted of taking bond money from a trust account.
Gayle Coral Sullivan has also been permanently banned from holding a real estate licence, according to
Queensland’s Office of Fair Trading.
She pleaded guilty to five counts of wrongfully converting trust account money under the Property Agents
and Motor Dealers Act 2000.
Receipts not enough
A landlord has lost a bid to use $2,700 in Bunnings receipts to support a claim for repairs after evicting
tenants.
The landlord had claimed that more than $10,300 in repairs – including painting - were carried out at the
property in Southport, Queensland.
But Queensland’s Civil and Administrative Tribunal ruled the receipts didn’t provide enough evidence to
back up the claim.
Tribunal member Paul Favell said the landlord would have needed more extensive evidence to demonstrate
the level of work claimed at the end of the 10 year tenancy.
However, the tribunal did award the landlord $1,660 in repair costs and $1,750 in unpaid rent.
Pool fence fines
Two owners of properties with deficient pool fences in Victoria have been fined in the Werribee
Magistrates Court, and ordered to pay Wyndham City’s court costs.
Total bill? One of the owners had to pay $3,340 and the other $4,820 – and that’s not counting the cost of
fixing the fences.
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Handle RentCover landlord insurance online - and save time
EBM Insurance Brokers web-based software
system helps property managers assist property
investors with landlord insurance – fast.
It offers a streamlined way to apply for new
policies online, manage existing policies and keep
track of claims 24-hours-a-day.
RCPLive allows property managers to:
Apply for RentCoverUltra in real time and
receive paperwork immediately by email;
Enquire about current claims in real time
or check their status;
Get immediate quotes for a wide range of products;
Check which properties under management are insured and the payment status of each account;
And request brochures, paperwork or training for their businesses.
RentCover General Manager, Sharon Fox-Slater, said the system had been designed to save property
managers time and effort.
“We know that property managers are incredibly busy people, so we wanted to make their lives easier
when it comes to encouraging investors to consider the need for landlord insurance,” she said.
There are also new improvements on the horizon so the system will only get better.
To use the RCPLive system, you must meet certain criteria. If you’d like to find out more, give the
RentCover team a call on 1800 661 662.
Save even more time with iRent
If you’re a busy property manager with not enough hours in
the day, you might like to investigate iRent.
iRent claims to cut your workload by 25 per cent, with a range
of SMS and online tools designed to make life easier.
It includes an online rental inspection booking system that
links into your calendar so tenants can book an inspection time
without needing to speak to you.
Property managers can also use iRent to schedule and send out
email and SMS alerts on home inspection sessions at the click
of a button – and, if necessary, cancel previously booked
opens.
iRent also offers an online tenancy application manager designed to keep tenants and owners up-to-date
on the status of the process – from beginning to end.
The systems mesh to send landlords automated reports detailing home open times, the number of people
attending and applications received.
You can sign up for a free three-month trial at www.iwcps.com. No training is required.
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Laura rises to challenge of new roles at work and home
Laura Hingert is one busy woman. She’s got a new role with EBM
as an Assistant Relationship Manager and a new role at home as
mother to a baby boy.
“It’s tiring but I enjoy it – you just get on with it, don’t you,” she
says in her trademark cheerful English accent.
She spends her days helping agents with their queries and attends
conferences to promote the advantages of using EBM such as
exceptional customer service and speedy in-house claims
settlements.
Laura joined EBM five years ago as an Assistant Account
Manager.
“I’d just arrived from England and needed a job. I had a friend
who worked here and he told me there was a job going so I
applied,” she says.
“I was already interested in insurance because I knew insurance would always be there so I could make a
career,” says Laura, who has a degree in business from the UK.
“I can see myself staying here at EBM long term. I’ve been here five years and have already grown so
much. I find every day interesting. There are always new things to learn,” Laura says.
While there isn’t anything she dislikes about the job, there have been some “moments” – including some
very weird and interesting claims: “The photos are always fun and sometimes disgusting to look at!”
Outside work, Laura enjoys the beach, socialising, boating and jet skiing with her extended family and
spending time with her partner, Paul, and their one-year-old son, Charlie.
All enquiries: 1800 661 662 | [email protected] | www.rentcover.com.au
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