We take maximum care of your property to save you time and money. We carefully select the best possible tenants using a thorough selection procedure and ensure that market rent is achieved that is sustainable. Regular inspections are performed that identify maintenance issues. Repairs can be performed using our experienced tradespeople or through the use of your preferred tradespeople. We aim for 0% vacancy.

We can take of all of the following for your property:

Performing a rental assessment for your property

Finding quality tenants

Completion of tenancy agreements with any special conditions as required

Bond lodgement and refunds

Collection of rent, and chasing late payments if they occur

Three-monthly inspections, or more frequent if necessary

Managing repairs and maintenance

Keeping accurate accounts

Disbursement of rent minus repairs and fees twice monthly

Monthly statements and year-end statements for accounting

Absolutely not. We are flexible in our approach and you can be involved as little or as much as you like.

Our fees are competitive compared to other property management companies, especially given that we do not charge a commission for maintenance. Management fees are a tax deductible expense.

We advertise in several places depending on the property. These include Managed by Williams website and www.trademe.co.nz, realestate.co.nz and homes.co.nz

We have a database of quality tenants who are looking for a house and we may not need to advertise.

Finding the right tenant for your investment property is one of the cornerstones of property management and we take maximum care over it.

We look for tenants that have the ability to pay the rent and to maintain the property to a high standard. All prospective tenants must complete an application form.

We also talk to references with previous / current landlords and employers and conduct both credit and background checks. If we are happy with the results, we then offer our tenant recommendation to you complete with terms and conditions of the tenancy for your approval.

Typically we ask for 4 weeks of bond.

At a minimum you need to ensure the house is insured and you must inform your insurance company that the house is to be rented to tenants. Some policies included a loss of rent coverage; some do not, so ensure that the coverage for loss of rent meets your requirements.

Additionally check to see if the insurance covers methamphetamine contamination and if there are any testing requirements of the coverage. If your house is furnished you may also need contents insurance.

We recommend to all tenants that they take out contents insurance.

Rent disbursements are performed twice monthly within two working days after the 15th, and two working days after the last day of the month.

Note that December’s month-end disbursement can be delayed because of the number of holidays.

We have zero tolerance for rent arrears at Managed by Williams. We monitor rent payments daily. We follow up all late rent payments in accordance with the Residential Tenancy Act 1986.

In this case please contact us as soon as possible. There are several procedural and statutory steps that must be taken depending on the circumstances.

For fixed-term tenancies, the tenant has the right to remain in the property until the fixed-term expires, but they can relinquish this right if they consent to.

For periodic tenancies, it is now not possible to end a periodic tenancy without cause by providing 90 days’ notice. New termination grounds are available under a periodic tenancy and the required notice periods have changed. Please contact us to discuss your reasons for wanting to end the tenancy.

We inspect a property one month after a tenant moves in and every thirteen weeks thereafter. We provide you with a report after each inspection.

Before a tenant moves in and when they move out we conduct detailed property inspections to ensure the property is maintained to a high standard and that tenants pay for any damage that is caused by them beyond reasonable wear and tear. We take photographs of the property and list all chattels before and after each lease agreement period so we have an in-depth record of the condition of your property.

Typically we charge a 10% commission for co-ordinating maintenance work.

Lawns and gardens are to be kept in a reasonable condition by the tenants. If your property has a large section it may be need to have a prune/spruce up annually.

If your garden has special features, it may be best for us to organise a gardener and include gardening in the rent paid by tenants. We are strict about regular garden maintenance as street appearance is important.

Tenants are required to leave a property in a reasonably clean and tidy condition. We set expectations with the exiting tenants early in the exit process and we engage a commercial cleaning service at the tenant’s expense if needed.

However, do note that by law a vacating tenant is only required to leave a property “reasonably clean and tidy”. This is a very vague term, but does not automatically mean that your property will be left in a pristine condition, and so additional cleaning may be required to re-tenant. A good tenant who moves into an immaculate property will often leave it in the same way, but if they do not, and it is only “what a reasonable person would consider reasonable to be”, then some additional cleaning will be needed at the property owner’s expense to ensure a good replacement tenant can be found.

A property which is spotless inside with spotless windows, clean curtains, and taps glistening will generally rent faster and attract a better tenant than one which is not. If a property needs cleaning before tenanting, we can arrange this on your behalf.

We ask that the owner provide two full sets of keys for all locks on the property, and one additional key to the front door for every adult tenant. One full set of keys will be retained by Managed by Williams as a spare set.

Smoke alarms are inexpensive, they save lives, and protect your investment.

If your rental property does not have them, then we will arrange for suitable battery powered smoke alarms to be fitted.

Our property managers test them periodically to ensure that they are in working condition. It is recommended that smoke alarms are installed within three metres of a door to all bedrooms. Note that all new smoke alarms that we install have long life batteries as this is now required by law.

Rental properties are at risk from methamphetamine (meth) contamination from tenants (or their visitors) either smoking or cooking meth. If a rental property is tested for meth contamination prior to tenants moving in and at the end of every tenancy, this means that you as an owner have taken all reasonable steps to reduce the risk to your property from meth contamination. This should help you in the future if a positive test does occur and any resulting insurance claim. Note that general testing for meth costs approximately $200 inc GST for an average house.

If you choose not to test your rental property between tenants, then testing for meth will not occur at the property unless we have a suspicion that meth smoking, or cooking has occurred. From a Health and Safety perspective we are obliged to do meth testing if we have a reasonable suspicion of meth contamination. Under this scenario, if a meth test is positive, it is not possible to hold the tenant responsible as there was no baseline testing done to establish the contamination was not caused by a previous tenant. As a result, you the owner or your insurance company will have to cover the cost of meth decontamination and retesting for meth contamination after cleaning.

The cost of meth decontamination including retesting can typically range from $5000 to $50,000 depending on the number of rooms affected and the severity of the contamination.

Note that some insurance companies do require meth testing as part of your coverage conditions. We recommend checking your insurance policy carefully.

As the Residential Tenancy Act does not specifically cover testing for meth, we include a clause in all our new tenancy agreements that specifically gives us access to the property to perform a meth test.

What are the Healthy Homes Standards?

Healthy Homes standards are for rental properties in New Zealand and became law from 1 July 2019. The standards introduce specific and minimum standards for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture and drainage, and draught stopping in rental properties. In some situations, a property may be exempt from complying with the healthy homes’ standards or parts of the standards. This is on a property-by-property basis and will be evaluated upon assessment of your property.

Who is assessing my property?

Rather than outsource the Healthy Home assessments we are doing them in house by a property manager who is dedicated to doing the assessments.

What are the key dates?

From 1 Dec 2020 – Landlords must include a statement of their current level of compliance with the healthy homes’ standards in any new or renewed tenancy agreement.

From 1 July 2021 – Private landlords must ensure their rental properties comply with the healthy homes’ standards within 90 days of any new, or renewed, tenancy.

From 1 July 2024 – All rental homes must comply with the Healthy Homes’ standards.

Do new houses need a healthy home assessment?

There is no heating requirement in the NZ building code for the majority of new residential properties. Accordingly all new properties will need to be checked that they meet the heating requirements of the new Healthy Homes legislation.

For more information on the standards please visit the Tenancy Services website.