Help using TERMS App

The TERMS App has been broken into three groups:

1. Bond refunds
2. Notes
3. Record inspection

Recording your Notes

The majority of Notes gather everything that can happen during your tenancy. Every Note starts with your email address, the date and how you made/received/sent correspondence or items to the property manager or the Tribunal. After this part is complete, the responses in the dropdowns change depending on the Note you are recording.  Any letters offered in the App are attached to the bottom of the Note as additional details are required to personalise your letter.

You should be a registered member to benefit completely from our service. We use different ways to receive your data and this offers an extremely secure way to send data as it cannot be linked to any property or person. The membership details are password protected and our website is secure. These details are used to merge into letters or reports and then the correspondence is sent or uploaded to our secure website, attached to your membership for you to access at your leisure.  

 

Please note: Due to COVID19 there is no charge applicable and is being provided free of charge to assist our members only. Please become a member today and contact us to obtain your voucher for any of the packages listed. 

 

BOND REFUNDS

Bond and tenant details*

Complete this form if you are disputing the bond refund or a claim against your bond money and wish to continue using Aussie Renters to prepare your dispute file (*Bond Retrieval Package – Bond Authority $20 investment). We will use these details in your second negotiation letter as well as the dispute report for the bond authority and a worksheet. A copy of Evidence Gathering booklet will be sent to help you find your evidence. 

Bond refund notes

Claim form – the legislation states how the bond refund claim can be made and by selecting CLAIM FORM, you can record whether the authorised form was received from the landlord and/or who signed and/or returned the form. 

Bond dispute – this is when a bond refund dispute arises. You can record whether there was an issue about your refund or if negotiations have commenced. This is where you would record the first and second negotiation letters Aussie Renters offers. If you are processing the our letter, you complete your Note the way you intend to supply the letter to the landlord. We will merge your letter as soon as we can but please allow up to 24 hours for processing. 

Bond paid or not paid – when you have returned the property back to the landlord, the bond refund should be an automatic process. To complete this Note select this section and select REFUND in the regarding field (as seen above). All responses have been prepopulated for a quick recording. 

Claim against bond money*

Complete this form if you are disputing the bond refund or a claim has been made against your bond money. We will use these details in your dispute report for the bond authority and supply a worksheet to help you prepare for the Tribunal or Magistrates Court.

Evidence gathering*

This section is used to prepare you for a conference or hearing at the Tribunal or Magistrates Court. As you work through the claim, you may find evidence from moving in as well as comparisons to argue the amount being charged. Prior to your bond authority conference, we will upload any evidence or intel you have gathered to help back you up at the conference. 

If you decide to continue with your dispute and go to the higher court then link each piece of evidence or intel to your Dispute Report. We will have sent a worksheet to help with recording the relevant numbers. 

Example of evidence: the landlord has claimed painting the walls as there are patches of previous damage. You have pictures of these patches (not painted) because they were there when you moved in.

Example of intel: the landlord is claiming turf as the grass died in a particular spot. Your entry pictures showing the naked spot is evidence while the Bunnings ad showing the current prices is intel. You may want to accept 25% liability as the dog has dug holes and made it worse than what it was when you moved in however believe the landlord’s tax invoice to be excessive compared to the prices shown on the Bunnings website. 

Hearing claim details**

This form to finalise what is being claimed from your bond money. The landlord will have provided the Tribunal or Magistrates Court paperwork and as big as it is, you must have a good read of this document. The claim paperwork may be large or small and you need to address each and every claim individually. This where we gather minute details that will be presented to you on your Dispute Report in an easy to read format along with any linked evidence. 

The **Bond Retrieval Package – Tribunal (investment – an additional $20) is a case file to ensure you are prepared to fight for your money. The package will provide all of the images you have uploaded in a report as well as full colour sized to hand up at the Tribunal. The Dispute Report will present everything you need to efficiently present your case along with a tenancy history report (if you wish to load specific incidents/issues to help with your case). If you decide to add the extra information, you will need to use the Notes section of the App (see details below).

Hearing details**

This form accepts additonal information that will be used in the Dispute Report.

 

NOTES

Checks about property

This form will let you record any checks you have made regarding the property. It can be a quick water meter read or if a massive storm hit, it could be the damage caused. This has been designed to support you in the event of a bond dispute. For instance, if you know the grass will not grow due to not being prepared correctly (our rental has had the turf laid on top of rock with no soil underneath) then instead of being held responsible for the grass being dead, you can show a date and time stamped entry to prove it happened straight after moving into the property.

Dispute notes

This form is for any disputes that have arisen throughout your tenancy, it is different to a bond dispute.

Entry notes

This form records all the happenings when you enter the property. Did you receive the correct paperwork? Note what you did or did not receive and at the end if there is a dispute, you will have the right information recorded to help the dispute or the right information to make a formal complaint against the landlord. Your detailed evidence may result in the landlord being successfully prosecuted.

Exit notes

This form is for when you leave, basically the same as entry but all responses are for the exit.

Finances

This form will accept information about the money side of renting. If you paid your rent a little late and you wish to note the reason, this is the place to add it. Utility bills can be recorded here too! We have developed a rent reckoner calculator to flush out any missing dollars in case your landlord states your rent is in arrears when you believe you are in advance. By keeping record of every payment, we can process it through our calculator. The calculator can be run directly from a rental ledger too.

Inspections or someone entering

This form is for the unexpected drop-in by the landlord or if you receive a routine inspection. Record your inspection being conducted or if the inspection was due and re-scheduled, you can record the change. The majority of our Noting system has breach of privacy responses, so if the landlord does drop in you can record the breach of privacy here too along with stating if you refused entry or allowed them in. If the maintenance person turns up or the owner pretending to be the maintenance person, there is a response for that too!

Keys returned receipt

This form produces a receipt stating the date you returned your keys and a spot for a picture of all the keys or devices returned. Return them to the landlord and ask for a signature confirming it’s receipt. Make sure you turn on any devices, it will prove the item was returned in working condition as well as preventing the claims for batteries, yes, they claim that too!

Maintenance and repairs

This form accepts information regarding the room and the item that needs remedying. A letter requesting maintenance or repairs is located at the bottom of this form. 

Notices, agreements and forms

This form allows you to record any notices received and you can process your own agreement (eventually forms too) so if your rent payments fall behind, you can complete the additional information listed at the bottom of this note will put together your proposal of how you would like to catch up on rent payments without breaking the bank.

Observations

This form records anything you have observed. If the neighbour is constantly sticking their nose over the fence, record each and every occurance.