Real Estate & Managing Rental Property ACT
Everything you need to know about the ACT real estate market.
Get To Know The Rules & Regulations In Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Before Renting Out Your Own Property
Many property owners prefer to cut out the real estate agent (and their fees) and simply self-manage their property themselves. Renting out your own property is certainly not rocket science, and can be an extremely rewarding experience (both financially and personally) but it is worthwhile getting the basics right so that you and your tenant are set-up for success.
This article aims to provide readers with a quick reference guide on where to go and what to do when starting out.
- Know The Real Estate Market
- Pricing Your Property
- Starting a Lease
- Get Started With RentBetter
Know The Market
When preparing to rent out your own property, it is important to familiarise yourself with similar rental properties in your area. The property market can seem complex, so we have compiled a summary of 'Fast Facts' that will help you understand the rental landscape.
There were 397,397 people in ACT as at the last census date in 2016, and here are the key figures to know:
- 50.7% female and 49.3% male
- Average weekly gross household income increased from $1,920 in 2011 to $2,070 in 2016
- 7% of population aged between 15-6 and only 12.6% over 65
- Of occupied private dwellings in Australian Capital Territory – 31.8% rented, compared to 38.4% mortgaged and 27.0% owned outright
- Of occupied private dwellings in Australian Capital Territory (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas), 67.0% were separate houses, 17.7% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc, 15.0% were flat or apartments and 0.1% were other dwellings.
- In Australian Capital Territory (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas), of occupied private dwellings 7.1% had 1 bedroom, 14.9% had 2 bedrooms and 39.7% had 3 bedrooms. The average number of bedrooms per occupied private dwelling was 3.1. The average household size was 2.5 people.
- In Australian Capital Territory (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas), of all households, 70.3% were family households, 24.8% were single person households and 4.9% were group households.
- In Australian Capital Territory (Greater Capital City Statistical Areas), 37.2% of occupied private dwellings had one registered motor vehicle garaged or parked at their address, 39.1% had two registered motor vehicles and 15.8% had three or more registered motor vehicles.
Knowing The Right Time To Increase Rent
Most State government have rules about when a landlord can increase the rent on their investment property. The restrictions only apply where there is an existing tenant in the property, so if you are looking to sign on a new tenant you can just change the asking rent when you advertise.
- All Standard Tenancy Agreement Leases: Can increase the rent by giving at least 8 weeks notice in writing but can do so only once in any 12 month period and not during the first 12 months of tenancy
- Notice Form: no specific form but must be in writing and specify the amount of the rent increase and the date from which it is payable
- Tenant’s rights: the tenant can apply to ACAT for a review of the increase if they think it is excessive
Starting a Lease
Starting a lease typically consists of 4 key elements, which have slightly different names depending on which state you are operating in, but ultimately have a similar intent and outcome. The ‘big 4’ are;Starting a lease typically consists of 4 key elements:
Access Canberra – Phone 13 22 81
- Guide (click here) – The Renting Book outlining tenant and landlord rights and responsibilities in the ACT
- Lease (click here) – Standard residential tenancy agreement
- Bond (click here) – Bonds may be lodged via email or mail using a paper-based form
- Condition report (click here) – to be completed within 2 weeks of moving in
More information on lodging bonds in ACT:
1. Register
Rental bonds in ACT are centralised through an online Portal which can be accessed here.
2. Create the bond
The owner must pay the ACT bond authority via Direct Deposit on behalf of the tenant. Collect the bond money from the tenant, and then it can be submitted through the form online. Once completed, both parties should receive a receipt via email to confirm.
For more information, step-by-step instructions on how to lodge a bond through the ACT Revenue Office Portal can be found here.
How Can RentBetter.com.au help?
Of course, at RentBetter.com.au our aim is to make this a seamless, frictionless experience for you and your tenant by including the necessary documents and compliance into our process – you can click here to sign-up and get started.
RentBetter is designed to help you find and manage tenants using the RentBetter Platform. Our customers use RentBetter to advertise their property on the major property portals (Realestate.com.au and Domain.com.au), and our platform can help with enquiries, applications, tenant checks and lease documents to assist you in finding a high-quality tenant for your property.
The RentBetter platform can also help to onboard your tenant to your lease, and automate the process of rent collection, tracking, receipts, maintenance, and reporting.
