Teens face big fines in property crackdown

THOUSANDS of teens face fines of up to $1300 as property owners adopt a “zero tolerance” approach to misbehaviour during 2018 Schoolies celebrations, which kick off this Saturday.

Grant Mifsud, partner with property management experts Archers the Strata Professionals, expects Gold Coast holiday rental managers to adopt new rules to deal with rowdy teenagers. Fines, bond loss and even prosecution are in the arsenal of property managers. Rules that apply across the board are:

Bag checks can be carried out by onsite security.

No glass bottles room or pool area.

A maximum of two external guests permitted to a room at any time.

Secure rooftops to prohibit skylarking and stunts. in the

Zero tolerance for misbehaviour on balconies.

Noise must be kept to a minimum.

Dangerous behaviour will be dealt with by police.

“Any damage to the room or contents during Schoolies Week will come out of the bond,” Mr Mifsud said, with the biggest issue every year being false fire alarms.

He said a $1298 fine issued for false callouts would be passed on to schoolies in the wrong, thanks to “technology enabling identification of which room and building level an alarm has been activated”.

Among the fears of property managers were that false alarms could lead occupants to be complacent when a real alarm goes off.

“School leavers wouldn’t want to face the double whammy of also paying a fine for setting off a fire alarm,” he said.