The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) stands in solidarity with the residents, businesses and communities of North Queensland as they face devastating flooding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the situation is still unfolding, the REIQ is anticipating extensive resources could be required for property assessments and helping those displaced from their homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said that in the aftermath of flooding, there were often many questions as to how to address the immediate and longer-term needs relating to housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cReal estate professionals will be focused on helping their clients and community through this disaster,\u201d Ms Mercorella said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSales agents and property managers in the affected regions can access the REIQ Disaster Toolkit<\/a> <\/em>to assist them in responding to issues surrounding affected properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe want to make sure that everyone has all the information they need to keep their doors open and their business running so they can assist with these urgent matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs always, the REIQ is here to help our members with every aspect of professional life. Remember, we have the Property Management Support Service and the Agency Advice Line available for unlimited call support, simply by dialling 1300 MYREIQ.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ms Mercorella noted this flood came at a time when Townsville has a tight vacancy rate of just 1.2% according to the REIQ\u2019s latest Residential Vacancy Rate Report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen homes are flooded, it\u2019s devastating and distressing, and it can take considerable time and resources to get homes restored and back online,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis displaces owners, tenants and businesses and it puts an additional strain on the local rental market, as property managers help to coordinate efforts to re-home people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn addition to this, there may also be a need to house tradies and insurance assessors as part of the longer-term recovery process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe important thing is to work together and treat one another respectfully with patience and understanding while the extent of the damage is understood and managed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt times like this, good communication is key.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She said that the REIQ saw the extraordinary efforts of its members during the Townsville floods in 2019 when over 3,500 homes were inundated, the Brisbane floods in March 2022 and in the Far North Queensland floods after Cyclone Jasper in December 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn Queensland, we are sadly no stranger to natural disasters and time and time again our communities have rallied together to help displaced residents and businesses,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDriven by a strong sense of community, we witnessed real estate professionals going above and beyond the call of duty to help owners and tenants in need, working tirelessly to keep locals housed and lending a hand to clean properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have no doubt we’ll see that generosity and community support to get everyone sheltered and back on their feet again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The REIQ Disaster Toolkit is available for real estate professionals to download here<\/a> and covers FAQs and fact sheets for sales agents and property managers, Insurance issues, Office of Fair Trading (OFT) information, Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) information, Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) information, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The toolkit addresses questions such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/strong>Ms Mercorella encouraged tenants to familiarise themselves with resources outlining their legislative rights, and what to do if the floods have damaged or made their rental property unliveable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cResidential tenancies in Queensland are regulated by legislation and the right to terminate a tenancy agreement on the basis of non-liability applies equally to tenants and property owners,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo better understand residential tenancies legislation, tenants can seek support from the Residential Tenancy Authority (RTA) and refer to resources such as their Natural disasters fact sheet<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The thoughts of everyone at the REIQ are with the North Queensland community. We refer those experiencing hardship to seek available government disaster assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/strong>ENDS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/strong>Media enquiries: The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) stands in solidarity with the residents, businesses and communities of North Queensland as they face devastating flooding. While the situation is still unfolding, the REIQ is anticipating extensive resources could be required for property assessments and helping those displaced from their homes. REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said that in the aftermath of flooding, there were often many questions as to how to address the immediate and longer-term needs relating to housing. \u201cReal estate professionals will be focused on helping their clients and community through this disaster,\u201d Ms Mercorella said. \u201cSales agents and property managers in the affected regionsRead More →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1287,"featured_media":4695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mbp_gutenberg_autopost":false},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4693"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1287"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4693"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4696,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4693\/revisions\/4696"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theonsitemanager.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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<\/strong>Claire Ryan, Media and Stakeholder Relations Manager, The Real Estate Institute of Queensland
M: 0417 623 723 E: media@reiq.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"