Policy: Guest & Tenant Emergency Trades

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. This policy has been created in line with our guiding principle that all great long-term partnerships have a strong foundation of mutual respect, mutual reward, mutual investment and mutual risk.

Document Purpose:

The purpose of this document is to clearly communicate Property Providers’ policy in relation to emergency trade management for guests and tenants. This policy applies to Short-Term Guests (<6 months occupancy) and Long-Term Tenants (>=6 months occupancy).

Background:

Property Providers have a fiduciary duty to protect our clients’ investment as well as a duty of care to guests and tenants who reside in these properties. It is a common misunderstanding that we are provided unilateral decision-making authority when it comes to the allocation of external resources to a property (i.e. approving work to be done or trades to visit a property). Our management agreement is clear on the scope of our responsibility and accountability. Furthermore, the properties that we represent can be far more complex than they may seem from the outlook. Because of this, it is not uncommon for our owner partners to stipulate particular trade contacts only work on their property. This is often because warranties (work or contents of the property) are under warranty. Property Providers genuinely and deeply cares about guest/tenant experiences, however, we need to find a balance between what is an inconvenience and what constitutes an emergency. Lastly, emergencies (particularly after-hours/public holidays) can be extremely expensive which is something that we need to effectively manage and determine what is reasonable and what is not. Many of our guests/tenants are from overseas and often do have direct experience with trade rates and especially not the costs that can be incurred for conducted after-hours, weekends and public holidays. Considering all the above, the allocation of resources to resolve is a multifaceted issue that needs to be considered and which is why we have drafted this policy.

Policy Objectives:

To be clear and consistent as well as reasonable and fair.
To support our fiduciary responsibility and duty of care.
To consider the scope of our agency authority.
To manage expectations regarding what we will and will not do in connection to emergency trade calls.
To avoid confusion and potential conflict between parties.

Agency Policy:

During working hours, all issues should be reported to Property Providers in writing at the time they are discovered, preferably through lodging a case through the tenant portal (this is the fastest way to get something resolved as it provides the agency with all the details of the problem in one central place).
In after-hours situations where a guest/tenant is experiencing difficulty, they are to provide reasonable time for Property Providers to be notified, contacted and respond to the case. A reasonable time is considered to be >4 hours.
Trades are in no circumstances to be called or briefed to attend or conduct work on a property without Property Providers approval unless it is after hours (post 6 pm and a staff member has not responded; or on weekends or public holidays) and the issue is classified as a genuine emergency. Please note that an urgent repair classifies as a loss of essential service including the following – NSW Fair Trading:
- Fire or imminent risk of fire or an explosion.
- Gas leaks.
- Leakage of water from plumbing or heating service not contained by local drains.
- Loss of electrical supply to a building or part of a building.
- Lift breakdown with passengers inside.
- Security incident (theft, burglary, or problem affecting personal security and safety).
If a guest/tenant contacts a trade directly and it is not deemed an emergency, then the guest/tenant may be held liable for the entirety or part of the invoice.
Loss of internet connection is not considered an emergency – please see Policy: Internet, Wi-Fi and Foxtel Management & Trouble Shooting Guide
In almost all cases, guests/tenants would have a mobile number of a member of our team which they can use. In cases where this is not the case, a call to our office is required. If the team is not available or if it is after hours, the call will be diverted to our 24/7 call centre. The attendant of the call centre will contact the team in mass. A reasonable time is considered four hours from the time of the call.

Rationale:

In almost all cases, guests/tenants would have a mobile number of a member of our team which they can use. In cases where this is not the case, a call into our office is required. If the team is not available or if it is after hours, the call will be diverted to our 24/7 call centre. The attendant of the call centre will contact the team in mass.
Property Providers is an agent and therefore does not have unilateral authority to make decisions about an owner’s property or to authorise work to be conducted without the owner’s approval.
The properties that we manage are individual investor-owned properties that are not in a centralised location. Therefore, each property has different trades personnel, service providers and different accounts.
Team members are not adequately qualified to diagnose and resolve property repairs and maintenance problems and although they may have the best intentions, can inadvertently create a deeper, more complex set of issues that cost more to resolve.
If you wish to speak to a member of our team – Contact Us
Please see the list of partner trades company – Emergency Trades
Loss of internet connection is not considered an emergency – please see Policy: Internet, Wi-Fi and Foxtel Management & Trouble Shooting Guide

Effective Date: This policy is effective 14/12/2020.