Apartments or houses - which is better as landlord?  [Apr 2008]

APARTMENT v HOUSES QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Q         “I am looking at becoming a landlord for the first time and think the apartment market is going to be more affordable for me.  From a legal point of view, are there any differences to being the landlord of a suburban home to being a landlord of an apartment?  I suspect there may be potentially more hassles, in that, if your tenant causes problems in the apartment building, you as the landlord have to step in and make the peace.  What are your experiences of this?  Have you had to step in more for landlords of apartments than of family homes?”

A          Fundamentally, from a legal point of view there is little difference being a landlord of a suburban home and a landlord of an apartment.  However, as the question indicates there may be specific items for apartments that there will not be for suburban homes and on the other hand suburban homes will have some issues which apartments do not.  First, apartments - obviously there are the social issues of people living close together but there are in fact rules that relate to the apartment building called Body Corporate Rules.  These contain “bylaws” which owners and occupiers (e.g. tenants) must comply with.  For example, there are rules about pets, noise control, security keys, hanging out washing on balconies and the like.

            Secondly, by comparison, in the suburbs there are no such rules but obviously there are rules such as the Noise Control Rule.  Neighbours relations are somewhat different and perhaps in some respects less regulated than for apartments.  Perhaps it could be said that a landlord for an apartment needs to point out the rules and the property manager (if there is one) should attach a copy of the Rules to the Tenancy Agreement whereas for a suburban home the landlord may devise their own rules for the use of the house and grounds over and above what is in the Residential Tenancies Act.

            While it is not possible to say whether a landlord for an apartment would have to step in more and resolve matters more often than for a suburban home it is really a matter of good communication with the tenants as to the rules that apply in either type of property and also the attitude of the tenants which may have a major bearing on the issue.  

For more information contact Tim Jones at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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