If you decide to set up a share house with friends, it's important to sit down together and decide what sort of place you're looking for. This is also your chance to ensure that you really want to move into a house with these people. Your best-friend-from-school may turn out to be a flatmate-from-hell; if you become irritated with your friend now, chances are it will get worse when you live together. A friendship break-up can tear a house apart and is a traumatic and expensive lesson for newcomers to share housing.

Looking for a house or flat to rent can be an exhausting experience. If you rush it, chances are you'll end up with a place you hate, so take your time. You may want to use the rental checklist below to assess each place. Ignore the patter of the real estate agent. Whilst there are general rules which should stop the agent from making misleading or deceiving statements, disciplinary action is more likely for provable conduct, such as trust account mistakes. Misleading and deceptive conduct by oral statement are difficult to prove if denied. Instead, if you have a friend who is an experienced renter, it is safer to ask them to help you check the place out.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


RENTAL CHECKLIST

THE PREMESIS
• Is the house/flat close to public transport, friends, shops, work and uni or TAFE?

• Is it on a busy road, near a noisy factory, school, rail lines or under an airport flight path? If so, can you live with the noise?

• What is the parking like? Is there a garage? If you plan to park on the street, call the local council first and check that they offer resident permits. Don’t assume they do, especially for residents of new strata buildings.

• Is there adequate security - are there locks on the windows and doors, and/or bars on windows?

• If it is a strata building, are there any peculiar by-laws?

• Are repairs needed?

• Do the oven/stove elements/ shower/toilet work?

• Are there any signs of cockroaches or rats?

• Is there damp or mould on ceilings and walls?

• Do any walls or rooms need painting? Will the landlord either arrange this or give you money or a reduction in rent to organise the painting yourself?

• Will the landlord carry out any necessary repairs before you move in? Do you have this is writing? If not, note on the condition report what repairs were agreed to.

• If the house is furnished: - Do the washing machine, fridge etc. work? - Will the landlord store items of furniture you do not want?

• Can you keep pets in the house? If the landlord consents, get it in writing.


THE RENT
• What is the weekly rent?

• How often do you have to pay? (Generally you have to pay two weeks in advance, but if your rent is over $300 per week you may have to pay a month in advance.)

• What day is your rent due - is it due the day BEFORE you get paid?

• How is it paid - does the landlord collect it, do you pay at the agent's office or do you put the money directly into the landlord's/ agent's bank account? Check the tenancy agreement for details and watch out for third party providers who often charge sneaky fees. Read the fine print.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


If you like the place, do your own research on the area. Don’t trust the Real Estate Agent when they say that the crime rates are low, or that parking is easy to find. Talk to the neighbours/people who live in or know the area and ring the local council for further information.

If you decide that the place is right for you and your friends, you will probably be asked to sign an Application for Tenancy form, and pay a reservation fee. If your application is approved, the reservation fee becomes the rent for the first week of the tenancy. If you don't get the place, the money should be returned to you in full. If you decide not to rent the place, the landlord can ask you to pay part of the reservation fee for rent lost while you reserved the premises.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

THE CONDITION REPORT

When you sign the tenancy agreement, you must also be given two copies of the condition report to complete as part of the agreement – one to return to your landlord and one for you to keep. It is very important to fill this out in as much detail as possible so you have proof of the condition of the place if the landlord tries to keep the bond at the end of the tenancy or claims compensation for damage to the premises. The landlord/agent will already have made an assessment of the premises which will be noted on the report. You can state whether or not you agree and add more detail if you need to. If repairs are needed write to the landlord/agent asking for the repairs to be done and get their consent in writing. There is a section at the back of your condition report where you should list the repairs that you have been promised.

If the landlord doesn’t give you a condition report, complete one yourself, and get a witness to sign it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


INSPECTING THE PREMESIS

It's a good idea to get all the tenants together and do a thorough inspection of the place. Pay special attention to:

• locks and security - defects; lack of security; keys?

• stove - cleanliness of the oven, grill and stove top; are all the elements and the oven working?

• blinds, curtains - are they clean, damaged, working?

• cupboards - are any doors or shelves damaged? are they clean?

• walls - is there any damage to the paint? are there hooks and nails - how many?

• carpets - are they clean, marked, stained or damaged?

• floor/skirting boards - are they clean, damaged?

• vermin - are there signs of rats/cockroaches or other vermin?

• light fittings - are they clean? are globes provided?

• bathroom - condition of toilet, bath, shower, basin, floor - are they clean, damaged, scratched?

• heaters - are they working?

• exhaust fan - is it clean inside? does it work?

• cobwebs - are there any, inside and out?

• lawns and yard - is the lawn mowed? are there weeds in the garden?

• driveway/carport - are there oil stains? what is the state of the surface?

• windows - are any broken? Any cracked?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


The more detailed you make your condition report, the easier it will be to make sure you leave the place in the same condition when you move out. If you can, it's also a good idea to take photos of any damage already there when you moved in, particularly stains on the carpet, broken windows etc. This will be helpful if the landlord tries to claim the bond on the grounds that the carpet needs to be cleaned or repairs done. The more evidence you have in this situation, the better. You have seven days to complete the condition report and return it to the landlord/agent. Keep it in a safe place with your copy of the residential tenancy agreement.