Tuesday, September 29, 2020
Q&A
Thursday, September 24, 2020
All for the kids
This week's question comes from long-time APIA member Hari K and the answer is kindly provided by Kristine King of DK Law. The answer is intended to be for general information only and not legal advice. If the rental properties are held by a trust with the parents being trustees, what is the best way to ensure that all the children get equal shares of the portfolio after the p... read more
Wednesday, September 02, 2020
HHS: Can landlords self-inspect?
Question from Mark: Can landlords complete our own HHS inspection? My property manager says only third party inspectors can. Legally there is no restriction on who can or cannot inspect the current level of HHS compliance at a rental property. Landlords can certainly self-inspect and many do. However, some property management companies, for very good reasons (busi... read more
Monday, August 10, 2020
Can I ask if a tenant has ever stayed at the Women's Refuge?
Question from Ann: Can I ask a tenant applicant whether he/she has ever stayed at the Women's Refuge? No. We see this as contravening privacy principle 1 of the Privacy Act being that the only personal information a landlord can collect during the application stage has to be information that is necessary for the landlord to determine whether to grant to or withhold the tenanc... read more
Thursday, July 02, 2020
218-1 reasons for termination
This week's question comes from Kam re termination under 218-1 (paraphrased): If the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill becomes law, would landlords be able to terminate a tenancy in order to renovate the property or to put the property on the market? Conditional yes in both instances. In the case of property renovation, a 90-day notice can be issued per (s32(2)(... read more
Thursday, June 25, 2020
Heat pumps in apartments?
Question from Andrew: As an apartment owner I own the interior of the apartment envelope, the carpark (if I have one) and mail box but the common areas and exterior cladding is owned, managed and maintained by the Body Corporate. The way I read clause 3 below as most, if not all owners of apartments won’t own the exterior cladding (owned by the Body Corporate) this gives an... read more
Monday, June 22, 2020
Wall insulation? No idea. 🤷♀️
This week's question comes from Phoebe re the HHS compliance statements (paraphrased): Tenancy Services' template HHS Compliance Statement has a section on Wall Insulation. I see that I am only required to disclose the information 'if it's known' but the 'I don't know' option seems to require some explanation for not knowing. How do I prove something I couldn't know? Do I nee... read more
Tuesday, March 03, 2020
Landlords to become criminals?
This week's question comes from Jessica re the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill (paraphrased): I read somewhere that the Bill criminalises certain landlord breaches and that if we make a mistake we will become criminals. Is that true?! Great question Jessica! That said, settle down, NO. The Bill creates this concept of an infringement of... read more
Monday, February 24, 2020
How to deal with inherited tenants?
This week's question comes from Joe: I am about to settle on a property with an existing tenancy. Should I let the tenants stay? Barfoot & Thompson Property Manager Max Cameron shares his view: 'Its a bit of a complicated question, as it depends largely on the type of the property and what the current tenants are like. Chat with the cur... read more
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Where does National stand on things?
This week's question comes from Barry re the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill (paraphrased): What is the National Party’s position on landlords' ability to terminate with no stated reason? What is the timing for the commencement of the new law? The National Party so far has been silent on the Bill's proposal to abolish landlords' right to ter... read more
Upcoming Events
30-Sep-2020
Members Only KHH Development Clinic
01-Oct-2020
APIA Property Mixer (Silverdale)
07-Oct-2020
Members Only Webinar - Healthy Homes Standards compliance guide for landlords and property managers
