Hi PC Members, This is my very first post in PC(long time reader, first time poster)! I was hoping to get an answer from any Sydney based PM's on a question I have. I am from Melbourne and have an IP in Sydney. Personally, back in the day I was renting, I have only paid rent monthly in advance. The PM for this IP tells me that the tenant pays rent weekly. Is this common in NSW or is there any rules surrounding this in NSW? Thanks in advance.
Mine pay fornnightly but I see a lot of benefits to weekly for the landlord. You arent waiting around for a massive payday.
Thanks all for the responses. When I queried it with the PM, he mentioned something along the lines of legislation being different between states. When I googled, I found something to the effect that only 2 weeks rent needs to be paid in advance in NSW. It was unclear and hence my post to see if requesting 1 month's rent in advance is uncommon in NSW.
Is your question regarding the first payment - 2 weeks in advance? All of the frequency of ongoing payments?
The legislation requires that lessor can only request that the tenant pay fortnightly (tenant doesn't need to agree). However, there is nothing stopping the tenant from offering to pay on a monthly basis either - just that you can't ask for it to be paid this way.
As long as the money is paid and it's kept at 2 weeks in advance, tenants can choose how they pay. We have tenants paying odd amounts on different days of the week, allocated from different payments they have. They are not in breach by doing this if the rent still comes in on time.
It is only 2 weeks rent that is paid in advance when the tenant starts the lease. After that they can choose to pay in either weekly, fortnightly or monthly payments.
The issue I am having is less to do with tenant and more to do with the PM. PM passes on rent to me only once a month, which often means that the week1 rent is paid to me almost 4 weeks after the tenant is paying them. Not a huge issue, but I still find the delay excessive.
Thanks for explaining that. I am used to rent to being passed on to me less than week after the agent is paid for other IP(paid on monthly cycles) and hence I found this specific arrangement a bit strange. That is all. I can now see how it works in NSW.
It makes it more efficient and simpler for the agency to pay the bills and process owner payments all in one go instead of multiple times a month. Your agent should be willing to process your payment twice a month upon request though.
I have a tenant in Melbourne who pays weekly and I receive it weekly. I'd rather it fortnightly but weekly is quite nice. Usually in Sydney the tenant pays fortnightly and I receive it fortnightly - which is what I've requested. Recently, a tenant's pay comes in twice a monthly so I've adjusted to that. In regional NSW one agency was very old-fashioned about payments (me to receive once per calendar month ) and I decided it's not worth it. Century21 has since moved into town and they are the ones who pay me weekly in Melb so would expect the same service here. There is really no excuse for antiquated payment systems - it reflects a reluctance of the agency to give the best customer service. I would shop around if I were you.
Just a gripe. Agent in QLD said tenants paid rent weekly - so I got net rent payment (supposedly every fortnight) in arrears - but sometimes it has been a hit-and-miss. In comparison, agents in NSW and VIC pay net rent to me monthly no more than 5 days after tenants pay monthly rent. QLD seems to be not as easy to work with as in NSW and VIC.
Hi @ozwanderlust That's a problem with your agent, not the state. We disburse twice monthly and are never, ever late! If an agent doesn't understand the importance of cash flow for you as investor, maybe it's time to make the switch. I personally wouldn't tolerate late disbursements. Where is your property located? - Andrew
Hi Andrew Thanks for your reply. Sorry for not seeing the reply because I thought I set the email alert but probably did not. The issues with the current PM have slowly been resolved. I have been getting the twice monthly disbursements but they are always in arrears - whereas in NSW and Vic I receive rent monthly as soon as tenants pay. I have read the riot acts to the PM a few times, if things get worse then there will be no more tolerance. Property is located in southeast of the Brisbane city.
