Tenancy laws state that a tenant must be given 24 HOURS’ NOTICE for an agent to bring prospective buyers through a tenanted property.
Sales Agents who are not well-versed with the tenancy laws often make an error of judgement by assuming that the 24 hours begins as soon as the notice is delivered (whether by email, post or personal delivery to the letterbox). In fact, best practice is to start the 24 hours the day AFTER delivery of the notice.
For example, for a viewing planned for Wednesday 3:00pm, the notice should be delivered by 5:00pm on the previous Monday. This allows the tenant a reasonable amount of time to look in their letterbox/email inbox before the 24 hour time period begins.
Failure to give the correct notice to the tenants can result in the Owner receiving a Breach Notice. Furthermore, the tenants have the right to refuse entry on the spot for an illegal entry.
Here are some useful tips for Sales Agents to consider when showing prospects through a tenanted property:
- Always issue the regulatory RTA Form 9 to the tenants, even if you gain verbal consent from the tenants
- Follow up the Form 9 with a courtesy call or SMS to the tenant
- Keep a copy of the Form 9 and record the date, time and method of delivery on the form. Bring the Form 9 with you as verification of correct delivery.