Tenancy Handbook 2025

TENANCY HANDBOOK

YOUR INTRODUCTION & GUIDE TO RENTING

WELCOME Congratulations on securing your rental property with Stean Nicholls!

In your Introduction & Guide to Renting, you will find information and advice on how to deal with general maintenance, urgent maintenance and more!

See the following points to know what is in your handbook: • General Maintenance & Repairs • After Hours Maintenance & Repairs • Trade Access • Routine Inspections • Pet Policy • Lease Agreements • Vacating your Property • Contact & General Information If you have any further questions, we are always happy to help!

Office Hours Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm Office Contact - 02 6021 5233 Emergency Mobile - 0434 318 140 If you would like to chat to your property manager in office, please contact them to arrange a suitable time.

Unless urgent, please contact your property manager via email or through the PropertyMe App.

Tenancy Handbook

Repairs and Maintenance General Maintenance

No Gas

Where your premises requires maintenance, please assist our team by providing as much detail about the maintenance as possible.

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For non-urgent matters, you can email your property manager or lodge the maintenance request through PropertyMe. In the event of an urgent repair during business hours, 9-5 Monday to Friday, please contact our office on 02 6021 5233 and we will attend to your situation as quickly as possible.

Please refer to our guide below to avoid any unnecessary call outs. Once you have done a troubleshoot, please contact your property manager or the office.

No Hot Water Have you arranged a connection of your gas or electricity? If yes, please check the following: Electric Hot Water Service • •

No Electricity/Lights • • •

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Replace the light bulb - this is the responsibility of the tenant Check the fuse/circuit breaker in the meter box as faulty appliances can ‘trip’ the safety switch.

To narrow down the source of the problem, turn off all appliances, remove from power point and reset the safety switch in the meter box. If the switch trips again with nothing plugged in, contact your property manager.

If the safety switch does not trip, try turning on appliances one by one to narrow down the source of the problem.

If there is a fault in your street, contact your energy supplier.

Check the fuse/circuit breaker in the meter box.

Check the tap on the hot water system is turned on.

Gas Hot Water Service •

If the repair request that is reported is caused by tenant neglect, the tenant will be responsible for payment of the account. For example, power failure due to one of your faulty appliances or a foreign object blocking toilets or sinks.

Check if the outdoor main gas meter is switched to an on position.

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Check the pilot light. Most units are easily re-lit by simply following the instructions on the inside of the system.

For instantaneous units, make sure the power point beside the hot water system is turned on.

Toilets Blocked Toilet • •

Attempt to plunge before calling the office or your property manager.

Contact the office so we can arrange a plumber.

Again, if the blockage is caused by flushing foreign objects, you may be responsible for the cost.

Leaking Toilet •

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Leaking seals are usually the responsibility of the landlord, contact the office so we can arrange a plumber.

If leaking severely, turn off the water where the pipe joins the walls, contact the office or your property manager as soon as possible.

Tenancy Handbook

Repairs and Maintenance Doors and Locks Lost Keys/Locked Out of Property •

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Contact the office to see if we hold a spare set.

If no keys are available, you will need to contact a locksmith and provide a set of new keys to the office. Lost keys are a tenants responsibility.

After-hours, if the property manager is able to bring a spare set of keys, there will be a fee payable at the time of opening the property.

Air Conditioning and Heating Please refer to the type of heating/cooling system you have at the property: Split System • •

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Replace the batteries in the remote control.

Check the meter box to ensure the safety switch has not tripped. If the safety switch continues to trip when the system is turned on, contact your property manager.

Ensure that the filters are clean and free of dust and build-up as this will effect the quality of the system.

This can be cleaned by removing the filters and giving them a vacuum or wash them with warm water.

Termite Management Termites in properties can cause major damage.

To assist us with termite management, we ask that you report any unusual mud build-ups or mud tracks around the property.

Roof Leaks In the event of a roof leak, ensure that your possessions are moved away from the area and, where possible, place a bucket or similar item under the leak to limit the damage to the property.

Contact your property manager as soon as possible.

Note: please be aware due to safety issues, tradespeople are generally not able to get onto a roof in the rain. They will observe the situation and return at another time to fix the issue.

Ducted System • •

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Replace the batteries in the remote control.

Check the meter box to ensure the safety switch has not tripped. If the safety switch continues to trip when the system is turned on, contact your property manager.

Ensure that the return air vent is clean and free of dust build-up. This can be cleaned with a vacuum with a brush head attachment.

If issues persist after troubleshooting, please contact your property manager.

Tenancy Handbook

After Hours Urgent Repairs and Maintenance After Hours Urgent Repairs and Maintenance

Please do not report urgent maintenance through the PropertyMe app or via text.

Fire – 000 SES – 132 500 (storm/fire/roof damage) Gas Leak Australia – 1800 427 532 (if gas is leaking) Stean Nicholls after hours emergency – 0434 318 140 Please refer to the list below on what is an urgent repair/ reports.

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Fire Gas leak Dangerous electrical fault Flooding or serious floor damage Serious storm, roof leak or fire damage Failure or breakdown of the gas, electricity or water supply to the property Failure or breakdown of any essential service for hot water, heating or cooling Burst water service or water pipe Blocked or broken toilet

Please leave a voicemail with your name, property address and maintenance issue, so the property manager is able to arrange a trade.

Trade Access After maintenance has been organised, both urgent and non-urgent, our trades will need to gain access to the property to sort out the issue.

Our trades will contact you to arrange a suitable time and day to attend to the property.

Please ensure that either someone will be home to let them in, or that they are able to collect spare keys from the office.

Please note that trades will not attend to the property without your prior permission unless it is urgent, so we ask that you keep your phone handy until they call.

If the maintenance issue cannot be fixed in one go, the trade may have to pop back around.

They will contact both the office and you to arrange another time.

The property manager will call back in a timely fashion.

If you don’t leave a message, they will not call back.

If the issue has been caused by the tenant, it can be their responsibility to pay the callout fee and other fees involved.

Please note, the after hours emergency mobile is staffed by a property manager. You can leave a message at any time, however the property manager may not answer or be able to attend to your call before 8am or after 8pm.

If the issue can be held off to the next business day, please email your property manager.

Tenancy Handbook

Routine Inspections & Pet Policy Routine Inspections

Pet Policy

Routine inspections are a regular inspection that we carry out at the property, we will take photos and record down any maintenance that you may have.

Unfortunately you cannot just bring home a furry friend, you do need to gain approval from your landlord.

After you move in, your first inspection will be in 3 months. For VIC properties, future inspections are every six months. For NSW properties, further inspections are six monthly, however an owner can request inspections every 3 months.

The landlord may want to attend inspections with the property manager as well, this is so they can see how their investment is travelling and see if they need to make improvements, such as painting, laying new carpet or new appliance upgrades.

Please ensure you secure your pets for the routine inspection, especially dogs.

What we look out for at inspections: • • • • • •

That the property is being maintained in a clean and tidy manner Check for any maintenance required Check there has been no tenant/pet damage Gardens - lawns are mown, edges maintained, garden beds and lawns are free of weeds Swimming pools are clean and free of debris Pet droppings are removed

A Pet Request Form will need to be completed, please contact your property manager to obtain this.

Information on your pet you are wishing to bring home is: • • • •

Breed/Type of Pet Size Age Inside or outside

If the pet is approved by the landlord, you will need to sign a Pet Lease Agreement before the pet comes home.

When vacating a property after having a pet, you will need to get the carpets professionally cleaned (and flea treated if necessary). You will need to provide a receipt upon handing keys back to the office.

Bringing Home an Unapproved Pet If you bring a pet home without seeking approval from your landlord, this is a breach of your lease agreement.

Tenancy Handbook

Lease Agreements & Vacating Your Property Lease Variations

Vacating Your Property

A lease variation is where one tenant moves out, or another tenant is added to the lease.

Once you have emailed your property manager with either your break lease vacate date, or your tenancy has come to an end, you will need to prepare the home for handover.

Before anyone moves into the property, the new tenant will need to submit an application and to be approved by the owner. If approved, a new lease will be written with the new tenant added to the agreement.

You will be provided a vacate checklist once you have informed your property manager that you are vacating.

If one tenant is vacating the property, they will need to email their property manager with the date that they will be vacating the property.

Please ensure you hand the property over in the same condition (as a minimum) as it was handed to you at the beginning of your tenancy.

There may be a cost involved for this process.

If you have a pet, you will need to have the carpets professionally cleaned (and the property treated for fleas if required).

Breaking Your Lease If you are wishing to vacate from your property before your tenancy ends, you are breaking your lease.

There are fees involved with breaking a lease.

The fee will depend on where you are in your fixed term lease. Please contact your property manager to discuss what fees will be applicable to your tenancy.

You will need to email your property manager your vacate date, so they can prepare your vacate.

On the day of your vacate you will need to return your keys to the office by 5pm otherwise rent will continue to accrue until they are returned.

The property manager will conduct a final inspection.

You can be present for this inspection.

If the property has been returned in a satisfactory condition, a bond refund is actioned within 2 business days. If there are items that need addressing, these will be organised before any bond is refunded. Please note we are not obliged to allow tenants to return to fix any issues.

Tenancy Handbook

Tenant Information Content Insurance It is the tenants responsibility to insure their contents.

Bank Reference At the beginning of your tenancy, you will be provided a 5 digit number.

We use this number to match your rental and water payments to your property, if this number isn’t used, it makes it very hard for the property managers to correctly allocate the money.

Vacate Cleaners/Garden Maintenance If you are short on time to have your property ready for handover, we can provide contact numbers for professional cleaners and gardeners.

Tenancy Handbook

steannicholls.com.au 02 6021 5233 The Botanical, 669 Dean Street, Albury