Policy: Guest/Tenant Neighbour Construction & Renovation

Company Position:

Property Providers’ vision is to “Help People Live Better” by being Sydney’s most flexible residential rental company. This vision is driven by three core values; Passion, Performance and Partnership.

Document Purpose:

The purpose of this document is to clearly communicate the company’s policy as it relates to short-term rentals and claims of disruption caused by but not limited to:

Neighbours renovating or nearby construction of the property being rented.
Public events within a small radius of the property being rented.
Roadworks/overnight works within radius of property being rented.
Extreme domestic noise or pet noise within radius of property being rented.

Background:

Our sincerest aim is to deliver a premium service in handpicked properties. We want to provide people a home away from home, not just a roof over their heads. As a professional operator, Property Providers welcomes hundreds of guests every year. Unfortunately, construction/renovations/noise disturbances are simply a reality of living or visiting Sydney. These projects are unpredictable and involve several different people aside from the owners themselves; various trades/contractors, neighbouring properties, council and strata, or body corporates. Very rarely are we as property managers consulted or even notified of these projects being planned or taking place. In addition to this, it is common for our guests to book their rental many months in advance. In short, there are many moving parts that make navigation of these circumstances challenging. Last but certainly not least, Property Providers is not the decision maker to the ultimate solution to these problems as our role is as an agent between the owner and the guest. We do understand that these situations can be highly charged and costly, which is the reason we have created this policy so that we can most effectively and fairly manage them.

Policy Objectives:

To be clear, concise and consistent regarding what the company’s position in relation to guest disturbance relevant to construction, renovations and other noise related issues.
To support the company’s guiding principle that all long-term relationships have a foundation of mutual respect, mutual reward, mutual investment and mutual risk.
To implement a consistent and fair framework that balances the guest experience and the fiduciary duty that we have to the property owner in managing all parties’ unintentional inconvenience, cost and risk.
To effectively manage the facilitation/implementation of fair and balanced solutions to all parties.

Agency Policy:

Unless we are notified in writing by an owner, strata or body corporate and have previously informed the guest, Property Providers does not accept responsibility for disruption caused by local renovation and construction projects. Importantly however we do endeavour to do our best to facilitate win-win solutions in these circumstances where possible.
Where we are notified in writing Property Providers will update the property listing (under Home Truths as it relates to the dates and extent of the work that is planned and the date that we have been notified) to be upfront and transparent. It is the guest’s responsibility to read, understand and ask relevant questions if appropriate prior to booking the property. Please note, as part of the onboarding process, we do request owners keep us informed of any/all issues that may significantly affect the guest experience.
Where guests have booked the property prior to Property Providers being notified the agency will advise the upcoming guests of the works and negotiate an appropriate, fair and workable solution if required. It is our view to deal with these matters upfront and in advance.
Where a guest feels that cancellation of their booking or compensation is warranted, we will act as an agent to facilitate communication between the guest and the owner with the objective of arriving at a swift solution. With this in mind, we ask guests to draft a written proposal (preferably with factual evidence and fair rationale) for Property Providers to clearly present and negotiate on their behalf with the owner.

Operational Mechanics:

Property Providers’ Guest Booking Terms and Conditions apply to all bookings which include the cancellation policy included in these terms.
Claims made retrospectively or retroactively will not be considered. It is best and advisable for guests to raise issues immediately upon them being discovered (i.e. the same day). Where the guest stays overnight the guest will be responsible for paying the cleaning, linen and booking fee, regardless of their length of stay.
The burden of proof and drafting of any compensation or cancellation proposal lies with the guest staying in the property. It is not reasonable to expect Property Managers to be in all places at all times. Therefore, it is not in any of the party’s best interests for the agency to make claims or assertions without a first-hand or first-person experience. With the utmost respect, the guest is staying at the property and is in the best position to gather and consolidate facts. We ask that guests that are facing this issue record the facts in the form of times, dates, images etc as part of their proposal.
Irrational emotion, rhetoric and or accusations are not constructive, and Property Providers will not tolerate abusive language or behaviour directed at our staff. Simply put, we ask for parties to be professional and respectful as we feel that this is the best approach to achieving equitable solutions.
Proposals and evidence are required for any compensation/cancellation to be put forward. This is required to maximize the probability of the owner making a successful claim against any respondent (project managers, neighbouring owners, relevant trades and/or strata, and landlord insurance for loss of rent). We feel that this approach is fair and balanced and considers the interest of all parties.
Disruption of peaceful enjoyment which is the basis of any claim is defined as the loss of an essential service (such as water, gas or electricity, safety risk to the health and well-being of inhabitants or inability to access the property).
The agency may elect to visit the property personally depending on the specific circumstances or severity of the renovation or construction. If this is appropriate, we will sincerely do our best to schedule a time when the guest is present at the property where the disruption is occurring. If this is not possible, the guest accepts and explicitly provides Property Providers access to the property to observe the challenges “as the guest is experiencing it.”
Property Providers reserve the right to challenge the case put forward by the guest. The guest should respect our professional opinion and the agency reserves the right to put forward our professional point of view.
In the cases where compensation in any form is provided, this will be done so in a rational and prorated manner. We accept and respect that guests have the right to disagree with responses to their proposals, however, if the guest feels that the matters should be escalated, the guest has the right to lodge their case with NCAT (NSW Civil Administration Tribunal). Hereby, Property Providers is recognized as the agent only and the guest would be the applicant and the owner the respondent.
We endeavour to resolve complaints/proposals within five working days in no more than three rounds/touch points.

Summary:

Property Providers positioning is to be “Sydney’s Most Flexible Residential Rental Agency.” In this regard, we really do want to be fair to both guests and owners alike. We have found that generally both guests and owners are reasonable, responsible and respectful.

Importantly however, we ask that in circumstances where construction and renovations impact a guest’s stay, they understand that there is a significant amount of resources required to resolve the problem. We simply request that guests respect this and contribute to helping the owner/agency with smooth, speedy, fair and professional dispute resolution. Lastly, we believe that the above policy has been developed with the spirit of partnership in mind and is grounded by our guiding principle of mutual respect, mutual reward, mutual investment and mutual risk.

Effective Date: This policy is effective July 1^st, 2019.