for all you landlords out there

[~clover~]

Is your house being inspected by the PM regularly? If not maybe its time to start 3 monthly inspections? You have the right to send out a list of things you want done for the next inspection. You can ask for the floors to be mopped etc & the toilet to be cleaned. You also have the right to ask that the holes in the yard be filled in & anything else to be fixed.

Personally if the dog is a risk to people, they should tie him up, but as it is their home, they likely have him there to protect the yard, so he really was just doing his job (I had to lock my dog up for repairs etc to be done for that reason).

You also can ask that the arrears in rent be paid up within a certain amount of time (not sure legally how much time you need to give), & if it doesn't happen they have broken the contract & you can terminate the lease.

Your PM should know all the legalities & should do all this for you. I definetely recommend regular inspections. At least every 6 months. I've never been a LL, but I've rented for about 12 years, & it definetely keeps me in line. I do get slack sometimes with the lawns etc (not easy with noone else around to do it ). It also gets me doing things I wouldn't usually do, like cleaning walls & skirting boards.

ETA - My house was inspected while I was away for 2 months. There were things that needed doing (it was dusty, needed vaccing & mopping, & the yard needed mowing. All just because I wasn't here to do it), they did another inspection 4 weeks later to make sure it was all done. A little bit tough IMO, since they knew I was away & had no control over that stuff, but I assume that means you have the right to do a follow up inspection in less that 3 months (thats in WA. All my rentals before now were NSW & most other rules are the same).