Owner Policy: Anti-Circumvention & Integrity Policy

Company Position:

Property Providers vision is to “Help People Live Better” by being Sydney’s most flexible residential rental company. This vision is driven by three core values; Passion, Performance and Partnership. This policy has been created in line with our guiding principal that all great long-term partnerships have a strong foundation of mutual respect, mutual reward, mutual investment and mutual risk.

Document Purpose:

The purpose of this policy is to protect booking integrity, ensure commercial fairness, and minimise operational, legal, and financial risk where a Property Providers is servicing either servicing and owner partner under Full Management or a Booking Agent arrangement. It is our aim to establish clear expectations regarding direct dealings for all types of rentals including but not limited to long-term leasing, booking extensions, repeat stays, and introduced guests/tenants. The policy defines how bookings must be managed to proactively prevent confusion/conflict and costs from un/intentional circumvention.

Background:

Property Providers is engaged by owners to professionally market, manage, and administer short-term, extended-stay accommodation bookings as well as long-term leasing. Our services extend beyond listing a property and include guest sourcing, enquiry management, pricing strategy, booking administration, trust accounting, guest communications, booking extensions, compliance/ risk management as well as extensive investments in marketing.

In a professionally managed accommodation environment, owners may encounter guests through a variety of legitimate means, including inspections, maintenance visits, owner use periods, repeat stays, or informal introductions. While these interactions are common and often well intentioned, they can unintentionally result in direct owner/guest arrangements that fall outside the agreed management framework. This includes guests/tenants attempting to connect/deal with owners directly (most often with the intention of saving money or extracting some other form of value).

Industry experience demonstrates that circumvention most commonly arises through:

• Booking extensions agreed directly with guests
• Guests remaining in occupation beyond confirmed booking dates
• Repeat bookings arranged months or years after an initial stay
• Informal or retrospective agreements made without full visibility
• Assumptions that a guest relationship becomes independent over time

When bookings, extensions, or repeat stays are managed outside the agreed process, owners may be exposed to uninsured occupancy, compliance breaches, accounting inconsistencies, tenancy risk, and disputes relating to cancellations, damages, or compensation. The result is the risk increases exponentially for all parties involved.

This policy exists to provide clarity, set consistent standards, and ensure all accommodation activity is managed transparently and professionally.

Policy Objectives:

Support Property Providers core values of Passion, Performance and Partnership.
Ensure all bookings, extensions, and repeat stays are properly documented and administered and as “safe” as possible.
Protect owners from uninsured or noncompliant occupancy including maintaining accurate trust accounting and financial records.
Preserve pricing integrity and reduce tenancy, regulatory, and dispute risk by providing clear guidance before issues arise.

Policy:

Where a property is managed and/or marketed by Property Providers, all bookings, booking extensions, and repeat stays relating to that property must be administered through Property Providers, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Owners must not:

Enter into direct booking arrangements with guests for stays that fall within the scope of Property Providers’ services.
Permit guests to remain in occupation beyond a confirmed booking without Property Providers’ knowledge and approval (this includes early and late departures).
Arrange or agree to booking extensions, informal stays, or retrospective extensions directly with a guest.
Enter into repeat booking arrangements with Property Providers introduced guests to avoid agreed fees or commissions.
Facilitate arrangements that undermine booking transparency or bypass the agreed management framework.
Mischaracterise commercial or third-party stays as owner use.
This policy applies regardless of how contact between the owner and the guest occurs.
If is found that the agency has been

Rationale:

This policy is designed to ensure bookings are managed deliberately and professionally rather than informally or retrospectively. Specifically, its purpose is to:

Actively prevent circumvention of agreed management arrangements.
Direct or informal dealings undermine the commercial structure on which professional accommodation management operates.
Value and considers the Property Providers considerable marketing and service investments over years and thousands of bookings to acquire tenants/guests.
Protect owners from uninsured or noncompliant occupancy. Stays outside the managed booking process may fall outside insurance coverage or regulatory compliance.
Ensure booking extensions are properly administered. Extensions affect pricing, insurance, compliance obligations, and risk exposure and must be treated as new bookings.
Maintain accurate trust accounting. Unmanaged stays compromise financial transparency and reporting obligations.
Avoid disputes and ambiguity. When bookings are unmanaged, responsibility for cancellations, damages, or compensation becomes unclear.
Preserve pricing strategy and yield management. Informal arrangements often bypass agreed pricing frameworks and market benchmarks.
Recognise the value of guest introductions. Guest sourcing and relationship management involve significant investment and are protected by industry practice and extensive experience.
Reduce tenancy and regulatory risk. Extended or repeated occupation without proper documentation can inadvertently create tenancystyle rights.
Set expectations early. Clear policy guidance reduces misunderstandings and avoids retrospective enforcement issues.

Mechanics:

Direct Guest Contact: Where a guest contacts an owner directly regarding a stay, extension, or repeat booking, the owner must promptly refer the enquiry to Property Providers for handling. Best practice response: “The property is professionally managed — Property Providers will handle the booking.” It is best if this is communicated in writing.

Booking Extensions. A booking extension includes any additional nights, weeks, or months added to an existing stay, whether agreed before, during, or retrospectively after the confirmed booking period. All extensions must be administered through Property Providers. Each extension period is treated as a new booking Applicable commissions and fees apply even where extensions are identified retrospectively.

Introduced Guests and Repeat Bookings: A guest is deemed a Property Providers introduced guest where Property Providers has managed or administered the initial booking or stay. Property Providers is entitled to remuneration for all extensions. Property Providers remains entitled to remuneration for repeat or future bookings by that guest for a period of up to three (3) years from the guest’s last managed stay, unless otherwise agreed in writing. Where a booking occurs outside the managed process during this period, an applicable booking commission or referral or introduction fee may apply outlined on the contract (albeit active or terminated) assuming the initial stay/rental was executed within the timeframe of the contract being active.

Owner Use and Owner Arranged Stays: Owners may reserve periods for personal use in accordance with the Owner Availability and Cancellation Policy. Owner arranged stays may incur applicable owner booking, cleaning, linen, and operational fees. Any commercial, corporate, or third-party stay must be disclosed and administered through Property Providers. Please refer to Property Providers Owners Booking Policy for more information.

Non-compliance and Retrospective Discovery. Where circumvention, nondisclosure, or unmanaged stays are identified, Property Providers may invoice/charge applicable commissions, fees, and charges at a rate of 1.5x. Property Providers also reserves the right to recover reasonable administrative and operational costs and for funds to be deducted directly from the owner ledger or charged to the owners nominated credit card. Lastly, the agency may apply remedies provided for under the Management Agreement and Schedule of Fees Repeated or material breaches may result in a review or termination of the management relationship.

Effective Date: This policy is effective on January 1^st 2021.

Final Note: Property Providers works best with commercially minded owners who value transparency, professionalism, and clearly defined systems. This policy exists to protect those relationships and ensure booking activity is managed consistently, fairly, and professionally.