Renters should look out for these red flags when signing a property lease, experts say

In a competitive rental market, many people are facing stress and anguish just trying to find a property.

So when you finally get your hands on a lease, you may not feel like exerting any bargaining power.

But experts say lease agreements are one of the things residential laws do well, ensuring tenant rights are upheld and they can’t be caught off guard.

And, you still have many rights to challenge lease agreements once they are signed.

Here are the red flags and points to look out for to make sure you’re getting the real deal.

Is it the standard contract?

Chris Martin from UNSW City Futures Research Centre said most people were not aware that residential tenancy agreements were largely standardised across states and territories.

There is a standard form full of terms prescribed by the law, with little room for landlords to make up things such as eviction notice periods or access to the property.

“So one lease will look very much like another except for the amount of rent to pay,” Mr Martin told the ABC.

When it comes to rent increases, the standard is tenants must be given at least 60 days’ notice and it must be given in writing.

And generally, if you have a fixed-term agreement, your rent must not increase before the end date.

Every lease also needs to make sure the property meets basic minimum standards.

These include having functioning water and electricity, and heating in places such as Tasmania and Victoria.

So, you shouldn’t be coming across anything that says the tenant must accept the property no matter what condition it’s in, or that you need to pay for repairs.

“The law has said tenants have these rights and responsibilities and landlords can’t get out of those just by putting a contrary term in a tenancy agreement,” Mr Martin said.

And If you do sign a contract without knowing it goes against those standard terms, it legally won’t hold up.

“It’s not that you will be legally bound to these unlawful terms, it’s that you’re dealing with a landlord who doesn’t know what they’re doing,” Mr Martin said.

“And that’s a problem in itself.”

Unlawful (or unreasonable) additional terms

While there’s the standard form for the basics, there will often be extra pages stapled to the back with a whole lot of additional terms.

These are allowed, but they need to be lawful and reasonable.

Ben Cording, lead community education lawyer at Tenants Victoria, said there was a time when landlords would put in conditions such as not being allowed to light incense.

But now there is a list of prohibited terms, depending on state and territory legislation, that can’t be included.

“A lot of these terms were just going above and beyond,” he told the ABC.

“Sometimes they’re so overly restrictive it means you can’t really use a place without getting in trouble.”

Generally, you can’t get evicted for breaching these terms, he said.

And many can be easily challenged, even once the lease has been signed.

“You might have a term that says you can’t do auto work in the driveway,” Mr Martin said.

“You could quite legitimately go to the tribunals and say, ‘look, I think this term is too onerous. Yes, I’ve got an obligation not to cause damage, but I’m a mechanic and have drop sheets.'”

Taking a matter to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) costs about $70, with options for those in financial hardship, Mr Cording said.

And if you lose, there’s no additional fee, “you just move on”.

“It’s pretty informal and often the hearings are still being done over the phone,” he said.

Dodgy bond transfers

There are many scams doing the rounds targeting renters, which usually involve transferring a deposit or bond for a property that doesn’t exist or can’t be rented to you.

Scammers advertise rental properties on well-known property websites. When you express interest, they say they are overseas or interstate and you must conduct the transaction online.

If you send a deposit via a money transfer, there is little chance of recovering your money.

“Don’t pay cash or instant transfer. Make sure you use PayPal or something where there’s some sort of trust function involved,” Mr Cording said.

In Victoria, most bonds are now managed through the Residential Tenancy Bond Authority (RTBA).

Many scammers will lift an ad from another page and re-list it as their own, so they can appear very genuine, with photos, real addresses and land title deeds.

But often the asking price for rents is a lot cheaper than other properties in the area.

And when you can, try to deal with a registered agent, rather than searching on Facebook, Flatmate Finders or Gumtree.

Terms for pets and extra tenants

Although it’s not a red flag, Mr Martin said pet clauses often caught tenants off guard.

Rules for having pets in a rented home have been under review or recently changed in most states and territories.

In Victoria, renters have the right to own pets and “no pet” clauses included in agreements are no longer valid, under laws passed in 2020.

Landlords in Western Australia are no longer allowed to refuse a tenant for keeping a pet in most circumstances.

In Queensland, the Northern Territory and South Australia, tenants can own pets but they must still get written consent from the landlord.

And since late 2022, landlords in Queensland must give a reason for refusing a tenant’s request to have a pet — and those reasons are laid out in legislation.

Tenants also need permission to own any kind of pet in Tasmania, and the Liberals made a promise ahead of the state election to not allow landlords to reject tenant applications on the basis of pet ownership.

A similar pledge was made in NSW, with Labor saying it would make it easier for renters to own pets, with plans to give landlords 21 days to respond to a renter’s request to own a pet.

Right now, there’s no term in the state’s Residential Tenancies Act that prohibits you from keeping a pet, or that requires you to ask for your landlord’s consent before you keep a pet.

However, many landlords will include a clause restricting pets in the lease and there’s no specific ban on them doing so.

Disclosing property conditions

Mr Cording advises you should see a property report or ask for a disclosure statement before signing the lease agreement.

A disclosure statement will include information such as whether the owner has the intention to sell the property or if it is already on the market, or if there have been mould or electrical issues.

Although these are simple requests, Mr Cording says it’s understandable you don’t want to look like a renter who asks too many questions.

But once you sign a lease, there are repairs and issues such as mould that landlords legally need to address.

“They’re stuck with you, so you can go your hardest to get all the repairs done,” he said.

“Once you’re in the property, you’re much better positioned to push ahead with those types of issues.”

But the best thing you can do to ensure all your needs are met is to get them written into the agreement.