Agents to transition to BondsOnline eTransactions - Real estate bulletin 109 (March 2016)

9 March 2016

The Commissioner for Consumer Protection is urging all agents to process all tenancy bonds through the BondsOnline system. The Minister for Commerce has approved the move to make online bond transactions mandatory. The move to paperless transactions is part of the government’s commitment to business on red tape reduction initiatives.

BondsOnline eTransactions is the Department’s online automated system for processing tenancy bonds held under the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 and the Residential Parks (Long-stay Tenants) Act 2003.

Trust account audits and the qualified audit program - Real estate bulletin 108 (March 2016)

3 March 2016

The Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978 requires all agents who hold a current triennial certificate and have held or received monies in trust during the 2015 year, to cause the audit of their trust accounts.

Agents who have not held or received monies in trust during the 2015 year can submit a statutory declaration in lieu of an audit report.

Trust account audits

Annual audit reports or statutory declarations for the year ending 31 December 2015 must be lodged with the Department by 5pm on 31 March 2016.

AssociationsOnline

AssociationsOnline is an online portal for incorporated associations to submit applications and manage their contact information 24/7.  

All previous users of the old system (users enrolled before 1 July 2016) and new users will need to enrol / create a new login and password.  Users will be to begin using the portal once they have confirmed their enrolment.

Are your staff fully trained in residential tenancy requirements? - Real estate bulletin 107 (February 2016)

22 February 2016

The majority of real estate complaints lodged with the department involve residential tenancy or property management matters. Often these matters should not have occurred in the first instance or should have been addressed at an agency level rather than being escalated to the department.

The main concerns include:

First National Real Estate Karratha reprimanded and fined for overcharging clients - Real estate bulletin 106 (February 2016)

11 February 2016

Seaville Holdings Pty Ltd trading as First National Real Estate Karratha has received a reprimand and fine of $5,000 by the State Administrative Tribunal for overcharging clients for property inspection and management fees.

The agency was found to have charged the owners of four properties more than what was contracted for property inspection fees between December 2011 and March 2014. The agency had also charged too much to four other property owners for management fees between November 2011 and March 2015.