Tenant Information

What do I do if things go wrong?

If you are concerned about something in the property, please contact your Property Manager. It is important to advise us as soon as possible if you think repairs are necessary as failure to do so could leave you responsible for paying damages if you do not report a problem.

In the event that it is an emergency please call us on 3777 477 and advise our receptionist of the problem. She will forward you on to the appropriate person (generally your property manager). Should it be afterhours your call will be diverted to our afterhour's service and the team member on duty will deal with your problem.

For non emergency repairs please request your maintenance using the Maintenance Request Form online.

Before submitting your maintenance request please read through our How to avoid unnecessary maintenance callouts to see if there is anything that you can do to solve the issue without the need for a tradesperson to come out.

What if it is an emergency and it is outside business hours?

Should an emergency arise in the property after hours, during weekends or public holidays, then please phone 3777 477 and select extension 9. This will connect you with our afterhour's service who will in turn contact one of our team and they will be able to help with your emergency.

If, for some reason, you are unable to reach the emergency contact person, you may contact a tradesperson directly to arrange for them to carry out the repairs. Please note that you should only do this if the maintenance issue is a genuine emergency, where the property is in danger if repairs are not carried out urgently. If an emergency callout is made for a non-essential repair, you will be responsible for the callout fee.

How do I make rent payments?

We prefer rental payments to be made by direct debit into our bank account, as per the direct debit form provided when you sign the tenancy agreement. Please note that on this form is written your unique tenant code - please use this for all payments into our account so that your payments can be identified.

Please note that paying rent into our account by going into a National Bank branch is not recommended. This is because the staff at the bank are unable to put a reference on the payment and we will be unable to identify your payment. This may result in you receiving arrears texts, emails or letters, and you will be required to provide proof (in the form of a bank receipt) that the payment did come from you. Rather than pay at the bank, please pay direct to our office.

You can make rent payments at our office at 838 Colombo Street, Christchurch. As payment we only accept EFTPOS or internet transfer (to Brazier Property Investments Ltd Trust Account: 060801-0458003-02) with your name and the property address as a reference) or bank cheques. We do not accept cash, credit cards or personal / business cheques.

What does paying "weekly in advance" mean?

When you pay your rent with us, you will always be paying "in advance". This often confuses people, so below is an explanation of what paying "in advance" means.

Say your Tenancy Agreement starts on Saturday the 1st. This will be the first day that you are due to pay rent. Paying one week's rent on that Saturday will pay you one week in advance. In other words, it will cover 7 days, from Saturday the 1st through to Friday the 7th. This date is referred to as your "paid-to" date. Your rent is then due again on the next Saturday, the 8th. It may help to see the below diagram:

One week's rent paid   Nextweek's rent due                       Saturday 1 Sunday 2 Monday 3 Tuesday 4 Wednesday 5 Thursday 6 Friday 7 Saturday 8 Sunday 9

Note that the same rule applies when paying fortnightly or monthly i.e. if you pay on the 1st of the month, this will pay you in advance to the 31st of the month, and your rent will be due again on the 1st of the next month.

What happens if I miss a rent payment?

In accordance with your Tenancy Agreement, rent is due and payable on or before the due date. Failure to pay rent by the due date may result in proceedings being taken to terminate your tenancy. Our company has a zero tolerance to rent arrears. If you are experiencing problems in paying your rent it is imperative that you make contact with your Property Manager immediately.

What is the Bond for?

Your bond is held by Tenancy Services as security against rent arrears, damage or undue wear and tear. We will collect the bond before you collect the keys for the property, and this will be lodged with Tenancy Services in Wellington. The bond will be refunded to you once we have completed an outgoing property inspection and are happy with the state of the property, and all rent has been paid up to date. Allow up to 5 working days for the bond to be refunded into your account by Tenancy Services.

Please note that in the event of rent arrears or property damage some or all of your bond may be taken to cover these costs. The Property Manager would be in contact to discuss anything that needs to come out of your bond. In cases such as this the refund of your remaining bond can be significantly delayed as we wait for invoices etc. to come through.

What if I want to move out?

If you are on a Periodic Tenancy you must give at least 21 days notice in writing to terminate the tenancy. Please note that the 21 days starts from when we receive the notice, so it is best if you drop the notice in to our office directly.

However, the majority of our tenancies are Fixed Term Tenancies, and cannot be terminated by notice.

If you wish to end your tenancy early (called "breaking your lease") then you will need to complete a Breaking Lease Form. This form gives us authority to find tenants to replace you on the existing lease. Please note that you will be responsible for paying rent until the property is re-let or the end of the fixed term agreement - which ever eventuates first. Please contact your Property Manager promptly if you decide you want to end your tenancy early and they will talk you through the process.

Upon ending your tenancy please return to us all keys, pass cards and remote controlled door openers for the property. You are required to return these items to our office by 12.00 midday the day after the tenancy is terminated. If these items are not returned on time we will be forced to change the locks etc. and the cost of this will be deducted from your bond.

All bonds are held by Tenancy Services and refunds are subject to the agreement of both landlord and tenant. To facilitate a quick bond refund, the property should be left in a clean and tidy condition and rent should be paid up to vacate date. An outgoing inspection of the property will take place after you have vacated.

Please note that, in the event you pay by automatic payment, it is your responsibility to cancel your automatic payment authority at the end of your tenancy, we are unable to do this for you.

How often do you inspect the property?

We carry out periodic inspections four-monthly and six-monthly depending on the type of property. In some instances the owner's insurance company dictates that we inspect three-monthly. Regardless of the frequency you will be sent a letter the week prior to your inspection giving notice of the date and time of our visit. If this time does not suit please contact the Inspection Co-ordinator (contact details will be on the letter) but please note that, given the number of inspections we do, we are not always able to accommodate requests to change inspection times.

From time to time other inspections may need to be carried out, for instance, if the owner wishes a valuer to come through to value the property. You will always be given sufficient notice of these visits and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

What happens if I change my contact details?

Please endeavour to keep us up to date with your contact details at all times. This ensures that we can have clear lines of communication for any issues that arise, such as maintenance issues or missed rent payments.

If your contact details change, please use the change of details form on this site or contact your Property Manager.

Tenant Information Packs

A Tenant Info Pack is given out to all new tenants when they sign up for a property through Braziers. This contains a great deal of information, covering a range of topics including the differences between fixed and periodic tenancies, how our inspection process works, what you need to do to set up your phone and power when you move in, and what you need to do when you eventually move out of the property.

We recommend that you read this document to assist you and to avoid any unnecessary confusion. It is available from our offices at 838 Colombo Street.

How to avoid unnecessary maintenance callouts

Before proceeding with logging your Maintenance Request, please read through this guide to avoid any unnecessary callouts and costs that could be charged to you.

• No Power
• Kitchen/Bathroom/Laundry sink blocked
• No Hot Water
• Washing machine not working
• Lights or power points not working
• Dryer is not working
• Stove element not working
• Garage remote control not working
• Garbage disposal not working
• Not turning up at an appointment arranged with a tradesperson

No Power

• Have you contacted your Power Company? There may be a fault in the street.
  Contact Energy 0800 809 000
  Empower 0800 340 000
  Genesis 0800 300 400
  Meridian Energy 0800 496 496
  Trust Power 0800 878 787
• Have you checked with a neighbour? The problem may be affecting more than just your unit.
• Have you checked your fuse box? There may have been an overload and the safety switch has been activated and needs resetting. In older properties you may need to purchase and replace the fuse wire. Your Property Manager is happy to talk you through this easy job.
• Is it the whole house or just one socket? And are you sure it's not just because you have a faulty appliance?

Kitchen/Bathroom/Laundry sink blocked

• Have you tried pouring hot water down the sink or using a drain cleaner such as "Draino" to try and free the blockage?
• Have you cleared hairs, soap, food etc from the waste and pipe?
• Have you removed old food from the kitchen waste & poured boiling water down the drain.

No Hot Water

• Have you checked that the hot water switch is turned on?
• Have you checked the fuse in the meter box. Has someone turned off the fuse by mistake, or has the fuse blown?
• Have you checked that the water tap on the hot water system itself is turned on?

Washing machine not working

• Are the washing machine taps turned on at the wall?
• Have you checked to make sure that the appliance is turned on at the wall?
• Have you checked that the lid is closing properly?
• If the machine has stopped half way through a cycle it is likely that the drum is overloaded or out of balance - try taking some clothes out or rearranging the laundry in the drum to be more evenly distributed around the drum.

Lights or power points not working

• Have you replaced the light bulb?

Dryer is not working

• Have you checked to see if the filter needs cleaning out? Dryers can automatically shut down due to overload of lint in the filter.

Stove element not working

• Have you checked your fuse box? If there has been an overload the safety switch may need resetting
• Have you checked the connections to make sure they are not loose or dirty?
• Has the oven switch be turned off my mistake?
• Is the oven timer on? If the timer is on the oven will appear not to be working, but simply turning off the timer solves the problem.

Garage remote control not working

• Have you checked to see if the batteries have not gone flat?
• Have you checked that there is power to the automatic door opener
• Have you checked that the lever inside the garage is on "auto". The lever is generally next to the control box inside the garage. You can either choose "manual" to operate the door with the key or "auto" to operate the door with the remote control.

Garbage disposal not working

• Is it turned on at the switch?
• Have you attempted to reset the safety switch? This is normally a little red or black button underneath the bottom of the garbage disposal unit. You may have to get on your hands and knees to find the switch. This switch can be activated by an overload and simply needs to be reset.
• Is there a blockage in the sink/blades?
• IMPORTANT - Before putting hands down the sink to check for blockages - make sure unit is turned off at the wall and unplugged.
• Please note that if you have caused the blockage you are responsible for the cost.

Not turning up at an appointment arranged with a tradesperson

Please note that if you make an appointment with one of our tradespeople to come out to your property and then do not have the courtesy of keeping the appointment, you may be responsible for paying the wasted callout fee. Obviously having any maintenance issues or improvements carried out in a timely fashion benefits you directly, so we do not anticipate having this problem often.