To commence any tenancy in NSW you are required to pay a bond which is the equivalent of four weeks’ rent, and you are required to pay your first two weeks rent, putting you in advance.

Your bond is lodged with the Department of Fair Trading and is held in their account until the vacating process is complete. Your first two weeks rent are receipted to your rent ledger as rent. As at the commencement of your lease you will be two weeks in advance and rent is due and payable again within two weeks of your commencement date.

If your lease commenced on a Monday your rent is due to us by the Monday of each week, therefore you should aim to pay by 6pm on the Friday of the week before.

We ask that you transfer rent 2 business days prior to allow for bank delays. We do prefer that you rent is paid a minimum 1 week in advance to ensure you never fall behind. This allows for bank and payment errors.

We strongly recommend all tenants take out contents insurance. In the event of damaged goods from a repair, flood, storm or the like, the tenant’s goods are not covered by the landlord’s insurance.

Upon collection of your keys we will complete a tenancy induction process. Part of this process is emailing you a link to complete your paperless ingoing condition report. You will be invited to create an account through ‘Inspection Express’ then you will be directed to your condition report. You have seven days to complete the report before the report automatically closes and cannot be accessed. We will use the finalised report when completing your final inspection.

BPay is the preferred method of payment and is a free option for our tenants. BPay is available through your personal internet and telephone banking.

Your rent is payable in advance. MOVABLE does not tolerate arrears of any kind and any arrears will affect your ledger and future tenancies.

Communication is the key. If, for any reason, you are experiencing any problems making your rent payments please contact your Property Manager without delay.

Whilst your rent is in arrears you will receive daily reminders via text. You will receive automatic text messages regardless of any payments plans or discussions. If your rent is in arrears, you will hear from us.

Please take note of our arrears management plan listed below:

 

1 TO 6 DAYS IN ARREARS: Reminder sms and phone call.

7 DAYS IN ARREARS: Notice to tenant of breach and phone call.

10 DAYS IN ARREARS: 2nd notice to tenant of breach and follow up phone call.

13 DAYS IN ARREARS: Final notice of breach and phone call.

15 DAYS IN ARREARS: A termination notice will be issued without hesitation.

Your property can be inspected up to four times per year. Typically, we will attend twice per year unless the owner directs otherwise.

You will receive a minimum of seven days’ notice of a pending inspection. The notice will be emailed to your registered email address and a copy of the notice may also be posted to your address.

Your first routine inspection will take place within the first 8 weeks of your tenancy and then they will be scheduled and carried out every 4 or 6 months. Please note that we will take photographs of the inside of the property. The owner will also be invited to attend and may be present at the inspection.

Your presence is welcome but not necessary as your Property Manager will gain access using our master set of keys.

If you have an emergency repair please contact your property manager. If the emergency is outside office trading hours please contact the office phone number and select option 1 which will transfer you to our after hours service ‘Well Done’ who will:

• Provide a short-term solution to the problem over the phone until a Property Manager can be reached in office hours.
• Attend the property to make the problem safe.
• Attend the property and repair the problem.

o   An emergency repair may be one of the following items:

• a burst water service or a serious water service leak
• a blocked or broken toilet
• a serious roof leak
• a gas leak
• an electrical fault
• a failure or breakdown of the gas, electricity or water supply to the property
• a failure or breakdown of the hot water service
• a failure or breakdown of the stove or oven
• a failure or breakdown of a heater or air-conditioner
• a fault or damage which makes the property unsafe or insecure.

o   Please contact SES on 132 500 for assistance during a serious storm event.

MOVABLE generally hold a master set of keys for all properties, but this is not guaranteed. In the event you find yourself locked out:

 

DURING OFFICE HOURS

Please contact our office to arrange to collect the master key. The keys must be returned to our office within 1 business day.

AFTER HOURS

Please contact our preferred locksmith, MCL Locksmiths on 02 4023 1733.

 

Please note, any Locksmith callout costs are the responsibility of the tenant. If we do not hold master keys, the after-hours policy applies. MOVABLE takes no responsibility for lock outs or locksmith callout fees so please note that these costs will be paid by you.

All repairs and maintenance must be forwarded to our agency in writing so we can act accordingly (unless in the event of an emergency).

When reporting Maintenance, please use Tapi’s ChatBot embedded on our website. This process will ask you a series of questions to clarify the particulars of the maintenance before confirming the submission of your maintenance request. We are absolutely here to answer questions and support your tenancy needs. However, this is the fastest way to report maintenance issues. As your job moves forward in the journey you will be kept updated via email, find out more here. 

It is recommended that pot plants are raised off the carpet or any outside areas to avoid water staining or damage.

Please visit the website of the council relevant to your municipality. You will be able to search your street name and suburb for the correct bin collection day.

Please follow the rules and guidelines of the relevant council to ensure your bin is collected without hassle.

 

CITY OF NEWCASTLE | ncc.nsw.com.au

 

LAKE MACQUARIE CITY | lakemac.com.au

 

PORT STEPHENS COUNCIL | portstephens.nsw.gov.au

 

MAITLAND CITY COUNCIL | maitland.nsw.gov.au

 

CESSNOCK CITY COUNCIL | cessnock.nsw.gov.au

The tenant/s agree not to install any form of swimming pool at the premises including inflatable pools without written consent from the landlord as well as formal local council approval.

Should approval be given, it is the tenants responsibility to ensure that all fencing requirements are met in accordance with relevant council legislation. We recommend you contact the NSW government and your local council for further information.

All cars, motorbikes, trailers, campervans, caravans, boats and trucks are to be parked in designated parking areas only. Do not park in areas that may block easy thoroughfare through the street or shared driveway. Do not park on front lawn areas, or on strata designated common areas (where applicable).

It is the tenant’s responsibility to repair any damage caused as a result of parking cars, etc. in such areas. This may require substantial repair works and turf reinstatement if vehicles have damaged the grassed areas.

Oil stains on driveways are the tenant’s responsibility to remove before vacating the property. To avoid such damage, we recommend the purchase of a drip tray for your garage/carport.

At the expiration of your fixed term tenancy agreement either party may opt to:

•  Renew the tenancy agreement for a further fixed period (after negotiations)

•  Terminate the tenancy agreement giving the relevant notice under the terms of the Residential Tenancy Agreement. Please refer to the VACATING section of this handbook.

Please feel free to contact your Property Manager to discuss your options further.

Leaving at the end of your lease

Should you wish to vacate your property at the expiration of your lease you are required to provide the landlord/agent fourteen (14) days notice.

Leaving your periodic lease

Should you wish to vacate your periodic tenancy agreement you are required to provide twenty-one (21) days’ notice.

Breaking your lease

If you wish to vacate the property during your fixed term period, please contact your Property Manager immediately to discuss your options, fees and charges.