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Property managers have been told they are doing themselves a disservice if they don’t charge extra for disaster management work.
Real Estate Institute of NSW trainer Jo Hamilton said PMs should be revisiting disaster management plans after the devastation caused by the NSW storms last month.
“Ensure your management agency agreement includes a disaster management fee,” Ms Hamilton said.
“After all, if your area does suffer a natural disaster, your management resources will be stretched to the limit and you may need to hire more staff or pay existing staff overtime.”
Ms Hamilton said many PMs mistakenly think a tenancy automatically ends if a property is destroyed or becomes uninhabitable.
“This is not true,” she said. “In fact, either the tenant or the landlord must still serve a termination notice in writing to end the tenancy.
“The notice, once served, can take effect immediately or at a specified later date.”
Ms Hamilton said a landlord is not obliged to compensate a tenant for any damage to their furniture or personal belongings arising from a natural disaster.
“The tenant should be advised at the beginning of the tenancy that they should organise their own insurance cover for such situations.”
