News

At Trove, we are monitoring the government advice on Covid-19 and constantly amending our systems and procedures accordingly as advice changes.  

We know that already many of our tenants and landlords have experienced job losses.  On behalf of all of us at Trove we absolutely understand the stress and anxiety that you may be feeling at this time.

We have a duty of care to look after the interests of our property owners and care for our tenants and below is an update on some important areas of property management; 

Rental Payments

Already we are receiving large numbers of calls from tenants and landlords who have lost employment and are under financial stress.  The Government have announced a number of financial assistance packages, the details you can find here.

We are all eagerly awaiting the Government announcement on rental assistance packages and as soon as we have this vital information we will notify all our landlords and tenants.

In the interim we are ensuring our tenants have the information on financial assistance that is available now and how to access it.  We will continue to act with compassion and work with tenants to ensure they are accessing these packages promptly.  We are acutely aware of the stress this is causing many of our tenants and landlords and look forward to resolving arrears as promptly and effectively as possible.

Of course we will be keeping our landlords updated so that they are prepared and accessing investor mortgage relief packages if they are available and needed, while following new rules on how to manage arrears as they are announced. 

Routine Inspections

As of 25th March, we have been notified by peak bodies that we should cease routine inspections and have cancelled them as of today.  We have asked tenants to supply us with images where possible (and have been absolutely overwhelmed by the positive and immediate response) and will continue to report in this manner.  When this is not possible we will look to alternative measures such as facetime inspections.  We understand this is far from ideal and of course will eagerly resume routine inspections as soon as we are able.

Vacant Properties

As of 25th March the Prime Minister announced we are to cease open inspections and that we must do private appointment inspections only with strict hygeine practices and social distancing.  We have today amended our procedures and are already adhering to this rule.  We have also commenced creating 'virtual inspections' of properties to assist the leasing process.  This will also ensure we can continue to secure tenancies in the event we are in lock down and private inspections are no longer able to be carried out.

We are well placed to continue to manage all documentation & key requirements for tenancy start up with docusign, post, key boxes and more.

Maintenance

All our trades are continuing to follow safe hygiene practices, and general common sense will need to prevail in the instance the tenant is home for self isolation or a compromised immune system.  In the event of lockdown we would anticipate that only urgent maintenance for essential services will be able to proceed.  If so we will re-shedule/postpone non urgent maintenance until it can be carried out.

Our Continuance Plan

At Trove we have a secure continuance plan.  All our team members can work remotely and securely from home, including all call diversions.  At present 50% of our team are based from home and it is working well (except we miss each other!).  We have planned and amended procedures to ensure we can continue to lease and manage your property efficiently and effectively through this difficult time and in the instance we are on lockdown. 

There of course will be a huge focus on guiding tenants to obtain financial assistance packages for rental arrears and monitoring and following up payments for rent and water like never before.  We will be needing to keep our landlords up to date and informed so they too can access the relief packages they may be entitled to and keep the wheels turning for all.

From our Trove family to yours, we are with you and look forward to providing you with the very best of service during this difficult time.