It was with great joy and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment that Mr Baggs, after many weeks away from home, made his triumphant return to the village where he was brought up.
According to his travelling companion, who watched the scene unfold, Baggs was looking forward to a hot bath and a nice meal but going through the front door; he found nothing less than a family of four living on the premises.
Although at the time he could not point out the reason why, exactly, that was happening, after speaking to his property manager Mr Baggs realised he had spent twenty-seven weeks uncommunicable and in arrears, leading his manager to think the property had been abandoned.
Abandonment of property
According to the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA), a manager can issue and Entry Notice to their tenants if they believe the property has been abandoned. This form will provide the residents with a 24-hour notice prior to entry, in which the manager will assess if the tenants are still inhabiting the premises.
To go through this path, the manager needs to have reasonable grounds to make such an assumption. The grounds may include:
- The rent has not been paid
- A build-up of mail or newspapers in the mailbox
- Observations of neighbours or others that suggest the tenants have left the property
- The absence of household goods
- Gas, telephone and electricity services have been disconnected
- The tenant does not respond to attempts to contact them
Because Mr Baggs has been untraceable for so long, his manager decided to inspect the property utilising grounds 6, and then declare abandonment on grounds 2 and 3.
Abandonment termination notice
An Abandonment Termination Notice is a document issued by the property manager to their tenants once the Lease Agreement is to be terminated.
After visiting the property, if the agent has reasonable grounds (abovementioned) to declare it as abandoned, they can immediately send the residents a Form 15, providing them with a 7-day period to dispute the notice. If, within that period, the tenant does not address the notice, the manager will be entitled to vacant possession of the property from midnight on.
To dispute the notice, the tenant will be provided with:
- 7 days (from the date the notice is issued) to apply to QCAT to dispute the notice; or
- 28 days (from the date the notice is issued) to apply to QCAT for compensation; or
- In rooming accommodation, the agreement ends once the rent paid has run out (a termination notice does not need to be served).
Goods and documents
If, upon possession of the property, the premises still contain goods and documents from the previous tenant, the agent must return or dispose of them according to specific rules.
- Personal documents (e.g. money, birth certificates, original family photographs): must be given to the tenant. If the tenant cannot be contacted, the personal documents must be given to the Office of the Public Trustee, within 7 days of the end of the tenancy.
Note: the Public Trustee does not take passports, Medicare cards, drivers’ licences or bank cards, they remain the property of the issuer (e.g. a Medicare card should be returned to Services Australia). - Goods should be valued to determine their worth – an item that may appear to be junk may actually be valuable. If the property manager/owner intends to dispose of, or sell goods left behind, a record of the items should be kept (itemised list, photos etc.) in case of a future dispute over the items.
Because Mr Baggs was on a road trip adventure with friends, all his belongings still remained at the property once possession was taken by the managers. According to the managing agent, the official procedure had been followed, and all furniture and other household items were long sold, leaving Mr Baggs with nothing to return to.
pile of paper mail
Thanks to the kindness of friends, who worked some strange magic, Mr Baggs is now back on his feet and with a roof over his head, relearning how to hold a pen so he can finally write his memoir.
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At Odyssey Property Concierge, our highly experienced team works with smaller portfolios per agent, allowing our Property Managers to dedicate more time to your investment.
