Published: 30 August 2006.

Your letting agreement with the body corporate authorises you to conduct a letting business within the complex in which you live. You need the agreement to get your restricted letting agent's licence.

The letting agreement will usually require you to do the following:

• Use your best endeavours to promote the complex well
• Supervise the standard and conduct of the tenants you find for your owners
• Maintain an office and reception area.

Letting is a non compulsory service. Of course, owners do not have to let their units. They can live in them themselves or lock them up. If they do let, then they don't have to use your letting service. They are free to use any service they like.

It is the exception, however, that someone would choose to use an off site letting service rather than someone on the spot focused only on letting in a particular complex, or a complex in which both you and the letting owners have a vested interest.

For letting, the user pays. In other words, the body corporate does not pay you anything to provide the letting service. You are paid by the owners who choose to use your service.

By law, you must have a separate agreement with each owner using your service setting out the charges for collecting the rent and looking after the owners' units. This agreement is called an "Appointment to Act as a Letting Agent". The REIQ has a standard form which has proven to be fair and reasonable to both parties.

You also have an opportunity to earn extra income from tenants or guests by providing extra services like:

• Cleaning
• Repairs and maintenance
• Hire of equipment, and
• In the case of tourism related properties, the sale of tours and theme park tickets. You can earn a commission on these sales.

The standard REIQ property management forms for permanent residential complexes and appointment to act as letting agent forms for holiday letting complexes are in plain English and are available in pad form from the REIQ bookshop.

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