I just had a good ol’ chuckle with/at (I haven’t decided which one yet) a property manager who walked in on a tenant freshly out of the shower, naked as the day he was born.
Needless to say the teenager in me was boggled with all sorts of questions. Who screamed first?! Has he got a six-pack? Did the guy at least score himself a week free rent? OMG you didn’t point and laugh did you?!
Needless to say the teenager in me was boggled with all sorts of questions. Who screamed first?! Has he got a six-pack? Did the guy at least score himself a week free rent? OMG you didn’t point and laugh did you?!
ROTFLMAO!!!
Okay. Now that all the juvenile rubbish is out of my system, I think this is as good a chance as any for us to recap on the inspection process.
Why do we inspect our properties?
Because they are OURS and someone else is living in them. If you lend someone your stuff, you have the right to rest with the knowledge that it is being well taken care of right? Additionally, the worth of our portfolio is largely based on the state of the the properties. Inspections also give you an indication of how urgent repairs and maintenance should be attended to.
Your right to inspect is guaranteed by the Residential Tenancies Act
Section 48 to be exact.
Here is the deal: Under s48 you can enter your property for the purpose of carrying out an inspection once every four weeks.
Here is the deal: Under s48 you can enter your property for the purpose of carrying out an inspection once every four weeks.
“But APIA!” you moan,
“What if I want to inspect my property more than once a month? What if I want to check it every week?”
Well… you can’t. Let me ask you this – Why would you rent to someone who makes you feel like you have to check your property more than once a month? At the risk of piquing your OCD even further – be aware that inspections can only be carried out between 8am and 7pm on the specified day. So for you night owls out there – no tenant is obliged to let you inspect outside of those hours.
You must give your tenant notice for inspection. The Act stipulates that the notice must be no less than 48 hours before your intended entry and no more than 14 days. Personally I would also estimate the time of entry in the letter and do my best to stick to it because after all it is a bit unreasonable to expect your tenant to hold off his shower in order to wait for you for the whole day. Just want to take this opportunity to remind all APIA members that the APIA Elves have a property inspection notice template you can customise and send to your tenants. For a copy email [email protected] with your membership number.
Beyond that, hey, sometimes accidents happen. As embarrassing as it is, you are still in a business relationship with your tenant so erase the image out of your head, get your mind out of the gutter and get over it!
You must give your tenant notice for inspection. The Act stipulates that the notice must be no less than 48 hours before your intended entry and no more than 14 days. Personally I would also estimate the time of entry in the letter and do my best to stick to it because after all it is a bit unreasonable to expect your tenant to hold off his shower in order to wait for you for the whole day. Just want to take this opportunity to remind all APIA members that the APIA Elves have a property inspection notice template you can customise and send to your tenants. For a copy email [email protected] with your membership number.
Beyond that, hey, sometimes accidents happen. As embarrassing as it is, you are still in a business relationship with your tenant so erase the image out of your head, get your mind out of the gutter and get over it!
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