Renting Tips

When thinking about renting a property it is important to become familiar with all the current legislation, which details the responsibilities of the landlord and the tenant. Victorian tenancy legislation has been written to be as fair as possible to both the tenant and the landlord, it has been designed to offer privacy and security to the tenant whilst ensuring the landlord has the legal write to protect there investment.

When leasing a property it is important to remember that there are certain requirements that need to be met before undertaking a contract.

Information:

To ensure the security of the landlord's investment particular information must be obtained from the prospective tenant before undertaking a lease agreement. Tenants must supply the agent with:

• Full name and occupation

• Current address and personal details (eg date of birth, telephone number, drivers licence)

• Previous rental information including name of renting agent, rent payable, period of tenancy and reason for leaving.

• Number of people that will be living in the property (adults and children)

• Pets if any

• Personal reference information (names, phone numbers and occupation of at least three people)

Beginning the tenancy:

Before the tenancy starts it is vital that you will be required to make certain payments. The first thing to make sure of is that you have access to the first months rent in advance in addition to a months rental amount required for the bond. The bond is a sort of insurance to the landlord that you as a tenant will not suddenly break the tenancy agreement or cause malicious damage to the property without the understanding that the bond will be taken away from you. The bond is paid to the agent who in turn pays it forward to the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority which is a government body responsible for holding and disbursing the tenant's bonds.

Basic Laws:

It is important to understand your rights as a tenant and the rights and obligations of your landlord and acting agent. The relevant tenancy laws are clearly detailed in a booklet that will be given to you by the agent upon signing the tenancy lease, which has been put out, by the Office of Fair Trading and Business Affairs. This booklet outlines many of the important laws and also answers most commonly asked questions about tenant's rights (You can pick up a copy of this booklet from our office).

Commonly asked questions such as rental increases, tenant privacy and landlord or agent inspections are answered in the booklet.