There is a lot to organise when you are moving into a new rental property – changing addresses, packing, moving, connecting services, setting up rental payments – the list goes on!
One thing to put at the top of your to do list is the Entry Condition Report.
As much as it can be a time-consuming task, it is a task worth spending time on as it can potentially cost you your bond at the end of your tenancy.
The Condition report is a comprehensive report of the condition of the property immediately before you moved in. When you move out of the property, or at routine inspections this report will be the baseline or ‘source of truth’.
It is a legislative requirement that renters are provided with a condition report at the commencement of their tenancy, and that the report be completed and returned by the renter within 5 business days of moving into the property. We use an electronic form, which is easy to add extra photos into, but we can also provide you with a paper copy.
Katie from our PM team notes “make sure that you let us know as soon as possible if you can’t open the digital report – we can either send it again or get a hard copy to you.”
A condition report must include all rooms, sheds and outdoor areas that are included with the property, and should also include all appliances, fixtures and fittings. It should display / state the current condition of each area, including any areas that a dirty or damaged.
As a renter it is important to make sure that the property is in the exact condition (excluding fair wear & tear) as in the condition report. If you don’t agree with anything in there make sure you add your own comments and photos and let the property manager know of the differences.
The most important part of completing the condition report is making sure that you return it. If the report isn’t returned then the property manager will go off the report given to you, regardless of whether you agreed with it or not.
An example of what can go wrong…
A property manager completes two entry condition reports on side-by-side units on Friday, with the renters of both units planning to pick up keys and move in on Monday.
Renter 1 is moving into unit one. He picks his keys up on Monday along with the condition report and other paperwork. When he arrives at the property he commences the condition report before he starts moving anything in. He notes that the flyscreen on one bedroom has been torn. He notes it on his condition report and calls the property manager. He completes the condition report adding a photo of the torn screen, signs and returns it to the office. The property manager arranges for the screen to be repaired.
Renter 2 is moving into unit two on Monday as well. She picks her keys up along with the condition report; she pops the condition report into one of her moving boxes – she will get to it later. She starts unpacking everything as soon as she moves in, positioning a couple of wardrobes in front of the windows, not seeing that the flyscreens on 2 windows are also torn. The property manager contacts her when they don’t receive the condition report back by the following week. Renter 2 quickly dashes around and signs off the condition report and returns it to the office, not noting the torn screens.
Renter 2 gets to the end of her lease term and finds another property. The property manager notes that the screens are torn in her vacate report, but weren’t noted or reported as torn on the condition report. This becomes something that the renter is responsible for fixing, costing $500 to have both screens repaired.
Had Renter 2 completed the condition report PRIOR to moving items into the property she would have noted the torn screens, and they would not have been her responsibility to have repaired.
There is an old saying “a stitch in time saves nine” – this applies perfectly to condition reports – a little bit of time spent on completing it at the start can save you dollars at the end of your lease, so grab a cuppa and take a ‘condition report’ break before you move things in. I bet Renter 2 wishes she had spent the time doing the report before she moved furniture in!
