When you invest with DHA, your investment is covered by the DHA Property Care contract. This covers a range of property services for a simple monthly fee, which is deducted from your monthly rental payment.
This fee is calculated as a percentage of the rent you receive. For freestanding houses, the fee is 16.5 per cent (including GST), while properties where a body corporate or strata carries out some of the services we would otherwise provide are charged a 13 per cent (including GST) fee.
So, what’s included in DHA Property Care? The main areas this contract covers are: vacancy management, scheduling and facilitating, repairs, and rent reviews. Read on for more detail.
Vacancy management and scheduling
As part of our Property Care commitment to you, we endeavour to keep the property occupied throughout the term of the lease.
We manage the Defence member moving in and out and we also manage them throughout their occupancy, we carry out inspections and provide you with regular reports on the condition of the property.
If the property is ever unoccupied, you have peace of mind knowing we will mow the lawns, perform general ground maintenance and water the gardens – to ensure that the property looks lived in.
Our Property Care contract also means you don’t need to inspect the property (although this can be arranged if you wish). We’ll periodically inspect the property and report back to you. Additionally, if you, your contractors or insurers need property access, we will arrange an appropriate time.
Repair
As an investor with DHA, you don’t need to worry about most day-to-day repairs. DHA is responsible for organising and covering the cost of most non-structural repair work, including the replacement of fixed appliances.
Compared with a typical rental property, your responsibility for repairs is likely to be significantly reduced. If there’s an emergency, where action is needed to preserve the property or personal security, we act quickly.
Examples of emergencies include flooding, fire or a breakdown or failure of any essential service or appliance, including heating, laundry or cooking facilities. If there’s an emergency, we will immediately notify you so that you can contact your insurer.
Should the emergency fall within your areas of responsibility, we’ll endeavour to work with you and your insurers to get the claim processed quickly and easily.
Rent review
It’s important for our investors to know they are getting a fair market rent for the properties they lease to DHA. To make sure that this happens, we will periodically engage an independent licensed valuer to provide a recommendation for the rent. This could be an increase, a decrease, or a recommendation there be no change to the rent.
To find out more about DHA Property Care, please visit our website.
Rent may be subject to abatement under certain circumstances, such as loss of enjoyment or amenity, or breach of lease terms. Rent is paid where the property is habitable. Should a property become uninhabitable during the term of the lease, or the lessor breaches the lease terms, the rent may cease or abate, and the lease may be terminated by DHA. Guaranteed rent is subject to the terms of the lease. DHA does not consider an investor’s objectives or financial needs. Investors should always seek appropriate independent advice before making any investment decisions with DHA.