The rental market resembled a game of musical chairs for the first couple of months of the year as schools went back and new jobs started and everyone was rushing to get settled and frantic not to be left standing when the music stopped. It has settled down now into a saner space and pace. But with Melbourne’s vacancy rate at 1%, the lowest it’s ever been, and the lowest in the country, we can understand the anxiety shown by tenants. It’s a good time to be a landlord. And people are realizing it’s a good time to buy an investment property and become a landlord. Investors are always the first to divine the turn of the market, and as they purchase stock more rental properties will become available, which will ease the squeeze.

The government’s new Electrical Minimum Safety Rental Standards came into effect on the 29^th of March. These new standards require that rental properties have modern switchboards with circuit breakers and electrical safety switches installed. So rental providers should have been contacted by their agent to organize compliance. It could be very costly to be on the wrong side of these compliance standards. Give us a call if we haven’t contacted you already.