Rule 1 – No Pets Allowed
Under no circumstances are pets allowed in the house. If pets are found, pet owners will have to leave and lose their bond; this is not negotiable.
House Rules
As our valued student tenant, your safety and comfort are very important.
We also wish to keep the rent as low as possible. For these reasons, we have a set of rules that we ask all tenants to follow.
Renting individual rooms in a shared house is different from renting a whole house. The landlord pays the electricity, internet, and water bills, for instance, and individual student tenants expect the landlord to provide them a peaceful environment for studying, sleeping, etc.
Please let us know if you are being disturbed by others not following these rules.
Rule 2 – No Smoking
Please do not smoke inside the house or throw cigarette butts on the ground outside.
Rule 3 – No Visitors
The rent we charge covers each tenant and does not include visitors. In the past, we had problems with strangers walking around the house, making a mess, partying, and disturbing tenants. To protect tenants from this, we must apply the no visitors rule to all tenants equally. While your friends might be very clean, quiet, and friendly, the friends of others might be very messy, noisy, and aggressive. If we allow one tenant an exception, others will expect the same, so it must be applied to all, including friends, associates, girlfriends, boyfriends, wives, and husbands. The only exceptions are parents, who may visit at any time.
If you have a romantic relationship with someone outside the home, please enjoy your relationship with them externally. If a friend is picking you up, please ask them to call you and wait outside. That way, they will not wake up other tenants by knocking on the door, entering the house, and talking loudly, etc. We hope you understand that this is for your convenience, as well as the other tenants. Student parents are much happier with this rule in place, too.
*Tip
Ask your partner to give you a call as he or she is getting close to the house so you can meet them outside as they arrive. They won’t have to knock on the door or beep their horn and disturb tenants who might be sleeping or studying.
4 – Electricity
Electricity is costly in Australia and is becoming more expensive each year. Please remember to turn off your computer, TV, fan, lights, and other electrical devices when going out, to help us keep rent down. If you are the last to retire in the evening, please turn off the kitchen or dining room lights. We do not allow space heaters or large fans, as past tenants left these on for 24 hours a day, causing a fire risk and raising our electricity bills to unacceptable levels. Many houses burn down each year with just one cheap space heater burning out, so imagine how dangerous it would be to have six in the house. These are banned from our homes. We supply fans in each room, but if you want a more powerful fan, please check with us first, as we need to charge extra to cover electricity costs.
5 – Internet
We have unlimited 100 mbps wireless cable internet in all our houses. Hogging bandwidth is strictly banned in our student homes. If a gamer or film buff uses a download accelerator program to hog bandwidth, they will be cut off from the internet and asked to leave. They may lose their bond also. We want all our tenants to enjoy good access to the internet, and take this issue very seriously.
*Tip
Rather than place one sweet potato in the oven for half an hour at a high temperature, cook several items so that electricity is not wasted.
6 – Water
Please save water when possible, as it is now very high-priced. You can help by not taking showers longer than ten minutes and by using the half-flush in the toilet, when possible. Only place full loads in the washing machine and the dishwasher. Please do not wash dishes or your face under a running tap. Fill the sink and use a plug instead. There are many ways you can save water, and this also helps to keep the rent down, which is better for you.
7 – Penalty for staying the night or staying late
When someone stays without telling us, there will be a flat fee of $300 per night to the tenant responsible.
8 – Cleanliness and Tidiness
Please tidy up after using any public area in the house. After cooking, oil, sauce, crumbs, or leftovers should be cleaned away, and surfaces wiped. When you drop food or liquid on the benches, tables, or floors, please wash them properly. It is impossible to cook without making some mess, so it is essential to clean surfaces each time you cook.
Please clean, dry, and put away all dishes, pots, pans, and cutlery you use. Please do not leave food lying around open to the air, as it will attract flies, ants, cockroaches, mice, and rats. When you spill something on the floor, please clean it properly – don’t just wipe over it and leave a smudge. Please do not leave sacks of rice open – this will attract certain insects and bugs – so seal up all containers properly. Please clean the rice cooker as soon as you finish using it, as other tenants may wish to use it.
Please keep the bathroom clean by picking up hair in the shower and on the floor and by keeping surfaces clean and dry.
*Tip:
When you clean up after yourself, you will find other tenants will gain more respect for you. One of the easiest ways to make friends is to respect the space in which they live.
9 – Outside rubbish bins.
The large green bin outside is for the usual rubbish. It sometimes has a red lid. The large yellow-top bin outside is for paper, plastic, glass, cardboard, and cans (no food, please). The collection day for the bins is Tuesday of each week. In Allen’s and Ying’s home, they look after this. In the other houses, tenants should organise a roster to put out bins.
Please crush boxes, cans, plastic bottles, and other containers before putting them into the recycle bin to save space.
*Caution:
Some tenants have confused the normal rubbish bin with the recycle bin. Please remember to put the recycled materials into the correct bin.
10 – Inside rubbish bins
The white bin in the kitchen is for usual rubbish, while the dark-grey container is for recycling. Any prawn or seafood scraps should be put in a bag before placing it into the outside bin. Tie a knot in the bag to keep flies out. If you spill rubbish on the floor when using containers, please clean it up and wipe the floor with rags hanging in the laundry.
Flies create maggots in a few hours when they have access to food.
Please crush all plastic containers, cardboard boxes, and egg cartons before putting them in the recycle bin to save space. Please see this video about how to do this.
11 – Your room bin.
A) Please avoid putting food scraps in your room bin. In the tropical climate of Queensland, an open container with food in it will attract flies almost immediately. Flies lay maggots, and these turn into more flies. Food scraps should be put into the white kitchen bin.
B) When you empty your room bin, please put it in the outside bin – not the kitchen bin. When you place your own room’s rubbish in the kitchen bin, it fills up too quickly.
C) When emptying your own room’s bin, please remember to tie a knot in the bag before putting it in the outside bin – this will help keep flies and other pests away.
A) Please remember that you share a house with others, and if you are loud, you may disturb them. For this reason, keep noise to a minimum.
B) Please do not have showers after 10 pm, as the sound may wake or disturb other tenants.
C) Please do not cook in the kitchen after 10 pm, as the sound of pots, pans, and plates being picked up and put down, and washed, may wake or disturb other tenants.
D) Please do not shout on the phone when talking. You can speak softly and will be easily heard on the other end, locally and internationally.
E) If you are being kept awake by noisy tenants, please let Allen know the details.
13 – Insects
A) Squashing insects makes a dirty stain, so please use insect spray. One spray will kill the insect within a few minutes. If the insect continues to move around, place the can over it. It has a hollow base and will not squash the insect. After an hour or so, you can sweep the dead insect up with the brush and pan (hanging behind the door under the kitchen sink) and deposit in the bin.
B) Please be careful to close the insect screen doors when going in and out. They keep out flies. If you leave the door open even for a few seconds, flies will enter the house. They are attracted by the smell of food inside the house and are just waiting for you to let them in. As you go out, shut the door, then open and close it again as you come in. Never leave it open while you go outside.
14 – Luggage, cars and personal items
A) Please keep your personal items in your room.
B) Storage of luggage in our house by non-paying people is not allowed, and this applies to you when you eventually leave. If an outsider’s luggage is stolen or damaged by fire or flood, or anything else, they could sue us for compensation. Also, if you have to leave unexpectantly, we will be left with the baggage. Finally, if there were drugs in the bags, we could be held responsible.
Caution:
When a tenant stores an outsider’s luggage without permission, we have to charge $300 to buy insurance for it. If the baggage has been removed before insurance is purchased, a luggage storage fee will be charged.
C) When a tenant allows a friend to park their car at our house, other tenants may copy them, and this makes it very hard to place the rubbish bins outside for collection. The cars cause an increased risk of traffic accidents, and they get in the way of work. If the vehicle is stored inside our garage, it can become a fire risk and obstruct other tenants. Again, we do not have insurance to cover such cars. Should this happen, we will charge the tenant a parking fee to be determined at the time.
With these points in mind, please do not invite people to park their cars here.
*Tip:
When friends ask you if you can store their luggage or car, say, “I’d like to help you, but my landlord’s insurance does not cover your luggage or car, and I would have to pay a $300 penalty to pay for that insurance.”
15 – Bikes, Scooters, & Skateboards
Transport devices such as bikes, scooters, or skateboards are not allowed inside the house. Such machines travel over roads, picking up dirt, oil, tar, and waste matter. They often have wheels that mark walls, tiles, and carpet or scuff doorways as they are carried past. While your machine may be clean, and you may be careful, other tenants may have dirty machines and not be so cautious. For the rule to work, it has to be followed by all. Such devices may be housed in the garage, shed, or under a patio or roof eve around the back or side of the house.
16 – Security
Please lock the front door when going out. If nobody is home, please lock the back doors also. It is a good idea also to keep your bedroom door locked.
17 – Slamming doors
Some people slam doors loudly behind them without realizing it, and this can upset other tenants who may be trying to study or sleep. Please take care not to slam doors behind you. We have installed door closers on some doors to stop this problem, but some doors can still be slammed. Try to remember not to slam doors, and your fellow tenants will appreciate your consideration.
18 – Departure
A) There is a $120 bond-cleaning fee when you leave. This fee will be gathered from all tenants and is used to pay a cleaning company to clean the house, including all bedrooms and public areas, bathrooms, kitchens, etc. It is how much the cleaning company charge for a bond clean. We do not make any profit from this.
To see more detail about cleaning fees, visit this page.
When cleaning, please remove dust and hair on surfaces and carpets, marks and dirt from tiles, mirrors, etc.
B) As per your lease, please provide two weeks’ notice before leaving, as we need that time to find a replacement.
C) Please remember to pay rent all the way up to your departure date to keep the bond intact.
D) Check-out time is 11 a.m.
E) Please remember to hand back your keys and garage door openers before you leave.
F) — Bond Return
We will transfer this into your bank account after you have left, once we have inspected the room and house. Alternatively, you may prefer to receive your payment by PayPal. You may also have the money transferred into a friend’s account if it is more convenient.
G) — Cleaning rooms and Ensuites
The bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen should be clean. The bedroom carpet should be adequately vacuumed, including under the bed. Please remove all hair. All surfaces should be wiped free of dust, including furniture and window ledges. Mirrors need to be cleaned also. For those with Ensuites, in master bedrooms, please ensure that toilets, sinks, showers, tiles, walls, floors, mirrors, glass screens, and all surfaces are clean, free of mould, scum, stains, and dirt. Your refrigerator space should be empty and clean, with no food residue, food scraps, crumbs, sticky residue, or food stains visible. Unopened cans, food packets, sauce, noodles, etc., must be removed – do not leave for other tenants unless they accept them and move them into their own spaces. Your cupboard space needs to be empty and clean. Again, no food residue, food scraps, crumbs, sticky residue, or food stains should be visible. The rubbish bin you used should be clean and empty. All rubbish should be in the big bins outside. If the rules above are not followed, an additional cleaning fee may be charged. The amount will depend on how much cleaning is required.
H) As you prepare to leave, you will probably be throwing out old books and school essays, homework, etc., as well as old food and leftovers from the kitchen. Please place this in the big bins outside, and not in the kitchen bins. Consider doing this a few weeks before your departure, instead of all on the last day, as the containers will be over-filled otherwise, and we may have to charge you a rubbish removal fee.
I) Please let everyone know you are changing your address, including banks, universities, clubs, phone companies, insurance companies, medical companies, and so on. If your letters keep arriving at our house for months and years, other people will probably open them and see your personal details. Identity theft is a growing problem, so please help us prevent this.
*Warning – some may assume that they can make a huge mess and leave the house as unclean and untidy as they like because they pay a cleaning fee, but this is not the case. The cleaning fee is just for an average home in need of proper cleaning and tidying. It is not for a filthy house. For that, the cleaners may charge twice or even three times the amount.
19 – Using sticky tape on walls
If you use sticky tape, sellotape, or scotch tape to hang pictures, prints, or photos on your wall, you may damage the paintwork when removing the tape later. We will then have to take money from your bond to re-paint the wall. It can cost hundreds of dollars, depending on the damage. Painting walls is expensive and hard work.
If you would like to hang something on the wall, ask Allen to help you do this.
20 – Complaints
If you have any problems, please let us know. We take all complaints or issues seriously and will deal with them discreetly and quickly. If somebody is making too much noise or too much mess in the house, it is better to let us know so we can fix the problem.
A female Chinese student rented a room for us for three years. The boy in the room next door woke her up most nights by yelling into his microphone while gaming. The girl was too kindhearted to complain. After two and a half years, she decided to tell us, and we warned the boy, who continued the habit, so we did not renew his lease and he had to leave. The girl finally enjoyed peace in her last term. Please think of her if you have similar problems. She was not wrong to let us know, but the boy next door was wrong to interrupt her sleep. If she had taken this step earlier, she could have enjoyed three years of peace.
On a lighter note, we hope your stay here will be enjoyable. If you need advice or help in any matter, we are happy to help.
For those of you leaving, we hope you enjoyed your time with us, and we wish you all the very best in the future.
Warm regards,
Allen and Ying 😊