Tenants FAQ
- What do I do if things go wrong?
- What if it is an emergency and it is outside business hours?
- How do I make rent payments?
- What does paying "weekly in advance" mean?
- What happens if I miss a rent payment?
- What is the Bond for?
- What if I want to move out?
- How often do you inspect the property?
- What happens if I change my contact details?
What do I do if things go wrong?
If you are concerned about something in the property, please contact our office during business hours of 8:30am to 5pm Monday to Friday alternatively your Property Manager. It is important to advise us as soon as possible if you think repairs are necessary as failure to do so could leave you responsible for paying damages if you do not report a problem.
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What if it is an emergency and it is outside business hours?
Should an emergency arise in the property after hours, during weekends or public holidays, then please phone your property manager.
If, for some reason, you are unable to reach the your property manager, you may contact a tradesperson directly to arrange for them to carry out the repairs. You will have been provided with the contact details of our emergency plumber & electrician (on a green card). Always report the details of your emergency to our office as soon as possible on the next business day.
Please note that you should only do this if the maintenance issue is a genuine emergency, where the property is in danger if repairs are not carried out urgently. If an emergency callout is made for a non-essential repair, you will be responsible for the callout fee.
How do I make rent payments?
We prefer rental payments to be made by Automatic Payment into our bank account, as per the Automatic Payment form provided when you signed the tenancy agreement. Please note that on this form is written your unique tenant code - please use this for all payments into our account so that your payments can be identified.
Alternatively payments can be made at any ASB branch with a specially encoded deposit book only (do not make payments at a branch without one of these books as we will be unable to identify your payment.
You can also make rent payments at our office at 18 Bridge Street, Nelson. We accept EFTPOS or cash, but please note that we do not accept credit cards. In the event that you intend making a manual payment at our offices we strongly recommend that you use EFTPOS, rather than carrying large amounts of cash on your person.
What does paying "weekly in advance" mean?
When you pay your rent with us, you will always be paying "in advance". This often confuses people, so below is an explanation of what paying "in advance" means.
Say your Tenancy Agreement starts on Saturday the 1st. This will be the first day that you are due to pay rent. Paying one week's rent on that Saturday will pay you one week in advance. In other words, it will cover 7 days, from Saturday the 1st through to Friday the 7th. This date is referred to as your "paid-to" date. Your rent is then due again on the next Saturday, the 8th.
Note that the same rule applies when paying fortnightly or monthly i.e. if you pay on the 1st of the month, this will pay you in advance to the 31st of the month, and your rent will be due again on the 1st of the next month.
What happens if I miss a rent payment?
In accordance with your Tenancy Agreement, rent is due and payable on or before the due date. Failure to pay rent by the due date will result in action being taken to rectify any rent arrears situation. Our company has a zero tolerance to rent arrears. If you are experiencing problems in paying your rent it is imperative that you make contact with your Property Manager immediately.
What is the Bond for?
Your bond is held by Tenancy Services as security against rent arrears, damage or undue wear and tear. We will collect the bond before you collect the keys for the property, and this will be lodged in Wellington. The bond will be refunded to you once we have completed an outgoing property inspection and we are happy with the state of the property, and all rent has been paid up to date. Allow up to 5 working days for the bond to be refunded into your account by Tenancy Services.
Please note that in the event of rent arrears or property damage some or all of your bond may be taken to cover these costs. The Property Manager would be in contact to discuss anything that needs to come out of your bond. In cases such as this the refund of your remaining bond can be significantly delayed as we wait for invoices etc. to come through.
What if I want to move out?
If you are on a Periodic Tenancy you must give at least 21 days notice in writing to terminate the tenancy. Please note that the 21 days starts from when we receive the notice, so it is best if you drop the notice in to our office directly or by email.
If you are on Fixed Term Tenancy this cannot be terminated by notice.
If you wish to end your tenancy early (called "breaking your lease") then you will be responsible for paying rent until the property is re-let or the end of the fixed term agreement - which ever eventuates first. Please contact your Property Manager promptly if you decide you want to end your tenancy early and they will talk you through the process.
Upon ending your tenancy please return to us all keys, pass cards and remote controlled door openers for the property. You are required to return these items to your property manager at the time of conducting the outgoing property inspection. If these items are not returned we will be forced to change the locks and or replace keys and the cost of this will be deducted from your bond.
All bonds are held by Tenancy Services and refunds are subject to the agreement of both landlord and tenant. To facilitate a quick bond refund, the property should be left in a clean and tidy condition and rent should be paid up to vacate date. An outgoing inspection of the property will take place after you have vacated and any remaining water usage will be calculated at this time also.
Please note that, in the event you pay by automatic payment, it is your responsibility to cancel your automatic payment authority at the end of your tenancy, we are unable to do this for you.
How often do we inspect the property?
We carry out periodic inspections 3-monthly (these are done in areas). You will be sent a letter the week prior to your inspection giving notice of the date and time of our visit. If this time does not suit please contact your property manager (contact details will be on the letter) but please note that, given the number of inspections we do, we are not always able to accommodate requests to change inspection times.
From time to time other inspections may need to be carried out, for instance, if the owner wishes a valuer to come through to value the property. You will always be given sufficient notice of these visits and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.
What happens if I change my contact details?
Please endeavour to keep us up to date with your contact details at all times. This ensures that we can have clear lines
of communication for any issues that arise, such as maintenance issues or missed rent payments.
If your contact details change, please contact our office.
