The premier today announced stage 4 business restrictions in the Melbourne area. Many businesses will be affected with closures, reduced capacity and off site operations.
Here in Geelong we revert back to Stage 3 restrictions and from what I can gather it it will be very similar to the stage 3 restrictions earlier this year. Their are laws around having guests at your home, wearing mask all of the time in public along with schools moving to online learning.
For the real estate industry locally we are able to continue to operate as an essential service. People still need to pay their rent, settle properties and sell for various reasons. There are two clear restrictions in force within the industry. None of which will effect the Kardinia Property sales service and results. I have copied these restrictions below from the Consumer Affairs website which is the regulatory body. In short the regulations state
- NO AUCTIONS – which for us, is fine as we do not Auction properties.
- NO OPEN/PROPERTY INSPECTIONS – we are not able to permit more than 20 people to enter the premises at one time. Good hygiene practices much always in upheld along with social distancing. If you reside in Melbourne you must only attend private inspections.
For more information read the extract below or visit the Consumer Affairs site click HERE.
“Inspections for lease and sale
You should keep 1.5 metres between yourself and others and practise good hygiene, with regular hand washing and hand sanitising. If you feel unwell, even if you have tested negative for coronavirus (COVID-19), you should stay at home.
Under the Deputy Chief Health Officer’s directions, an estate agent may organise an inspection of a residential property for the purposes of a prospective sale or rental of the property, if the following additional conditions are met:
- The estate agent does not permit more than 20 members of the public to enter the premises at any one time (excluding the owners or residents of the property and anyone reasonably required to facilitate the inspection). Note that a person who lives in the Stay at Home restricted areas may only attend a private inspection.
- The estate agent does not permit the number of members of the public in a single undivided indoor space to exceed the density quotient.
- The estate agent meets the requirements for requesting and keeping records in the Restricted Activity Directions (No 12). For every person who attends for longer than 15 minutes (including the estate agent’s staff), the agent must:
- request their first name and contact phone number
- if provided by the person, record those details with the date and time they attended
- keep a record of these details for 28 days.
- take reasonable action to protect any personal information collected from use or disclosure other than as requested by an authorised officer under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 and destroy the information as soon as reasonably practicable after 28 days (unless permitted or required to retain it).
The restrictions and requirements in relation to open retail facilities apply to display homes, regardless of whether the property is intended to be used for residential or commercial purposes.”
Auctions
You should keep 1.5 metres between yourself and others and practise good hygiene, with regular hand washing and hand sanitising. If you feel unwell, even if you have tested negative for coronavirus (COVID-19), you should stay at home.
Under the Deputy Chief Health Officer’s directions, estate agents may organise an auction for sale of a residential property if the following additional conditions are met:
- The auction is attended in person by no more than 20 members of the public (excluding the owners or residents of the property and anyone reasonably required to facilitate the auction).
- The estate agent does not permit the number of members of the public in a single undivided indoor space to exceed the density quotient.
- The estate agent meets the requirements for requesting and keeping records in the Restricted Activity Directions (No 12). For every person who attends for longer than 15 minutes (including the estate agent’s staff), the agent must:
- request their first name and contact phone number
- if provided by the person, record those details with the date and time they attended
- keep a record of these details for 28 days
- take reasonable action to protect any personal information collected from use or disclosure other than as requested by an authorised officer under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 and destroy the information as soon as reasonably practicable after 28 days (unless permitted or required to retain it).
Note that a person who lives in the Stay at Home restricted areas may only attend an auction remotely.
People with coronavirus (COVID-19) or close contacts of those with coronavirus (COVID-19) must stay at home and can only attend the auction remotely via teleconference or video conference.
https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/resources-and-tools/advice-in-a-disaster/coronavirus-covid19-and-your-rights/rest-of-victoria
Jackson Wilson and Sara Taylor, Kardinia Property directors are committed to the health and safety of the community. For any questions please contact the office on 5292 8084.
316 Pakington Street
Newtown. 3220
If you are considering buying or selling property in the Geelong area and value dealing with nice, normal people who achieve exceptional results give Jackson or Sara a call 5292 8084.