As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve in Australia and globally, we would like to provide you with information regarding how we are operating aspects of your tenancies.

Pure Real Estate Office Closure
Our office is closed to the public effective immediately. We are currently working to finalise phone management so that our staff can all work from home from Monday, 30 March 2020.

Our services were set up for remote working from the day we opened in 2012. We are prepared to continue our services to you with minimal impact when we commence work from home.

Smoke Alarm Testing
We have identified properties which require testing to be completed in the next 45 days and have arranged for them to be undertaken ASAP to make sure your properties remain compliant with legislation and safe for you.

The company we use has provided us with a COVID-19 action plan which you can see here: https://www.detectorinspector.com.au/covid-19/

Rental Payments
As per Wednesday’s communication, we are continuing to understand how we will manage tenancies that fall into financial hardship in this difficult time. As of today, Friday, 27 March 2020, the Prime Minister has yet to make an announcement regarding payment relief for rent and mortgages.

While we understand that it is a stressful time for many, we ask that you continue to make your regular payments. For those of you who have lost your income, please contact us early so that we can communicate and work together through these unusual times.

You can also contact the RTA for advice and contact Centrelink for financial assistance options.

RTA Advice
The RTA has a COVID-19 information box on their home page which has not changed since 24 March 2020, but we provide you with the following which remains on their site:

The RTA acknowledges the Prime Minister’s announcement on 20 March 2020 regarding residential tenancies in hardship due to COVID-19. Unfortunately, we do not have any further information at this time. As soon as more information is provided, we will update our website and eNews subscribers. You can subscribe here.

On 22 March, the Prime Minister announced an economic support package for workers, households and businesses. Learn more and see if you’re eligible.

For the latest COVID-19 information, visit Queensland Health’s website or the Australian Government’s website.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, the RTA is currently experiencing longer wait times across our customer and support services. We thank you for your patience.

COVID-19 Impact on Open for Inspections
The Government announced that all Open for Inspections are now banned. We will still be able to host virtual property tours and private inspections for now.

If we need to host private inspections, please be aware that we will liaise directly with you to identify a suitable time and we will work to minimise risk to you and potential tenants.

Our approach to letting a property will now be:

• We will require a Rental Application submitted prior to an inspection of the property
• The Application must be pre-approved before we arrange a viewing
• We will contact you to arrange the inspection

At the inspection, we will

• Increase availability of hand sanitisers and anti-bacterial wipes for the inspection
• Maintain social distancing requirements
• Limit the inspection time

COVID-19 Impact on Maintenance
If you have recently requested general repairs or maintenance that remains outstanding, please be aware that we are working to prioritise requests to manage high risk issues first in case of a complete shutdown.

We have emailed all our Contractors to request the following:

• If they are feeling unwell, do not undertake the work
• Increased availability of hand sanitisers and anti-bacterial wipes for use when onsite
• Exercise good hygiene practices including regular hand washing with soap
• Practice social distancing while conducting the work
• Thoroughly clean work areas when complete with disinfectant

Lease Renewals
For all tenancies that are on periodic agreements or have leases ending between now and 31 July 2020, we will be sending out lease renewal information in the coming weeks.

We realise it is an uncertain time and we are working with owners to provide you some certainty of your home arrangements as soon as we can.

Please start to consider now what you intend to do so that we can speed up lease renewals as we work through them.

Working as a Team
In this challenging time, Pure Real Estate is committed to working with our people, owners, tenants and contractors, and the relevant authorities to listen, take advice and importantly, take decisive action to assist in preserving the health and wellbeing of our communities.

We will provide additional information when we have further direction from the Government. We look forward to working together to support you through this time.

Kind Regards

Russell Peter | Principal