Tenant Handbook

WELCOME

Welcome to Najib Property Management. We aim to ensure the transition into your new home is as enjoyable as possible. By familiarising yourself with the information in this guide, you will be well equipped as a Najib client throughout the tenancy.

Please take the time to review this information, and feel free to give us a call if you have any questions on 03 326 7914.

For more information, also see our website: www.najibrealestate.co.nz

We thank you for choosing to rent with us and welcome you to your new home!

CONTENTS

ABOUT US

TENANCY COMMENCEMENT

Tenancy commencement handover appointment Bond and one weeks rent in advance Keys Residential Tenancy Agreement

BEFORE YOU MOVE IN

Connecting electricity and other utilites Contents insurance Beginning of tenancy report

DURING YOUR TENANCY

Rent payments Late rent payments Repairs and maintenance Looking after the property Routine inspections Lease renewals Smoke alarms Changing tenants and subletting Appointments to see us Updating your details

ENDING YOUR TENANCY

Early termination of a fixed term agreement End of lease Final inspection Bond refund

ABOUT US

General enquiries: info@najibre.co.nz

Website: najibrealestate.co.nz

Najib Property Management Office 116 Peterborough Street Central Christchurch Christchurch 8013

Head of Property Management Sha Jega M: 021 701 308 E: shajega@najibre.co.nz A decade ago, Nathan Najib had a vision to create the most people-focused real estate and property management agency on earth. After having spent over 10 years working in the real estate industry, Nathan saw the need for a fresh and progressive approach to the Christchurch property and rental market.

At Najib, our philosophy is simple: “The client always comes first.” We treat people well, we build long lasting relationships, and we keep the process as simple and transparent as possible. We provide an excellent experience that keeps clients coming back.

We constantly strive to build a unique, contemporary, and innovative agency. One that takes the best of traditional methods, and teams these with the latest innovative technologies to get the best possible results for our clients.

We believe that by keeping our brand promise, our vision, our values, and our principals at the fore, we have created an agency that proudly stands out from the crowd.

TENANCY COMMENCEMENT

Tenancy Commencement Handover Appointment

As we need to explain your tenancy details thoroughly, please allocate up to 30 minutes for your commencement appoitment.

This appoitment will take place at our office. All persons who will be legally responsible and will be signing the Residential Tenancy Agreement will need to be present at this appoitment. The time allocated for the appoitment has been specifically set amongst our other appoitments. It is important that you are on time. We would not wish to have delays in handing over your new keys. If you believe you will be delayed, please call us ahead to advise and rescheudule.

The Residential Tenancy Agreement

When you were approved to move into the property, you were emailed a copy of the Residential Tenancy Agreement and terms of offer for the property. At the commencement appointment, we will go through this Residential Tenancy Agreement and address the terms and conditions, including your obligations under the Act, as these could have an impact on your enjoyment in the home.

Bond and the First Weeks’ Rent

We require you pay your first week’s rent in advance, and four weeks’ rent for bond, in TWO SEPEARATE TRANSACTIONS, but at the same time. This will help us identify the amounts. Your bond will be lodged with Tenancy Bond Services and will remain lodged until the end of your tenancy.

Upon acceptance of your application form, you have 24 hours to pay the bond (4 weeks rent and the first weeks rent in advance) into our Trust Account. Please note, we do NOT accpet cash or EFTPOS. You have been allocated an individual reference to use as the “Reference” on your payment. We are unable to release the keys to you until these funds are cleared in our bank account.

Keys

Once you have signed all paperwork, have completed your commencement appointment, and your financial obligation towards rent and bond is cleared in our Trust account, the keys will be released to you on the Resitential Tenancy Agreement start date.

It is important to understand that due to legal and security reasons, we are unable to issue you with the keys or grant access to the property earlier than the Resitential Tenancy Agreement start date. For example, requests to move boxes into a garage, or for an electricity supplier to connect the power, would be politely refused.

Should you wish to make a copy of the keys provided to you, please inform us prior. We are required to know how many copies have been made for record purposes. Any additional key copies will be at your own expense.

Please return all keys to us at the end of the tenancy, including any duplicates.

BEFORE YOU MOVE IN

Connecting Electricity and Other Utilities

Please arrange for your utilities to be connected the day your lease commences, or any time after this date. We are unable to issue you with the keys or access to the property any earlier than your lease start date for security and legal reasons.

Please note that unless there is a specific arrangement in your Tenancy Agreement, you are obligated to connect your own gas and electricity. You do not need to connect water.

We are unable to confirm if the property has fibre or other internet connectivity. We encourage you to make your own enquires about the matter before accepting the offter of tenancy.

Contents Insurance

It is important to have your own contents insurance cover for your personal belongings and effects in the event of an unforeseen disaster, eg: natural disaster or break in. The Landlord is NOT responsible for your personal property.

In most circumstances, the Landlord’s insurance should cover repairs to the building. Any damage caused to your personal effects, ie electrical equipment, furniture etc, may be covered under your own contents insurance policy.

It is important to carefully read the policy wording with your insurer so you know what you are covered for.

Beginning of Tenancy Report

The Beginning of Tenancy Report will be given to you during your Commencement Appointment. This document outlines the features of the property, the condition of the interior and exterior (e.g: carperts, curtains, walls, garden, fences etc), and any existing imperfections present at thecommencement of your tenancy. It is in your best interest to throroughly review the report as this is the reference that will be used at the end of the tenancy to make a determination about the refund of your bond.

In some cases, there will be some items at the property that we haven’t made note of. To ensure that these do not fall on you to remove or repair at the end of the tenancy, it is important that you note them down on the report. We recommend that you take photos of anything you have noted with a date stamp and forward these to us. We will update the original inspection report and this final copy will be the document used to discuss your bond refund at the end of your tenancy.

The Beginning of Tenancy Report must be returned within 14 days from the start of the tenancy. If the report is received after 14 days, any comments you have made will NOT be taken into account.

HELPFUL HINT: Complete this report BEFORE you start moving all your furniture into the property. This will make it easier to identify stains on walls, carpets, etc.

If you are leasing a furnished property, an inventory report will also be provided. This is a comprehensive list of everything included in the tenancy and the condition of each item.

DURING YOUR TENANCY

Rent Payments

Under the terms of your Tenancy Agreement, your rent must be paid into our account in advance a date before the due date (which is your move in date.) It is your responsibility to ensure the rent is paid on time.

Your rent is to be made in one payment via direct debit or electronic bank transfer. We highly recomment you set up an automatic payment with your bank to ensure you always pay on the same day and on time. Please use the address stated in your Tenancy Agreement as the reference for each payment. We do not accept cash payments in our office.

Late Rent Payments

If you are unable to pay your rent on time, please contact us as soon as possible. We have a zero tolerance policy on late rent payments. In the occurrence of a late payment, you will be notified by email, text or phone call.

If rent is received late, this is recorded on your payment history and may have an impact on your future references. If rent is 14 days in arrears, we will also file a tribunal case for clearance of these rent arrears.

Repairs and Maintenance

You are not authorised to undertake any maintenance at the property yourself. Please report any maintenance required in writting via our website, www.najibrealestate.co.nz, or by emailing us. We will ensure that all maintenance requests are repsonded to based on the urgency of the problem. In most circumstances, we need to obtain consent from the Landlord before engaging a tradesperson. Sometimes this delay may be an inconvenience and we appreciate your patience.

After-Hours Emergency Repairs

In case of any issues requiring immediate attention after hours, please call 021 701 308. Emergency repairs are generally those that could cause injury to you and/or damage to the property, and may include:

Water pipes that have broken or burst Blocked or broken toilet (if a second toilet is not available) Serious roof leak or gas leak Dangerous electrical fault, dangerous power point, loose live wires etc Flooding or serious flood damage Serious storm, fire or impact damage (eg: Impact from a motor vehicle) Failure or breakdown of the gas, electricity or water supply to the premises Hot water services failure on a weekend or long weekend ( this would not be considered an afterhours emergency if this occurs on a week night)

Routine Inspections

Routine inspections are conducted quarterly so that we can confirm you are maintaining the property, check for any repairs, and make any recommendations to the landlord for improvements. We are required to take photos internally and externally of any maintenance or tenancy matters in order to report clearly and accurately.

We will send an email notification advising of an inspection 7 to 14 days prior. Due to the number of inspections we carry out, it is difficult to reschedule. Please contact us if the time causes major inconvenience. If you cannot be home for the inspection, we will access the property with the duplicate keys held in our office.

If the property is not presented in a satisfacroty condition, we will liaise with you regarding suggested improvements and will reschedule to confirm you have attended to our requests.

DURING YOUR TENANCY

Lease Renewals and Rent Increases

Depending on the Landlord’s circumstances, you may be offered an extension in the months leading up to the expiry of the lease term. Should you not be offered a lease renewal or decide to look for a new home, please notify us in writting no less than 21 days before the lease ends.

The Landlord reserves the right to increase the rent in accordance with the Residential Tenancy Act 1986. Rent increases are usually based on market activity.

Changing Tenants and Sub-Letting

If you wish to move out during the lease period and have another person take over your tenancy, or for any more people wanting to move in, you will need to have the Landlord’s consent before they do so.

Please contact us so that we can guide you on your rights and responsibilities in this situation.

Appointments to See Us

If you would like to meet with us in person, we encourage you to book a time. As you will appriciate we spend a lot of time out of office, so by making an appointment, we can ensure we are there for you.

Updating Your Details

If your contact details change at any time during the tenancy, please notify us so we can update our records.

Please also let us know if you will not be residing at the property for a period of time so that we can ensure the property is secured (for example, you are going on a long holiday.)

AT THE END OF YOUR TENANCY

Lease Renewals and Rent Increases

Should you not be offered a lease renewal, or decide to move out, please notify us in writing no less than 21 days before the lease ends. If the property is to be re-leased, we will let you know times of open inspections and when we show potential tenants through. During these inspections, you do not need to be home, but we suggest you remove any small valuable possessions.

Before handing back the keys, please refer back to the Beginning of Tenancy Report to make sure the property is in the same condition as when you moved in.

The next business day after your Tenancy Agreement ends, we will carry out a final inspection. You do not need to be present and we will liaise with you following there are any issues.

We are unable to provide you with access back to the property to attend to any cleaning, gardening or repair to damage. All keys, remotes, and manuals must be returned to ensure the final inspecition is signed off as satisfactory.

Early Termination of a Fixed Term Agreement

If you need to move out of the property before your lease expires, please advise us in writting with the date you will be returning the keys. You will be required to pay the rent up until a new tenant moves in, or until the end of the agreement period, whichever occurs first. You will also be liable to pay advertising costs and admin fee. We are not under an obligation to commence marketing whilst you are still living in the property, but to assist with reducing your financial exposure, we will begin the process to release and show the property to prospective tenants in advance.

The final inspection will be held the day after you hand back the keys. If the property remains empty for a while after the final inspection, you may be asked to pay for a cleaner to freshen up the house and a gardener to tend to the lawns and garden.

Bond Refund

Your bond is lodged with the Tenancy Bond Centre. The bond will be remitted to you after all rent and invoices are paid and a satisfactory final inspection is undertaken. The bond refund process takes up to 10-15 business days. We will provide you with the email prompt after the final inspection. When we are in agreement about the bond refund amount, the funds will be released to you.