Paul:
Let’s go to Elizabeth in Brunswick. Elizabeth, good morning.
DW:
Hi, Elizabeth.
Elizabeth:
Good morning.
Look, I rang last week about my friend who was in a townhouse where he was getting many inspections at the beginning of his lease. Following your advice, David, last week he started to negotiate with the estate agents and then later on in the week, I won’t go into the details of that, but some of the things like getting lists of names of who was coming to visit. He received an email saying that his lease and the tenancy has been transferred by the landlords into a totally new estate agency, so have you got any advice on how he should negotiate?
DW:
Exactly the same way.
Elizabeth:
Okay so he can just take the advice that you gave last week. How often does this happen where someone’s lease is transferred to another estate agency.
DW:
Well periodically the landlords simply say I want x to manage my property instead of y.
Elizabeth:
Okay. Alright then.
DW:
Now the question, Paul, was that Elizabeth has a friend who lives in a rental property and the landlord is in the process of selling the property and there have been open for inspections. And the open for inspections are in fact generally, depending on how they’re conducted, may be in infringement of the tenant’s right to privacy.
Paul:
Yes.
DW:
Because they arise under the landlord’s right to inspect. The landlord has the right to inspect from time to time to make sure the property is adequately maintained. But the expectation is that you’ll make an appointment and the expectation is that the tenant is entitled to know who is coming. Because if you think about it, the people who ought be inspecting are the owner, any tradespeople they think they might require and the agent who manages the tenancy and not really anyone else.
But if you’re a tenant and the landlord decides that he wants to sell the premises that you’re in, then from time to time they want to traipse through with a group of people who you don’t know.
Paul:
And they can tell you to clean up.
DW:
What does your lease say about how tidy you’re supposed to keep the place?
Paul:
Well you know, get your jocks off the floor, where’s the line?
DW:
Oh you could push them under the bed I suppose.
Paul:
Yes; you’d better clean up.
DW:
Well also presumably if the ownership of the tenancy changes, you’d still like to remain the tenant.
Paul:
Yes. That’s true. There’s some goodwill involved there.