Residential, commercial, or industrial property management includes contract creation, cheque management, daily supervision of the properties, including overseeing repair work and maintenance. Proprietary managers often oversee daily repairs and continuous upkeep, security, and maintenance of real estate holdings. A property manager’s portfolio may include apartments and condominiums, private home communities, commercial malls, and industrial parks.
The routine duties that property owners usually outsource are the primary responsibilities of property managers. Moreover, maintaining the property’s worth to earn a great profit is also part of their job description.
Thanks to the modern era’s tech revolution, some tools help make property management easy and convenient. One such tool is Folio3’s NetSuite Property Management Solution. Not only does this tool helps create properties, contracts, and manage accounts and finances, but it also allows landlords to manage the facility efficiently.
There is a good reason why this tool is getting such an amazing response in the real estate sector across Australia, New Zealand, and other parts of the world. It is the tool’s facility management feature besides many other functionalities. As addressing repair requests is critical for every landlord, this solution may serve as a saviour in the market.
The tenants must respond to emergency repairs in the shortest possible timeframe. This rule applies, regardless of the time of rental agreement signing. These urgent fixes include:
- Busted water supply
- Blocked or damaged plumbing in the bathroom
- Gas leak from the roof
- Heavy rains or floods damage
- Severe damage from a storm or a fire
- Insufficient supply of any basic service or equipment for hot water, water, cooking, heating, and washing
- Failed gas, power, or water supply Failed safety equipment, such as a smoke alarm or pool fence Failed any safety device
- In the event of a pest infestation or the presence of mould due to or related to the building structure; an appliance, fitting, or fixture that fails to work properly and wastes a significant amount of water
- Serious issue with the lift or staircase; or a failure to meet the minimum rental standards, which apply to new rental agreements signed after March 29, 2021, and until March 31, 2022.
Consumer Affairs Victoria’s Director sets instructions on when to finish urgent repairs. VCAT will follow these rules when determining disputes over urgent repairs. The instructions for urgent repairs are available for downloading below.
With Folio3’s solution, the tenants can easily create tickets for maintenance or support while the landlords can effectively track and manage urgent repairs. This helps maintain a healthy landlord-tenant relationship, a powerful reputation in the market, and steering clear of the legal matters that may arise in times of delays in urgent repair requests from a tenant’s end.
Non-Emergency Maintenance
Non-urgent repairs should be handled in the same manner.
- To make a formal request for repairs, the tenant must send a letter, an email, or a Notice to the Rental Provider of Rented Property (Word, 1.9MB).
- To avoid unnecessary delays and possible disagreements, gather all of the essential information for the non-urgent repair
- Remain in touch with the rental company at all times. Make a record of every communication with them if there are doubts about your authorization to advise them or carry out repairs.
Rental providers (owners) that choose to do their property maintenance must
- Be aware of their legal requirements with relation to notice
- Choose sufficiently competent individual or licensed tradespeople for the repairing tasks
- Ensure all repairs of electrical, gas, or swimming pool equipment, for example, should meet an acceptable degree of quality.
The timeframe to complete the repairs that aren’t time-sensitive is 14 days of the tenant informing the landlord of the problem. In case of delays, renters may file a complaint with the VCAT directly.
Non-Urgent Maintenance Requests from Renters May Be Denied by the Rental Provider (Owner)
If a landlord refuses to carry out non-urgent repairs, the tenant may apply to the VCAT for an order of repair. A charge for the property manager to attend the VCAT hearing and compensation for the tenant may fall on the rental company.
Item Substitutions
For example, a landlord fails to replace an oven or heater. An exact replacement isn’t always a possibility; thus, a tenant must accept an alternate product instead.
If the same product is available in a different brand, the owner does not require to replace an item in a rental property with an identical item.
Because of this, a replacement item must have the same or greater energy efficiency rating as the item that is being replaced to be eligible.
Renters may have to pay more to operate replacement equipment, and therefore the property management should warn them about this possibility before making a decision. If a gas heater is replaced with an electric one, the cost of operating it may rise significantly.
The rental provider or property management should inform the renter of the planned replacement and any extra operating expenses. Could prevent an issue from being brought before VCAT in the first place.
There are minimal criteria and efficiency ratings for new appliances, fittings, and fixtures that must be met. For further information, see Minimum criteria for rental homes and Efficiency standards for replacement appliances and fixtures.
Gas and Electrical Safety Inspections are Now Required Under New Regulations
Rental companies that offer services
- engage in a new rental arrangement on or after March 29 2021
- have a fixed-term agreement of more than five years that rolls over into a periodic tenancy after that date.
Licensed gas fitters and electricians must undertake a safety inspection on gas and electrical systems every two years. The tenant must get a copy of the most recent safety check within seven days after making a written request.
New regulations issued by the Residential Tenancies Act 2021 specify additional safety-related tasks for tenants and landlords under a rental agreement.
Conclusion
As we all know, little issues may quickly grow into much larger ones, and property upkeep and repair are no exception. A suitable property management firm should have a well-defined maintenance and repair plan in place. A reliable and economical maintenance team or list of contractors will be included in the process.
Following up on maintenance visits, you may want to ask the renter how happy they are with the service done. A smart suggestion is to record any service calls with notes and photos before and after maintenance work.
To properly maintain a rental property, you should begin screening potential tenants. It’s easier to trust a renter who has shown responsibility by maintaining a clean credit history and providing solid references.
The solution to all these, as discussed, is Folio3’s NetSuite Property Management Solution. Integrating this offers the landlord peace of mind and promotes a sense of trust and contentment among the renters of the rental property.
