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Hi !FirstName,
The recent Residential Tenancies Authority Queensland (RTA) prescribed forms changes have the whole industry fuming!
The changes were supposed to address issues reported to the RTA over the past couple of years in relation to the forms. Instead, the new prescribed forms have caused confusion and unnecessary complication to forms that were, for the most part, working fine.
Our previous email on 29th October 2012 gave a brief outline of the changes and provided links to the RTA website for you to access additional information (Click here to view the previous email)
We, at ADL Software, have received an avalanche of calls since the release of the new forms, complaining about a multitude of issues with the forms. As a result we have been able to implement some changes to ADLForms to help ease the transition to the new forms (See below for common issues reported).
Where ADL cannot address a specific issue with any form we strongly advise that you voice your concerns directly with the RTA.
For information on how to complete the new forms, again please contact the RTA for advice.
Common Queries Received by ADL (with Solutions)
Q. How do I complete a Part Payment of Bond now that the old Form 7 has been removed?
A. The RTA have incorporated the old Form 7 into the redesigned Form 2. We advise that you contact the RTA for specific assistance with this issue.
Q. Why is there no longer a Form 7?
A. See above answer
Q. Will the new Entry and Exit condition reports work in ADLInspect (Our onsite mobile inspection software)?
A. Yes!!! From the day the new forms were released ADLInspect has been using the new format of the forms (Click here to see an online demo of how it works).
Q. Where have the ADL Versions of the RTA Forms 11, 12 & 13 gone?
A. As mentioned in our last newsflash the updated RTA forms now accommodate the additions provided in the previous ADL Versions and therefore there is no longer a need to supply ADL Versions of the new forms. Although, we have reinstated the ADL Version of the RTA Form 9 due to Agent's feedback, to accommodate the Comments / Instructions text box in Item (4) that so many agents love.
Q. Where is the Comment field on the ADL version of the Form 9?
A. Due to space restrictions in the new Form 9 layout, the Comment field has had to be reduced in size and now appears under the tick boxes of item 4 on the form.
Q. Why can't I change the 'Day of Issue' & 'Day of Entry' fields on the new Form 9?
A. Initially we had numerous calls complaining that every time a client did a merge to this form from their trust accounting program, they then had to work out what day of the week the Date of Entry was and manually type it in.
To make it easier to process this form, we added a new feature to ADLForms to automatically insert the day of the week into these fields once the appropriate date is entered into the corresponding date field. Simply enter the date into the date field and TAB to the next field on the form and the Day field will be automatically entered for you.
This feature ensures that your form complies with legislation and makes the job of doing notices just a little easier. It has also been added to RTA Forms 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 19, R9, R11, R12 & R13 for your convenience.
Q. Why do I have to always tick the AM/PM boxes after entering a time in the Form 9?
A. You don't!! As this was a common complaint when the forms were first released, we added a feature to allow you to type the time with the 'AM' or 'PM' into the time field and the program will tick the appropriate box for you (eg. Type '9:00am' or '9:00a' in the appropriate Time field then TAB off the field and the program will tick the corresponding 'AM' Check Box and remove the 'am' portion from the Time field).
This feature has also been added to the RTA Forms R9, R11, R12 & R13 for your convenience.
Q. Where has the Rent Increase Item gone from the 18a?
A. In the previous version of the Form 18a (with extra terms) ADL incorporated additional Items such as Rent Increase within the RTA's standard Item Schedule.
The new layout of this form prevents ADL from continuing to provide these Items within the Standard Schedule. Therefore we have created an 'Addendum A - Additional Items' page (appears as page 9) which provides for the extra Items you have been used to in the past. These Additional Items are only a part of the versions of the 'RTA Form 18a - General Tenancy Agreement' that we provide that are shown to include 'Extra Terms'.
Q. Why doesn't all the information from my old saved forms come across correctly when I update them to the new form layout?
A. As mentioned in our previous email:
Agents should take care to check that fields completed in the old versions of the RTA Forms remain completed when converting a saved form to the new RTA form versions or when using templates.
Whilst most fields should convert correctly there are instances where, due to the new formatting of the RTA form, the conversion may not occur correctly.
With templates it is best to open them, check them and re-save them using the new version of the form.
Q. Why aren't tenants' contact details merging across from my trust accounting software into the new lease agreements (RTA Form 18a)?
A. Because the previous version of this form never included contact details for individual tenants in the past your trust accounting software has never had the need to merge this information across to ADLForms.
We are in the process of identifying merge issues that may require additional information to be output to the ADL Merge process by trust accounting software providers.
Q. Information is being merged, from my trust accounting software to my forms, that I don't want to be merged. How can I stop this?
A. If your trust accounting software outputs information to the ADL merge process that is relevant to a form, that information will merge to that form unless you use a template in the merge process that specifically replaces the information or blocks the information from merging.
For assistance on creating templates for your forms please refer to 'Saving and Using Templates' in the ADLForms Help Manual (Select 'Help Manual' from the 'Help' menu in ADLForms). To block a field from merging, when creating the template, right-click on the appropriate field and select 'Leave Blank When Merging' from the pop-up menu. For further assistance please contact our friendly technical support on (07) 3367 1982.
Feedback & Support
We wish to thank everyone who has provided us the valuable feedback and support we require to successfully cater to our clients' needs. Your feedback has allowed us to address certain issues with the new RTA forms in a speedy manner. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any further issues you may experience with the forms.
1. The phase-in period given to Body Corporates relating to Pool Safety Certificates and shared pools ends 30th November 2012.
This means that for any properties, in a Community Titles Scheme where there is a shared pool, that is/has been leased or sold on or after 1st September 2012, it is required that the Body Corporate obtain a Pool Safety Certificate for the pool within 90 days of the sale or lease.
It is the agents responsibility to advise the Body Corporate of their responsibilities upon sale or lease.
For details on how to fulfil your responsibilities as an agent refer to the updated PDF form 'Pool Safety Fact Sheet and Guide (for Agents)' provided in ADLForms in both the Sales & Property Management packages.
Click on the link below to:
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