Hi Toony, I am a PM (and investment property owner) in WA. I am very familiar with the rules over here, that is my job, not sure of your rules in east but fairly sure they would be pretty similar.
If a tenant breaks a fixed term lease, then they are responsible forrent until re-let, advertising, all the normal charges that we charge the owner eg database checking fee, final bond inspection, and REIMBURSEMENT OF PORTION OF LETTING FEE. So I think your PM is correct.
So if the tenant is in place for three quarters of a twleve month lease, they reimburse you one quarter of the letting fee you have been charged, so for the new tenant you effectively pay three quarters of the letting fee.
I would suggest that maybe just maybe, you have been charged like this in the past and not read your statement correctly as you did not understand the law? Maybe your statement said something like "reimburse letting fee" and it refers to the reimbursement of the portion of the letting fee, to knowif this is so you would go back to the origianlstatement where you were charged a letting fee and see if the amount you were originally charged is the same as the portion you have been reimbursed ... does that make sense? If you don't go check you may just read it think to yourself oh yeah that is right, the tenant has reimbursed the letting fee, not realise it is a portion (as it should be) rather than the whole thing (as you were assuming it was?). Especially if it is spread over two statements (fees charged one month, reimbursement arrives the following month, due to bond finalisation timing.
Don't worry about Dazz, I think it is his time of the month.
(But he is right, you need to be aware of the rules!)