ON
SITE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGER - RULES OF
CONDUCT
Rules 1 – 11
1.
Knowledge of Act
and Regulations
An agent must have
a knowledge and understanding of the Act
and the regulations under the Act
and other relevant laws, (including laws relating to tenancy, fair
trading, trade practices, anti-discrimination and privacy) as may be
necessary to enable the agent to exercise his or her functions as
agent lawfully.
2.
Fiduciary obligations
An agent must
comply with the fiduciary obligations arising as an agent.
3.
Honesty, fairness and professionalism
(1) An agent must
act honestly, fairly and professionally with all parties in a
transaction.
(2) An agent must
not mislead or deceive any parties in negotiations or a transaction.
4.
Skill, care and diligence
An agent must
exercise reasonable skill, care and diligence.
5.
High pressure tactics, harassment or unconscionable conduct
An agent must not
engage in high pressure tactics, harassment or harsh or
unconscionable conduct.
6.
To act in client’s best interests
An agent must act
in the client's best interest at all times unless it would be
contrary to the Act or regulations under the Act or otherwise
unlawful to do so.
7.
Confidentiality
An agent must not,
at any time, use or disclose any confidential information obtained
while acting on behalf of a client or dealing with a customer,
unless:
(a) the client or
customer authorises disclosure, or
(b) the agent is permitted or
compelled by law to disclose.
8.
To act in accordance with client authority
An agent must not
act as an agent or represent himself or herself as acting as an agent
on behalf of a person without written authority.
9.
To act in accordance with client’s instructions
An agent must act
in accordance with a client’s instructions unless it would be
contrary to this Act or regulations under the Act, or otherwise
unlawful to do so.
10.
Licensee must ensure employees comply with the Act
and regulations
An agent who is
the licensee-in-charge at a place of business must take reasonable
steps to ensure other licensees or registered persons employed in the
business conducted there comply with the Act
and regulations under the Act.
11.
Conflicts of interest
An agent must not
accept an appointment to act, or continue to act, as an agent if
doing so would place the agent’s interests in conflict with the
client's interests.
Rules
12 – 19
12.
Referral to service provider
An agent who
refers a principal or prospect to a service provider must not falsely
represent to the principal or prospect that the service provider is
independent of the agent.
A service provider
is considered to be ‘independent’ of an agent if:
(a)
the agent receives no rebate, discount, commission or benefit for
referring a client or customer to the service provider, and
(b)
the agent does not have a personal or commercial relationship with
the service provider.
The following are
examples of a personal or commercial relationship:
(a)
a family relationship,
(b) a business relationship,
(c) a
fiduciary relationship,
(d) a relationship in which one person is
accustomed, or obliged, to act in accordance with the directions,
instructions or wishes of the other person.
If the service
provider is not independent of the agent, the agent must disclose to
the principal or prospect:
(a)
the nature of any relationship, whether personal or commercial, the
agent has with the service provider, and
(b) the nature and value
of any rebate, discount, commission or benefit the agent may receive,
or expects to receive, by referring the client or customer to the
service provider.
13.
Licensee not to recommend engagement of services of solicitor or
licensed conveyancer acting for other party
An agent must not
recommend that a principal or prospect engage the services of a
solicitor or licensed conveyancer, or firm of solicitors or licensed
conveyancers, if the agent knows that the solicitor or licensed
conveyancer, or the firm of solicitors or licensed conveyancers, acts
or will be acting for the other party to the agreement concerned.
Sub-clause (1)
does not prevent an agent recommending that a principal or prospect
engage the services of a solicitor or licensed conveyancer if no
other solicitor or licensed conveyancer is available (for example, in
a remote location).
If no other
solicitor or licensed conveyancer is available, the agent must, in
recommending their engagement, advise the principal or prospect that
the solicitor or licensed conveyance is or will be acting for the
other party.
14.
Inducements
An agent must not
offer to provide to any other person any gift, favour or benefit,
whether monetary or otherwise, in order to induce any other person to
engage the services of the agent as agent in respect of any
matter.
15.
Soliciting through false or misleading advertisements or
communications
An agent must not
solicit clients or customers through advertisements or other
communications that the agent knows or should know are false or
misleading.
16.
Insertion of material particulars in documents
An agent must not
submit or tender to any person for signature a document, or cause or
permit any document to be submitted or tendered to any person for
signature, unless at the time of submission or tendering of the
document all material particulars have been inserted in the
document.
17.
Duty to provide copy of signed documents
An agent who
submits or tenders a document to any person for signature, or who
causes or permits a document to be submitted or tendered to any
person for signature, must immediately after the person has signed
the document give a copy of the document to the person.
18.
Representations about the Act
or regulations
An agent must not
falsely represent to a person the nature or effect of a provision of
the Act
or any regulation under the Act.
An agent must not,
either expressly or impliedly, falsely represent, whether in writing
or otherwise, to a person that a particular form of agency agreement
or any term of such an agreement is required by the Act
or a regulation under the Act.
19.
Agency agreements must comply with regulations
An agent must not
enter into an agency agreement unless the agreement complies with any
applicable requirements of the Property, Stock and Business Agents
Regulation 2003, as required by section 55 of the Act.
Rules
20 – 24
20.
Co-operation about records, access and transfer
If an agent is
acting on behalf of a principal in the management of property and is
advised by another agent that the other agent (the new agent) has
been engaged to act on behalf of that principal in the management of
that property, the agent must co-operate with the new agent in
regards to access to the records of the principal, including but not
limited to making the records reasonably available (according to
law), and facilitating the transfer of management functions between
the agent and the new agent.
21.
Disclosure of potential agency
If an agent
intends to act (or offers to act) for a principal in the management
of property and is aware that another agent is or other agents are
managing that property for the principal, the agent must, unless the
principal otherwise directs in writing, disclose their intention to
act or to offer to act to the current agent or agents.
22.
Use of collection agent to collect rent
A licensee must
not use the services of a collection agent to collect rent on behalf
of a principal unless the arrangements for the collection and holding
of that rent pending its payment to the agent or the principal comply
with such guidelines as the Commissioner for Fair Trading may issue
from time to time under this clause (including guidelines requiring
rent collected by a collection agent to be paid into and retained in
a trust account). In this clause collection agent means a person who
collects rent as agent for and on behalf of a licensee.
23.
Confirmation of specific instructions – property management
services
Before or at the
time of entering into an agency agreement under which the agent will
provide property management services in respect of the leasing of
residential property or rural land, the agent must prepare for
inclusion in the agency agreement written confirmation of the extent
of the agent's authority to undertake the following duties in
connection with the management of the property and any limitations on
the agent’s authority to undertake those duties:
(a) obtaining
references from prospective tenants, arranging inspections of the
property by prospective tenants and choosing a tenant,
(b) entering
into and signing a tenancy agreement (specifying the term for which
the property may be let),
(c) undertaking inspections of the
property,
(d) effecting repairs to and maintaining the
property or engaging tradespersons to do so and limitations on
expenditure that may be incurred by the agent without obtaining the
principal's approval,
(e) paying disbursements and expenses
incurred in connection with the agent’s management of the property,
(f) collecting rent,
(g) receiving, claiming and
disbursing rental bond money,
(h) serving notices for breach
of the tenancy agreement or to terminate the tenancy agreement,
(i) undertaking the necessary steps to obtain vacant
possession and recover any money owing to the principal in relation
to the tenancy of the property,
(j) representing the
principal in any tribunal or court proceedings in respect of the
tenancy of the property,
(k) paying accounts for amounts
owing in relation to the property (for example, water rates and
charges, council rates, maintenance expenses and owners corporation
levies),
(l) advertising the property for letting or
re-letting,
(m) reviewing the rent at the end of a tenancy.
24.
Confirmation of specific instructions – leasing of property
Before or at the
time of entering into an agency agreement under which the agent will
act for the owner of residential property or rural land in relation
to the entering into a lease of the residential property or rural
land, the agent must prepare for inclusion in the agency agreement
written confirmation of the extent of the agent’s authority to
undertake the following duties in connection with the entering into
of the lease and any limitations on the agent’s authority to
undertake those duties:
(a) obtaining
references from prospective tenants, arranging inspections of the
property by prospective tenants and choosing a tenant,
(b) entering
into and signing a tenancy agreement,
(c) undertaking an
initial inspection of the property,
(d) collecting initial
rent payment,
(e) receiving and disbursing rental bond
money,
(f) advertising the property for letting.
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