Landlord FAQ

We have gathered a few commonly asked questions in property management. With years of property management experience, we can address most of your questions here. 

How do I change the management of my property to Austpro?

You can contact us to have a chat and we will review your current management authority. We will explain the handover and transition process and once appointed, we will contact the current agent and the tenant to prepare for the handover. There is no charge for the handover service.

What do I need to prepare for the property to lease out?

• Gather all keys and hand them to the agent
• Professionally clean the house and carpet before handling the possession to the tenant
• Mow and trim lawn and garden before the handover

What should I do after I accept an application to my property?

• Arrange for the building and landlord insurance or to provide the property manager with authorisation on the insurance
• Provide the property manager’s bank account details for rent payment
• Authorise the property manager to contact the council, water corporation and strata
• Terminate gas, electricity, and internet account

How do I determine the applicant as a good applicant?

A good applicant should provide their 100 points IDs, bank statement, payslip, personal, work, and previous rental references to apply for a rental property. A good applicant should have no breaches, terminations or bad records on their references and will need to prove their ability to sustain the rental at the new rental property.

What is considered urgent & non-urgent maintenance?

Urgent Maintenance vs Non-Urgent Maintenance

What is considered wear & tear and what will be considered as tenant’s malicious damage?

The biggest dispute in real estate management is the level and the extent of damage to the property. Therefore, it is very important to understand what is considered ‘wear and tear and what is considered malicious damage by the tenant.

The lessor must understand that they are leasing out the property to the tenant and the tenant will not be taking care of the property as precious as the lessor. This is because, in human nature, people always appreciate something they own.

The table below shows the comparison of wear & tear and malicious damage caused by tenants:

How do the disbursement and end-of-month payment to the landlord from the trust account works?

In property management, the tenant’s rent is paid to the trust account and kept in the account for any arising transaction on the property. The arising transactions can be the payment of:

• Insurance premium
• Council & water rates
• Repairs and maintenance invoice
• Property management fee
• Any other cost associated with the property

The rent income from the tenant to the lessor will be used first to pay all outstanding invoices and fees before depositing to the lessor’s bank account as the rental income. In WA, the lessor must maintain the supply of water to the property, therefore the water bill will be paid by the lessor first and the property manager will seek reimbursement from the tenant for the water bill. The payment of rent will be conducted once a month, at the end of the last business day of the month to the lessor’s bank account. A statement will also be generated to the lessor, showing the amount of rent receipted and the expenses.

Do I need building insurance and what are the differences between building & landlord insurance?

Property management involves a lot of uncertainty such as rent default, malicious damage to the property by the tenant, tenant breaking the lease, the death of a tenant and the demolition of the property. Therefore, the best way to minimise the risk is to mitigate the risk and purchase building & landlord insurance.

Building vs Landlord Insurance

Lessor must have building & landlord insurance in an investment property.

It is also important to allow the property manager to be the authorised contact for the insurance claim process.

How many days do I need to give the tenant if I would like to terminate the tenancy?

In a fixed-term tenancy, the landlord can terminate the lease by giving at least 30 days’ notice and in a periodical tenancy, the landlord must give 60 days’ notice to terminate the tenancy.

Can I increase the rent during the lease and/or after the lease?

You can only increase the rent if you specify the increased amount at the start of the lease and the increment cannot happen past the first 6 months of the tenancy. The landlord can increase the rent after the tenancy ends but must give at least 60 days' written notice to increase the rent. In the case of a fixed-term tenancy, the increment cannot happen until the second month into the lease extension period.