A property management company has been fined $80,000 for failing to lodge tenancy bonds on time and for keeping records that contained false dates.
Asset Realty faced the Mandurah Magistrates Court on February 11 for accepting bonds from eight tenants, mostly in the Mandurah area, but failed to lodge them with the Bond Administrator as soon as practicable.
The Queensland-based company was also convicted of eight charges of failing to maintain full and accurate trust account records.
Asset Realty collected the security bonds totalling $10,480 from the eight tenants between March 2017 and December 2017.
In many cases, the bonds were lodged up to eight months’ late.
However, the dates recorded in the company’s records falsely showed that that the bonds were lodged on time.
The tenants lived in Meadow Springs, Secret Harbour, Singleton, Baldivis, Ellenbrook and Alkimos.
The Court also ordered the company, whose Directors are all based in Queensland, to pay $536.50 in legal costs.
Commissioner for Consumer Protection Lanie Chopping said the size of the fine reflects the gravity of the agency’s careless handling of tenants’ bond money.
“This is one of the highest fines ever imposed in a Consumer Protection case brought before the Courts which shows how serious the Magistrate regarded these offences,” Ms Chopping said.
“Failing to lodge bonds on time is serious enough, but for a company to then have false entries in their trust account records just makes a bad situation worse.
“The huge fine imposed in this case should act as a warning to all real estate agents and property managers to lodge their bonds on time on every occasion and to ensure that their record-keeping, particularly relating to their trust accounts, is up-to-date and accurate.”
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