Reader Question:
“As a private landlord, do I need to lodge tenant information to the national tenancy database to let others know about rent defaulters I’ve come across?”
We asked Senior Property Manager with Harcourts Integrity, Tim Nickoll for his advice on this question:
“Tenancy databases are a very helpful tool when selecting new tenants and have helped many a bullet be dodged over the years,” he said.
“Unfortunately, listing someone on a database is not as straight forward as we would all like.”
Tim said this is done deliberately to stop Landlords and Property Managers from just listing people because they have had discrepancies and have not seen eye to eye.
“There is no requirement to ‘blacklist’ a tenant but if you wish to list a tenant on a tenancy database such as the National Tenancy Database (NTD) or Tenant Information Centre of Australia (TICA) you will require proof of the default and in some cases a copy of a court order in relation to the matter and a copy of the lease showing the individuals names (only people named on the lease can be listed), etc.”
Before you list anyone, you must provide them with 14 days’ notice of your intent to list them to give them an opportunity to rectify the issue and you must update the listing if circumstances change, such as the debt being paid off.
To find the best contact for your relevant state or territory, check out our tenancy support page.
Have a burning question you’d like answered? The Rent.com.au Community is our Facebook group for renters, agents and landlords.
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Tim Nickoll
Tim Nickoll is a Property Management Specialist at Ross Realty in Morley, Western Australia. A dedicated Property Manager and Business Development Manager expert, Tim has worked with Ross Realty since 2019 after a stint with The Agency Partners and Harcourts Integrity Maylands. Tim holds a Real Estate Licence and was named a Top 10 Finalist in REB's National Property Manager of the Year award in 2016.
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