At Domain Charter Group, we strive to be the best property managers in our industry. We stress to clients to never underestimate the importance of protecting their investment properties by ensuring they have the best and most comprehensive Landlord Insurance available.
Time and time again we hear stories and have seen Landlords exposed and out of pocket by thousands of dollars. This generally happens when their tenants have defaulted on their rent or abandoned the property as their Landlord Insurance provider did not cover the rent loss and re-letting expenses.
You can minimise the risks by selecting the best tenants from the outset however, you can not always predict what may happen in the future. For example, tenants can lose their jobs, relationships may breakdown causing them to fall behind in rent and eventually abandon the property. For this reason it is vital you have Landlord Insurance providing the correct cover.
Domain Charter Group goes to great lengths to ensure we place the right people into your investment property in the first place.
- Firstly, we contact employers, to ensure the prospective tenant has secure employment, confirm their income and request a character reference.
- We then contact their last known Real Estate agent to establish their rental history and ask questions such as; did they pay the rent on time? Did they look after the property? Were they easy to deal with? Would you rent to them again?
- When we feel the application sounds promising, we conduct a search on the National Tenancy Database. This not only establishes the applicant’s rental history, but also provides a public record search for court judgements or bankruptcies.
- Only when we have conducted all our due diligence and are satisfied with the outcome, do we then recommend a tenant to the Landlord along with a comprehensive Landlord Insurance policy.
We encourage all Landlords to be aware of their current Landlord Insurance policy – we have discovered many Insurance Companies do not give you adequate cover.
Your Landlord Insurance should cover the following items:-
- Allowable Bond deductions (incl. gardening & cleaning)
- Rent paid until a new tenant is found
- Advertising
- Letting fee
- Rent loss from the day your tenant stops paying rent (many Insurance companies only pay from the 4th week and beyond)
- Malicious and Non Malicious damage, including theft.
It is also worth noting that many companies use the Bond to cover the first four weeks of rent loss, though we find that in most cases, properties that have been abandoned are not necessarily damaged but require thorough cleaning, carpet cleaning, rubbish removal, minor maintenance and gardening which they consider to be ‘poor housekeeping’ and do not cover under their policy.
If you are unsure of any aspect of your Landlord Insurance or require further information, please contact Kelly on
03 9817 6266 or email
kelly@domaincharter.com.au