RENTS TO RISE AS HOME BUILDING SLOWS

Tenants in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane are likely to be slugged with annual rent increases of up to 7 per cent over the next two to three years.

Housing analysts have forecast rent rises across all Australian capital cities as new home construction fails to keep up with demand, home borrowing stabilises at weaker levels and the population continues to grow.

Economic forecaster BIS Shrapnel says renters will have to get used to annual increases of between 5 to 7 per cent in Perth, Brisbane and Sydney, and 3 to 5 per cent in Melbourne, Hobart and Adelaide over the next 24 to 36 months.

BIS Shrapnel analyst Angie Zigomanis said new dwelling construction had not been adequate over the past 12 months.

‘‘We expect rental growth to pick up again,’’ Mr Zigomanis said.

‘‘The last 12 months has shown marginal rental growth, but we expect that to get closer to the mid-single digits over the next few years.’’

As the economy picks up, any vacant rental stock should become ‘‘pretty rapidly filled,’’ Mr Zigomanis said.

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WESTPAC, NAB COMPLETE RATE RISE QUARTET

Westpac has joined the other three major banks in raising mortgage rates more than the Reserve Bank with a 35-basis-point increase.

The move came just over an hour after National Australia Bank raised its standard variable mortgage rate by 43 basis points.

While Westpac's increase is the smallest of the big four, it still has the highest standard variable mortgage rate.

The standard variable mortgage rates for the big four banks are:

NAB - 7.67 per cent
ANZ - 7.80 per cent
Commonwealth - 7.81 per cent
Westpac - 7.86 per cent


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'URGENT' REPAIRS

Most tenancy agreements state that the owner of the rental property is obliged to conduct ‘urgent repairs’ as they arise. What constitutes an ‘urgent’ repair and what happens when landlords try to ‘save money’ by refusing to carry it out?

Throughout Australia and New Zealand, landlords as well as tenants are subject to residential tenancy legislation. For example, in QLD landlords have to keep the property in good condition, they are obligated to lodge the bond with the Rental Bond Board, and there is a limit to the amount of bond that can be charged.

Urgent problems are usually defined as those that radically reduce the tenant’s ability to live in a property, such as a dangerous electrical fault, or serious infestation leading to large-scale structural damage.

A rental property owner who does not see to urgent repairs is asking to pay more for repairs in the long run as tenants have the right to hire qualified trades people to carry out urgent work and send the bill to the owner of the property. It is unlikely that a tenant will shop around for the best price, since ultimately the cost is legally payable by the owner.

Always remember to check with an experienced local property manager to make sure you are complying with all governing legislation and regulations.

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