The rental market in Sydney can be competitive due to a lack of housing. The best way to secure a rental property is to do your research on what suburbs you are interested in, then compile your documents to support your rental application. This includes evidence of your ability to pay your rent, previous rental and personal references.
To support your application, ensure you have included all the necessary information with your application:
Once you have your documentation together, you can apply for a particular property, or set up a T-App account in preparation should one you like become available.
If your application is accepted, you will receive an email from our team advising your application has been successful. They will include a copy of the Residential Tenancy Agreement for you to review and sign. This is a legally binding document that outlines your rights and responsibilities, so it is important you read it very carefully before signing it.
The next step is to sign a lease. The standard document is a Residential Tenancy Agreement which is a legally binding agreement between a tenant and a landlord that sets out the terms and conditions of the lease. The lease should be read and the terms understood before signing. It should contain standard terms such as length of the tenancy, the amount of the bond, the rent amount, frequency and how it should be paid. It should also contain any special conditions such as keeping of pets.
You will be required to pay the bond before moving in. A bond is not compulsory but most landlords ask for it. It is normally an amount equal to 4 weeks of rent. This is kept as security in case the tenant breaches any of the terms of the contract against such things as excessive damage or unpaid rent.
NSW Fair Trading Rental Bond Board is the independent custodian of rental bonds paid by tenants to landlords for residential tenancies and will hold your bond for the duration of your lease. An agent must deposit the bond within 10 working days after the end of the month. You will be sent a receipt with a rental bond number.
At the end of the lease, the property manager will inspect the property and, based on the final inspection, will request all or part of the bond be refunded back to the tenant.
A condition report is an official record of the general condition of a rental property. Before a tenant moves in, a Property Manager will inspect each room of the property and document its overall condition. They will record any damage, no matter how minor and describe it on the report.
Before you move in you will also be provided with a copy of the condition report for you to sign and keep on file. This is a record of the general state of repair of the property on a room by room basis and includes fixtures and fittings.
Once the report is completed, two copies will be given to the tenant to review, action and sign. It is important that you, as the tenant, review the report carefully and, if you do not agree with sections of the report, note any amendments. One signed copy then must then be returned to the landlord or Property Manager within the time frame they have requested.