An innovative tenancy skills program that equips tenants with the skills they need to maintain a successful tenancy and eases property managers’ pain points is being rolled out in Australia’s eastern states.
The Tenancy Skills Institute program is already available across Queensland and is making its way into New South Wales and Victoria.
The training package is available as a self-led online course, virtual classroom experience, or face-to-face classroom setting. It covers communication, rights and responsibilities, maintaining and cleaning a property, and finances and budgeting.
Tenancy Skills Institute Chief Executive Officer Paul Tommasini said the idea for the program was born in 2017 after many property managers reported they were working with increasing numbers of tenants who could not sustain a tenancy.
Tenants with poor applications were also missing out on properties and were unable to establish a good rental history as a result.
“Our student cohort is anyone who wants to increase their chances to be able to secure a private rental and to develop the skills that they’re going to need to sustain that rental,” Mr Tommasini said.
“We often compare the tenancy application process to applying for a job.
“It’s a competitive market, and you’ve got to put your best foot forward. You have to show why you’re the best person for that property.”
Mr Tommasini said one of the biggest issues property managers face, which the course aims to alleviate, is tenants who are reluctant to communicate with their property manager, especially when something has gone wrong.
He said the training teaches tenants when, how and why they need to communicate with their property manager and keep accurate records.
“If things are going wrong in your tenancy, get on the front foot early,” Mr Tommasini said.
“If your rent is going to be a bit late, or if you’ve damaged the property for whatever reason, maybe you were moving some furniture and scratched the wall, get on the front foot and tell your property manager, don’t just put a poster over it.
“Often, tenants that communicate effectively and quickly can resolve things before they become an issue.”
Mr Tommasini said the rights and responsibilities module covered tenant, property manager and landlord rights and obligations at each stage of the renting cycle and where to get help if something goes wrong.
“It’s important that you go to the correct source of truth at the time you need it, and that isn’t your friends, Facebook groups or your uncle that rented 35 years ago,” he said.
The cleaning module teaches tenants how, when and why they need to clean and maintain the property, as well as how to develop cleaning routines.
“We also cover the difference between your day-to-day clean and tidy versus your inspection clean and your exit clean,” Mr Tommasini said.
The course also covers how to budget, manage your finances and where you might be able to make savings, especially if times become tough.
Mr Tommasini said some real estate agencies had referred tenants to do the training as part of their tenancy renewal process, while others include information on it in their application packs and some agencies suggest the course directly to prospective tenants that don’t have a strong application.
He said the course is not just for tenants struggling with their rental agreement but for tenants who had never rented before and therefore didn’t have a rental history.
“We all know that if you haven’t done it before (applied for a rental property), it can be a bit of a minefield,” Mr Tommasini said.
With vacancy rates across the country at low levels, Mr Tommasini said the course can help boost your application into the pile that property managers consider.
In Queensland, the course is State Government funded and is even starting to be offered in high schools, but in NSW and Victoria, the course is in the early stage of roll out with launch sites in the North Sydney region and the Central Highlands.
“It’s just starting to get off the ground, and then we intend to develop a strategy to roll it out broader across those two states as well,” Mr Tommasini said.
“At the end of the day, what we’re trying to get our students to do is show the landlord and property manager that they will be a good person in that tenancy – that they understand that it’s their home and that they’re going to be living in it, but also that it’s someone’s asset that needs to be looked after, and there are certain things that have to happen.”
For more information or to register interest in the course, visit tenancyskills.com.au
