Private residential tenancy model agreement: easy read notes

16. Absences

A long absence from the property may affect the landlord’s insurance costs. If the tenant is not going to be at the property for more than 2 weeks at a time, then the tenant must do three things:

• Before the property is left unoccupied, the tenant must tell the landlord that they won’t be there and for how long;
• Before leaving, the tenant must do anything reasonable that the landlord has asked the tenant to do to keep the property secure during the tenant's absence - this means to stop the property being broken into or lived in by anyone else; and
• Before leaving, the tenant must have checked the property to be sure that, during the tenant's absence, reasonable care will still be taken of the property, as set out in Note 17 – Reasonable Care. For example, if the property is going to be empty during the winter time the tenant should make sure that (1) the heating is on timer, to stop the property getting damp inside and (2) the water is turned off, to prevent damage that might be caused by burst pipes.