Chapter 4: Leased properties
November 2017
Revision history
Version / Amended section / Effective / Details1.0 / November 2017 / Incorporation of version control table
Accessible format
More information
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Authorised and published by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne.
© State of Victoria, Department of Health and Human Services, November 2017.
ISBN: 978-1-76069-146-2(pdf/online/MS word)
Available on the Tenancy management manual page on Services Providers website <
Contents
Revision history
Introduction
Philosophy
Policy objective
Scope
How to use this chapter
Leased properties
Length of lease
Tenure in leased properties
Non-metro leasing targets
Notification, inspection and approval process of initial targets
Recording the property condition
Arranging minor works prior to tenanting leased properties
Water usage prior to tenanting leased properties
Property handover
Identification of a suitable applicant
Valid offers of housing
Offers of larger accommodation
Signing a tenancy agreement
Properties with a separately metered water utility
Pets in leased properties
Complaints from Landlord/Agent about a Departmental tenant
Dispute between private landlord and DoH
Dispute between tenant and the Department
Urgent maintenance requests
Non urgent maintenance
Disability modifications
Tenant issued notice of repairs
Landlord identified tenant responsibility maintenance
Departmental identified tenant responsibility maintenance
Maintenance between departmental tenancies
Property substantially damaged by previous tenant
Lease renewal negotiation
Determining action under this policy
Assessing the extent of any negative impact on the tenant and their household
Consideration of how the circumstances of the case impact on the Director’s objectives under this policy
Balancing any potential negative impact of eviction on the tenant and household with the Director’s policy objective
Where unnecessary to evict to achieve policy objective
Alternative options considered where it is necessary to evict to achieve policy objective
Tenant relocation
Lease has less than six months to run
Landlord wants to end the lease with the DoH
Lease cessation responsibilities
Lease notification and property handover
Role of the FSO
Advise the applicant of their tenure with the Department
Properties with a separately metered water utility
Water usage prior to tenanting leased properties
Complaints from Landlord/Agent about a Departmental tenant
Disputes between the Landlord/Agent
Dispute between the Department and tenant, or between tenants
Urgent maintenance requests
Emergency after hours maintenance
If the Landlord/Agent does not undertake the repairs
Repairs to non-standard items
Non-urgent maintenance - Capital Works
Landlord/Agent identified tenant responsibility works
Department identified tenant responsibility works
Maintenance between tenancies
Property has been substantially damaged
Facilitating an access request from Landlord/Agent
Lease extension successfully negotiated
Department initiated termination – Lease due to expire
Lease extension unsuccessfully negotiated
Tenant initiated termination – Lease still current
Lease has less than six months to run
Early lease cessation
Leased Property Acknowledgement Form
Lease Property Acknowledgment
120 Day Notice Covering Letter
Definitions
Term / DefinitionEligibility criteria for rental housing / The criteria used by the Director of Housing (DoH) to assess eligibility for rental housing. The eligibility criteria are listed in the Allocations Policy and Procedure manual.
Lease / Residential Tenancies Agreement between the Director of Housing (DoH) and a private agent/landlord, which allows for sub-lease to an eligible applicant on the waiting list.
Lease Management Officer (LMO) / A central office position responsible for the coordination of lease agreements and liaison with owners and agents on behalf of the Director of Housing.
Outstanding charges / Costs that have been charged against a tenancy where the due date of payment has expired. Outstanding charges include all charges defined in the Eligibility chapter of the Allocations Policy and Procedural manual.
Resident / A member of a household who is not party to the Tenancy Agreement and lives with a tenant in a public housing rented property for three or more nights per week. The resident must be included in the household rental rebate application and their income and assets included in the rental rebate assessment.
Residential Tenancy Agreement / A leasing contract under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (RTA) signed by the DoH and the tenant that specifies the rights and responsibilities of the landlord and the tenant.
Tenant / A person who has signed a tenancy agreement with the Director of Housing and who therefore has all the tenancy rights and responsibilities as specified in the tenancy agreement.
Tenant in community managed housing / A person who has signed a tenancy agreement with a community agency and who therefore has all the tenancy rights and responsibilities as specified in the tenancy agreement.
Purpose and Scope
Introduction
The Director of Housing (DoH) generally houses applicants from the various waiting list categories into housing she/he owns. However, there are times when privately owned property becomes available for Public Housing use through the leasing program.
Privately owned properties leased through the leasing program supplement Director owned stock, providing housing options in areas where waiting list demand is high and where it may not be possible to purchase property.
Philosophy
One of the objectives of the Housing Act 1983 (HA) is to ensure that every person in Victoria has adequate and appropriate housing at a price within his or her means. The Director seeks to facilitate this objective primarily through the provision of Public Housing.
There is a high demand for Public Housing. Another objective of the HAincludes the distribution according to need, of government housing financial assistance. The Director’s management of a waiting list is the primary strategy for meeting these broad obligations.
The leasing program provides further opportunity to alleviate housing need in the community and the Director’s allocations policies determine how leased properties are allocated when they become available.
Policy objective
The Leased Properties Policy recognises that the tenants of leased properties require a level of security of tenure, similar to tenants in Director owned properties. In negotiating the greatest lease period possible with the property owner, the Director attempts to provide as much certainty of tenure as possible to the tenant while working within the limitations of the head lease.
When a lease with a private owner is not renewed, the Director must re-house the tenant. The process followed is outlined in the Director’s Relocation Policy. The relocation housing may be another leased property, although the preferred approach is to rehouse in a Director owned property where this is possible at the time.
Scope
The policy and procedures of this chapter in conjunction with the Housing Charter Chapter in the Business Practise Manualapplies to all applicants and proposed occupants of a leased property.
This chapter is primarily about clarifying the relationship between the Department and the agent/landlord from whom a property is leased. Tenants residing in leased properties are subject to the same policies and procedures as tenants residing in Departmental owned accommodation, and therefore have the same rights of appeal.
How to use this chapter
The procedures should be read in association with the policy, and where appropriate, referral should be made to other Departmental manuals and documents to ensure the intent of the policy is achieved when administering procedures.
Leased Properties Policy
Leased properties
Length of lease
Property and Assets Branch leases all properties through licensed real estate agents. By their very nature, leased properties are short term housing options, and whilst Property and Assets Branch negotiates the longest lease possible with estate agents, the majority of leases secured range between one and five years.
The maximum lease period under the RTA is 5 years.
Tenure in leased properties
An applicant allocated a leased property retains the same tenure rights as applicants housed into DoH owned stock.
Where the lease is not renewed the Department re-houses tenants in accordance with the Departmental RelocationPolicy, into alternative accommodation, which is either leased, or DoH owned.
Departmental tenancies in properties leased through the private market for RGS are managed the same way as tenancies in Director’s owned RGS properties.
Applicants who require major or full modifications generally cannot be housed into leased properties as such works sometimes cannot be undertaken in this type of accommodation and / or doing so does not align with the Director’s investment strategy in housing and providing security of tenure for its tenants. Each case is considered on its merits in light of the extent of modifications required, costs, and waiting list considerations.
The areas of responsibility for the management of this process are as follows:
•Property and Assets Branch is responsible for negotiating the lease with the landlord/agent on behalf of the DoH.
•Property and Assets Branch is responsible for start of lease and end of lease maintenance works, and for assessing suitability of the property including undertaking the initial technical inspection.
•Finance is responsible for the management of ongoing lease payments and adjustments thereof.
•The Lease Management Officer (LMO) is responsible for the liaison between the Department and the landlord.
•The LMO is responsible for ensuring that Property and Assets Branch are advised to source an appropriate replacement target for each lease that will not be renewed.
•The local Office may inspect the property for suitability in terms of property attributes (i.e. location, bedroom size etc.), not for technical inspection.
•The local Office is required to allocate the property according to pre-determined target setting method.
•The local Office is required to initiate the relocation of the household where the lease is not to be renewed through the service of an appropriate Notice to Vacate (usually 120 day), and the application of the Department’sRelocation Policy referred to in the Relocation Manual.
Non-metro leasing targets
Where Property and Assets Branch has leasing targets in rural regions, the procurement process requires local offices to identify, inspect and recommend properties appropriate to their needs.
The role of Property and Assets Branch is to follow up with the relevant estate agent to negotiate lease term and payments in accordance with the Valuer General’s assessment and recommendation as per theprocedure for Rural Leasing Target.
Target Approval/ Lease Decision
Notification, inspection and approval process of initial targets
All potential leasing properties are inspected by Property and Assets Branch and a representative of the Valuer General’s Office.
The Property and Assets Branch Field Services Officer’s (FSO) role is to determine the technical suitability of the property in accordance with the Transitional Housing Leasing Standards.
Property and Assets Branch will negotiate to lease the property if suitable on behalf of the local Housing Office.
Property and Assets Branch as a courtesy, will advise the Tenancy and Property Manager/Housing Manager (HM) or equivalents and the Team leader when a property is under consideration for leasing. The local Office may inspect the property, however the lease decision is made by Property and Assets Branch in consultation with the attending FSO.
Upon the approval of the property, Property and Assets Branch negotiates and signs the lease with the estate agent. Property and Assets Branch also arranges payment of the first month’s rent in advance and security deposit (bond).
Recording the property condition
Property and Assets Branch is responsible for signing the Property Condition Report (PCR). Property and Assets Branch also takes photographs as an additional record of the property condition. The photographs and PCR are forwarded to the Lease management Officer (LMO) to be held on file.
Local Offices are required to arrange a Tenancy Condition Report,advised in the Maintenance Manual for tenants of leased properties as per current practices.
Pre-Tenancy Maintenance
Arranging minor works prior to tenanting leased properties
Property and Assets Branch is responsible for the technical assessment and identification of pre-tenancy maintenance works for all leased properties including those leased for RGS.
Where appropriate, works that are identified as landlord responsibility are referred back to the landlord for attention. Only works that are minor in nature are undertaken at the Department’s expense to bring the property up to the Transitional Housing Leasing Standards.
Water usage prior to tenanting leased properties
The Department pays for the cost of water usage between taking possession of a leased property and tenanting that property with an eligible applicant, and during the period a property is vacant between tenancies.
Property handover
The LMO is required to forward to the local Office a copy of the Property Condition Report, together with a copy of the executed lease. Property and Assets Branch is required to forward a copy of the Handover Notice to the local Office.
The extent of pre-tenancy maintenance works are determined by Property and Assets Branch in conjunction with the LMO, and the keys are handed over to the local Office directly by Property and Assets Branch together with a write-up of required works.
The local Office FSO is responsible for raising the works order to engage the Head Contractor to undertake the required works in accordance with Property and Assets Branch’s write-up. No additional works can be arranged without prior endorsement of the LMO. The LMO is advised once the property is vacant tenantable.
Allocation of leased properties
Identification of a suitable applicant
The Handover Notice includes the Housing Program Item Number to enable local Offices to identify the most appropriate applicant for each property from information supplied by central office during the initial target setting process.
Where the most suitable, targeted applicant has been allocated already and no alternative applicants can be identified from the initial target setting process, the property is allocated in accordance with the Order of Allocationreferred to in the Introduction and Overview Chapter of the Allocations Manual.
Valid offers of housing
Applicants allocated a leased property retain the same tenure rights as those offered DoH owned properties. Therefore, offers that meet the Department’s Offers of HousingPolicyreferred to in the Offers of Housing Chapter of the Allocations Manual are valid offers of accommodation.
The Department informs applicants about their public housing tenure rights at the time of offer, and again at tenancy sign-up.
Refusal on the grounds that the property is a leased property is counted as a refusal of a valid offer of accommodation, unless the property is being re-tenanted and has less than six months remaining on the lease.
Offers of larger accommodation
The Allocations Housing Size Guidelines outlined in the Matching Clients with Housing Chapter of the Allocations Manual does not apply to offers of leased accommodation made to single applicants, this is due to the lack of one bedroom properties being available in the private rental market in Victoria. These applicants may be offered one or two bedroom accommodation.
All other applicants are offered accommodation appropriate to their needs.
Tenancy sign up
Signing a tenancy agreement
The standard DoH Tenancy Agreement is signed with the incoming tenant when a new tenancy for a leased property is created. This agreement is week to week and complies with the requirements of the RTA.
The Department informs applicants about their public housing tenure rights at the tenancy sign-up. The Department also requests each tenant to sign a Leased Property AcknowledgementForm on page 28 that confirms their understanding that they will be residing in a leased property, and that they may be issued a Notice to Vacate to facilitate their relocation at a future date.
Properties with a separately metered water utility
The WA1989 gives water utility companies the power to bill a landlord (including the Department) of any separately metered rental property where a landlord fails to notify the company of the incoming tenant’s details (Bulk metered properties are not affected as the Department pays the water bill and recoups payment via the weekly service charge).
Tenant’s obligations regarding payment of water bills are detailed in the Service Charge Details of the RTA (s.52)and the Using water in public housing Information Leaflet.
To avoid liability, the Department provides a report to all water utility companies, notifying them of new Departmental tenancies with separately metered water services.
Pets in leased properties
The DoH signs a standard lease agreement with private landlords, which incorporates a ‘no pets’ lease clause. Permission must be sought from the owner via the LMO to allocate a leased property to an applicant with a pet.
Tenancy Management Policy - Leased properties
The Department has developed a range of Policy and Procedure documents to support Housing Services Officers (HSOs) manage the day-to-day issues that arise in the management of Public Housing tenancies.
Policy and Procedure documents that pertain to the tenancy management functions of HSOs for DoH owned RGS properties apply without limitation to the management of tenants residing in leased properties. These documents include:
•Rental Rebate Policy and Procedure Manual