Type the words ‘tenants rights Australia’ into Google and you get 240,000 hits. And while it’s fair to say some pages might be more useful than others, this simple test highlights the vast amount of information now at tenants’ fingertips.

Many tenants are now far more informed of their rights and obligations when renting a property than ever before. They benefit from a wealth of information available online and in magazines and publications that cover a wide range of topics connected with property management.

Sometimes new investors make the decision to manage their own investment property. After all, its seems obvious - why pay an agent to do something so simple as banking a rent cheque?

Once they start doing it on a day-to-day basis, however, most investors realise they don’t have level of expertise required to maximise income and minimise expenses. They realise that they cannot do the work cost-effectively, and that tenancy legislation is best left to the experts. Most novices need to spend a disproportionate amount of time making sure they get it right. Even then they worry that they haven’t thought of everything. Most find it an enormous relief to hand over to an expert who has the up-to-date legal knowledge to prevent problems developing. Most investors report an increase in their net income as well as in their leisure time.

There are a host of expenses you can claim relating to your rental property but only for the period your property was rented or available for rent.