A form used by an Australian real estate agent revealed the exact details shared about some renters during reference checks. This memo provides information about what aspects of the tenant will be made available to future agents at the end of the lease, such as whether rent was paid on time, what the results of periodic inspections were, and what the agent did. Sent to tenant as a warning. He rates tenants out of 10.
Many of the questions on the form seem reasonable, but there is one question that is puzzling. “Are there any maintenance reports during the tenancy?” ask this, suggesting that the tenant may be judged for requesting specific repairs. Renters who shared the forms online were furious that their maintenance reports were cited in their references. “The treatment of renters is absolutely disgraceful,” she wrote.
“It is a tenant’s contractual obligation to notify the estate agent of any repairs needed or damage that has occurred, and it is part of a reasonable property management regime to know if things go wrong.” said the doctor. Chris Martin, Senior Researcher, Center for Urban Futures Research, University of New South Wales. “And this agent is warning people not to do that. They may deny it, but I think it’s a strong endorsement and it doesn’t look good on them.”
Is the form legal?
In addition to discouraging agents from notifying them of maintenance issues, Martin said disclosing this type of information to prospective agents could be against the law. “Referrals from previous agents are a long-standing form of information provided at the start of a tenancy agreement. However, it is not well regulated,” he said.
“If the agents are subject to the Australian Privacy Principles under the Federal Privacy Act, and many of them are, then there may be an argument that they have breached privacy,” Martin explained. “You provided information for a specific purpose during your tenancy, and now you are providing that information instead of for another purpose.”
Meanwhile, Mr Martin said it was perfectly acceptable for the Victorian property company behind the inquiry form to rate tenants out of 10, adding that it was “like a general assessment of how the tenant has turned out”. Giving something is like an inquiry,” he says.
Do you have any story tips? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow Facebook, Instagram, tick tock, twitter and YouTube.