Digital leases to streamline rentals

RENTING is about to get easier for Queensland tenants, who will be first to try technology that will streamline the process of signing a lease and maintaining a property.

The Real Estate Institute of Queensland will deliver the world’s first digital residential tenancy agreements by the end of the year.

The innovation has the potential to transform the way rental properties are leased and managed across the country and around the globe.

REIQ general manager Josh Callaghan said it was designed to make renting easier for tenants and managers.

“At its simplest, a smart contract is a digital contract that can live beyond its initial execution by facilitating transactions and giving all parties a central record of what has happened during the tenancy,” he said. “This solution has been designed to reduce the manual handling of contracts from the property manager side while streamlining the process for tenants and giving both parties much better visibility.”

He said it meant younger tenants who were used to paying for food and transport at the touch of a button could do the same with a rental.

“We’re in a world where that’s the norm,” he said.

“By executing as a smart contract, we’re also able to build out the functionality to handle payments of bond and rent, plus facilitate other activities related to the property such as routine inspections and maintenance.”

John Henderson Professionals Mermaid Beach director Luke Henderson welcomed the technology.

“If they can use the electronic signature to sign a lease, it would save time for both agent and tenant,” he said.

They used a similar online system for maintenance requests, which Mr Henderson said worked really well.

“We’ve found that’s really reduced the number of phone calls coming into the office so that saves a lot of time. It also creates a written record,” he said. “It reduces the amount of possible errors.”

The REIQ partnered with Queensland technology firm Igloo to make the product.

“We knew that our worldleading technology could vastly improve the way that people are connected with property but we needed an established partner to take it to market,” Igloo founder Jeremy Hastings said.