Do Landlords Have the Right to Know Who is Renting Their Property?

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  IM-Cheap on 23/05/2022 - 13:57

  The agent is working for you. You have the right to get any info you see fit in making your decision on who to rent/will continue to rent to.

  My agent normally leaves out a name until I've selected the applicant but I know the tennent's name and have their contact details when they sign the lease. The agent does leave out names initially as its not really important to the application. My agent always gives me a summary of their rental history, where they are employed, how long they've worked there, how much their annual household income is and how many people will live in the home.

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  Scantu on 23/05/2022 - 15:34

  Fire your agent lol what the hell

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  OzHunterNSW on 23/05/2022 - 15:37

  -8

  You have signed your "involvement" to a managing portfolio… you are out of the picture. You do not approach the tenants, go near the property, etc… you stay away.

  As for knowing who is residing there, it is none of your business. Like I said, you entrusted the managing portfolio to look after the property.

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    pformag on 24/05/2022 - 13:50

    +1

    This is simply not true. Most landlords do basic maintenance on their leased properties.

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  Dack Smith on 23/05/2022 - 16:02

  -3

  Landlords have no rights in regards to the tenant.

  Tenants can be criminals or pedophiles but they have every right to privacy just like everyone else.

  So… let it be, under the law you are just the owner, not managing anything.

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    koplik8 on 23/05/2022 - 16:26

    Spot on! That's the agents job and what they are paid for

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    Amaris on 23/05/2022 - 18:22

    +3

    Yes, they have every right to privacy. However, the landlord is entitled to review their application before choosing a tenant for their property. They're also (at least in NSW) entitled to attend the routine inspections, affect repairs, show the property to potential buyers, etc.
    Under the law the OP is the owner and owners have rights including deciding who to rent to.

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    tonka on 24/05/2022 - 18:08

    +1

    I expect you could ask for a police check, credit check, employment check, working with children check etc. As long as you don't discriminate (race/religion/disability etc). If the prospective tenant doesn't want to supply that is their choice not to apply. I personally ask prospective tenants to supply a police check as I prefer to protect my neighbors from pedophiles / sex offenders.

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  netsurfer on 23/05/2022 - 16:18

  If you are unhappy about it, then change the agent. However, you might have already given them the exclusive rights for at least a few months (maybe even a year).

  The reason why the agent wouldn't give you information about all the applicants is likely that the agent did not check every applicant and/or lazy (because if the agent were to provide that information, the next thing you will do is to ask about each applicant). The property management staff looking after your property looks after a lot of other properties. Also, some dodgy ones will just pick the first one or two who handed in an application.

  Honestly, most of the property managers are @!#!@#. Sorry to be blunt, but a lot of NSW ones are really subpar. NSW also have some really dumb systems - i.e. Sydney Water refuses to split water bills (this landlord pays for the whole water bill, then get the usage from tenant is so stupid). What I do before choosing an agent is I pretend to be a tenant and call agents to see how they respond to potential tenants. I also attend their open inspections (on other properties). Anyway, even that's not enough because good staff don't always stay with the same company. Also, the owner might also sell the company to someone else.

  There is no such thing as you cannot know anything about the tenant. The tenant's name is in the rental agreement you signed and generally appears in the monthly statements. My tenant wanted to talk to be directly about certain things. We all care a lot about our rental propert(ies), especially the first one. During tenant screening, the agent should give you sufficient information to decide.

  If there are signs your agent is slack, really consider switching.

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  koplik8 on 23/05/2022 - 16:26

  +2

  I'm reading all the comments above about getting a new agent. If only it were that simple! With all their fee schedules being different and days the rent is paid to you.

  I had the same thing happen to me that the agents wouldn't let me see the applicants details. This was from multiple real estate agents over the years. All I was told is if they were single or a family, had any pets and their job. I tended to go with applicants that the agents had a past history with. Really it's a gamble. It's the same as when they vacate and if they bother to clean. Make sure you get landlord insurance. I highly recommend MGA. Every one of my tenants left and did not pay rent for the last four weeks and said take it out of the bond. MGA covered the loss of rent. As every time I had damage to the property that used up all of the bond.

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    netsurfer on 23/05/2022 - 16:56

    +2

    If you had a dodgy agent does something really dodgy to you, then you will find that switching agent is nothing compared to the huge mess a dodgy one could cause. Honestly, it is you / us that need to do a bit more work when doing the tax return for that year. The agents don't really find the transfer difficult. The winning agent is happy to do so. Obviously, you try your best not to burn the bridge with the old agent during that process.

    As for the different days and fee schedules. Honestly, even the same agent can sometimes change the schedule. We should really double check regularly. With NSW agents, you really need to double check. One of my previous agents tried to under-calculate my portion of the rent by a day or two for a few months. When I didn't notice it initially, it started becoming a week. I gave that agent a second chance (agent claiming their system is old and the new system costs too much) and that was a huge mistake. When there is any sign the agent is not doing the job right, really consider switching. The time I spent to do the reconciliation (remember I need to calculate down to days) was far more annoying. The agent was also not paying bills on time, not only I missed out on the discounts, I ended up having to pay interest when I had to clean up that whole mess. That agent stopped sending me actual statements (claiming system error) to hide the missing payments (while still charging me for those bills).

    Another one I had to change also. The agent didn't organise repairs promptly, often not returning my calls. The outgoing tenant actually told me the agent is really slack and asked why I went with that agent. We don't change agents for no reason. However, resisting to change knowing the agent is no good is a bad idea. We tell you to change based on our real experience (and we know it does mean a bit more work come tax time). They are not the same and you shouldn't go OZBargain mode when choosing an agent.

    Every one of my tenants left and did not pay rent for the last four weeks and said take it out of the bond

    And you still use the same agent?

    I tended to go with applicants that the agents had a past history with

    That hasn't worked that well for me. We really have to be very careful with the hints the previous agents indicated. They can be very subtle and when we want to quickly get a tenant, we tend to cave in and just pick one out of the limited candidates we have. Most agents will coerce us into accept an average or a subpar tenant and when things go pear shaped later on, they will remind us that it was us who "picked" the tenant.

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      koplik8 on 24/05/2022 - 09:13

      +1

      Thanks you for your comments. It sounds like you have had a lot of experience in dealing with agents. I think I've just been unlucky with the pick of the new tenants in my property. I've decided to sell up now. I'm over all of it really. It's a common thing in Darwin for people to say to take the last four weeks rent out of the bond. I guess the tenants, well not all of them, forget that there is an owner out there that still has to make a mortgage repayment even though they are essentially living 'rent free'.

      I have used three different real estate companies and found that the problems have been all the same. I ended up paying all the bills for the property myself and asking for invoices to be forwarded rather than hoping the agent pays on time. I know that it's a pain for tax time collating all of the invoices rather than it all on one invoice from the real estate.

      The worse one I had was the water damage in the kitchen. A rather large real estate company property manager told me the water damage was minor and all I needed was new kitchen benches. I met with the tenant to show them the new colours of the new bench and splash backs. Well the damage was far worse and a huge dirty water stain on the roof. The insurance claim then had to be over turned to include a new roof. I did all the work to sort it out. Turns out the total damage was $15k and not just a new kitchen bench. I guess you trust your agent to do the right thing. Also turned out that water was pouring out of the power points and an electrician wasn't even called.

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    xavster on 23/05/2022 - 18:54

    +1

    Hi mate, I have switched agents before and it was painless. The new agents took care of everything. The management contacts is usually rolling 12 months but they are NOT exclusive. A new agent can take over as long as you provide the notice period as stipulated in the management contract (usually 30 days). There were no extra costs for the switch.

    I email the old agent and tell them the new agent will take over in 30 days. I then get a call from old agent and they said they will notify the tenant and prepare the roll over file and that was it.

    The old agent was booted because they paid a bill late and I got a $20 late fee…

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  Poor Ass on 23/05/2022 - 16:38

  100% can know who's leasing the place

  Sounds like crap agents

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  Hangryuman on 23/05/2022 - 19:04

  'we were told by the agent that it was a privacy issue & we were not allowed to know who is renting our property'

  I believe the agent lied to you - suggest you look for a better agent - browse domain.com.au map view around your place to see which agent has the most ads - browse their ads, call a few and ask for quotes

  when my agent in Sydney has prospective tenants they send me their names and relevant information about them - so I suspect your agent was lying to cover some dodgy deal they intend to do - like tell you low rent, then charge high rent, even worse case sublet it to short-term letting for like $1000pw while telling you it gets $400pw - then hit you with all the damage repair bills as well.

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  hunter123 on 23/05/2022 - 21:57

  +2

  I've had my agent tell me the same thing. That they can't give me applicant details because of privacy.

  I thought it was bullshit for all the reasons others have listed above. But didn't change agency because it was too complicated and we had already paid some of the fees.

  Nice to know that others have been able to get the info to review, validating my suspicions that its a bullshit argument.

  I think they do it because they want you to be stuck with them managing the property for you as you can't talk to tenant directly.

  I'd suggest threatening to take your business elsewhere.

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  yokel on 24/05/2022 - 07:38

  Already the property manager is trying to push you around. Get some mentoring from an older relative on what is normal for a tenancy so you can pick your battles. Leave phone messages for the PM and follow up with emails that way they understand you want to be consulted.

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  Brick Tamland on 24/05/2022 - 08:35

  if you have 100% faith in the agent then its probably ok to entrust them to do their job diligently and not worry about the details of the applicants/tenants. But, if there is no relationship then I think you'd be crazy to show blind faith in them. My experience as a tenant is that most of them are completely hopeless. My last rental my landlord and I swapped phone numbers and bypassed the agent due to the agents sheer incompetence.

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  tcme on 24/05/2022 - 09:56

  Yes. They do this because they don't want to go to all that work and advertising to find the 'best' tenant', just for you to turn around, look them up on Facebook, privately rent and for them to miss out on commission.

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  mountaineer on 24/05/2022 - 13:13

  It is beyond me how people like OP ended up with an investment property?

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  atwilliams on 24/05/2022 - 13:48

  Review your contract with the agent. If there is doubt, ask them to reference the part of your agreement which is preventing them from sharing this information.

  If your contract with them prevents applicant / tenant info sharing (doubt it - I know the details of the tenants in our property and had the final say in selecting applicants), determine if this is a big enough issue to find another agent. If it is, make sure you consider this aspect in selecting any new agent.

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  michaelTito on 24/05/2022 - 14:29

  +1

  Run my friend. Run very fast.

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  weezlebub on 25/05/2022 - 09:44

  in SA, agent is not allowed to discriminate based on race, as someone said previously, there is a potential that you could discriminate based on the name …

  agent may have to defend against someone complaining that it was a racist decision …

  either way, they work for you, if you don't believe that they are acting in your best interests now - what will they do if the tenant stops paying rent? will they represent you adequately at a tribunal?

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  Yola on 25/05/2022 - 10:02

  The agent is manipulating you and more than that just lying to you. Find a new one ASAP. Ask around for recommendations and check them out through some of the ways suggested on here.

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  thord on 25/05/2022 - 14:34

  -1

  Do Landlords Have the Right to Know Who is Renting Their Property?

  Technically, no. As a renter can sub-let your rental and you won't know who is the subletter.

  But in your case, yes. You should be able to see who has applied and make a choice HOWEVER, it depends on the agreement between you and your REA

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    tonka on 30/05/2022 - 00:09

    +1

    A renter can't sublet without permission and the landlord or their agent can certainly require the details of that person.

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      thord on 30/05/2022 - 14:11

      OK, technically true, but people who sublet generally won't bother asking permission.

      Also, you could get around that requirement by calling the person an "Additional occupant"

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  tonyjzx on 01/06/2022 - 14:55

  In my experience a heap of agents actually give you too much… like i got copies of peoples DRLs bank statements etc.

  BUT I dont intervene for a simple reason… if I make preferences then I influence the descison and liability… if a renter runs off and I put my thumb on the scale then its my fault.

  If the agents makes all the decsions which is what they're paid for, then its all on them.

  Hands off is best.

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    tonka on 01/06/2022 - 21:18

    +1

    I don't understand your point. If the agent stuffs up, it's still on you. I guess if you thought you could prove gross negligence you could sue, but that would be pretty risky. I would even argue that the kind of tenant you target is an essential part of your investment strategy. Ie a family may prove longer term and more stable but have a lower price point where singles or couples may afford a higher price point but be more likely to move on leaving vacancy gaps. Not fool proof but certainly valid. I've put families in my properties and have had same tenants for 20 years in one property and 8 years in another, not a single lost day of rent. The downside is I need to be careful not to squeeze them out with increases. Before then I let the agency decide, I got broken leases unpaid rent losses and damage.

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