student accommodation regulations

[MKP]

I have just gone through : http://studentaccommodationinsurance.com.au/
to get cover for up to 4 leases in my house. Originally with CBA with the normal insurance, but when I want to pay my installment the day befor Christmas, I was told by the CBA guy who knows his stuff that I did not get the right cover and he refunded my previous 4 months premium I already paid (he said that I have been misled by previous person who gave me insurance cover in the first place).
I pay about $175 broker fee for the bove, but was happy to get the cover over the holiday period and decided to take for the whole year.

MKP

Well an update a couple of years later......Had problems renewing insurance for 8 unrelated people in a 2 story house, even though we had only made one small claim for water damage. So shopped around quite a bit. Guess what? Suncorp bank.....yep, they were really, really good. I thought they would knock us back for sure, but the girl we got knew her stuff and gave us a good deal. Not the cheapest I must say, but definitely the most thorough, and after tax the difference between Suncorp and the others would be about $500 a year, but for the extra peace of mind (as the mastercard ad goes), priceless. Almost.
But yeah, check out Suncorp for multi-tenanted insurance.
John Bradshaw

 

[MKP]

Rental agreement document and bond money for student shared house

I was using the standard tenancy agreement and bond forms from Fair Trading NSW for my shared student house (in NSW). I was able to lodge the bond from the first tenant in Nov 2012, no problem.

But today, when I wanted to lodge the bond money from the 2nd tenant, I was told that I can not do it; and also can not use the standard tenancy agreement form or refer to any Fair Trading materials in my contract document. I was told that I keep the bond privately and provide the tenant with a receipt. I am not too comfortable with this because if I was the tenant, I would like my bond money to be kept in a neutral hands.

I checked the commercial real estate agent website who rented out per room basis and they said that they lodge the bond money to rental bond authority. How do they do it?

I need a lot to learn, So if you have experience in this matters (relevant contract document to use for student shared house and what to do with the bond), I appreciate your feedback.

Thanks

MKP