This week there’s been a couple questions about tenant databases so wanted to ensure you all understood the legislation behind their use.

First, what is it? There’s 2 main ones in Australia being NTD (National Tenant Database, which is owned by Veda) and TICA (Tenancy Information Centre Australia) which are databases a Property Manager should use when doing background checks on a tenant who applies for one of your rental properties.

There’s different subscription models available for each but which one you use depends on which one is more popular in your state or area – I.E. if 1 uses one and 99 the other, then they’re not going to find each others matches.

There’s some in the industry using neither, arguing that the legislation is so restrictive that they won’t find much. They rely more on background and reference checks, but these should be done either way. DT Property Management uses both, which gives us great peace of mind that we can place the best possible tenant in your investment property.

There’s once off search fee options available to private landlords to utilise the products, too.

The legislation around database is fairly universal across all states of Australia.

It says:

  • Have to advise applicants that you use it (eg on application forms for rentals)
  • Have to advise applicants if they were found on a database and what steps they can take to remove
  • When listing a tenant, can only do so when:
    • the tenancy must have ended;
    • the tenant breached the agreement; and
    • either the tenant owes the landlord more than the bond, or the Tribunal has made an order terminating the residential tenancy agreement.
  • There’s time frames involved, being
    • Give 14 days notice of intent to list including the content of the listing for them to review
    • Informing TICA / NTD of any changes / removals within 7 days of info coming to light. They then have 14 days to action these.
    • All listings disappear after 3 years.
    • If a tenant requests info about their listing, landlord / Property Manager has 14 days to retrieve and provide it. They’re allowed to pass on the cost of doing so.
  • State tribunals can make orders to Landlord / Property Manager / TICA / NTD to amend or remove listings.
  • There’s also fines involved for non compliance.

So there you have it. Would be keen to hear of any questions, experiences and funny stories 🙂