Property management company Property Brokers was fined following an investigation by the Tenancy Compliance Investigation Team (TCIT) for failing to display a rental price on their signs.
The Residential Tenancies Act mandates that landlords include the rent amount in any advertisement or offer for a tenancy.
Property Brokers general manager David Faulkner explained that this was prompted by worries about rent bidding, a practice where landlords increase rent by asking tenants if they are prepared to pay more to secure a property.
“I think that’s fine; it’s transparent. It does stop that from happening.”
However, he said issues emerged when it was contended that the rent sign itself had to show the rental amount, rather than just providing a means for tenants to access that information.
He explained that his solution was to add a QR code to the rental sign, which linked to more information about the property, including the price.
He said tenants would need to apply to rent the property through the website, where the price is clearly shown.
He said complaints were frequently initiated by other property management companies rather than by tenants.
“There’s been a lot of debate in the industry thinking that’s ridiculous, and most companies have just turned a blind eye to it… but others haven’t, and they’ve complained to tenancy compliance.”
He mentioned that some properties were situated far from the property management offices, so whenever the asking rent changed, someone would have to travel out to update the sign.
“There’s a cost; there’s a carbon footprint. A QR code is common sense as the price adjusts on the advert, which is happening quite a lot at the moment with rents going down.”
He noted that some tenants preferred not to have the rent shown on an advertisement visible to their neighbours.
The company was initially fined $2000, but this amount was later reduced to $1000.