Bronwyn Evans - Property Commentator

28/08/2026

There’s a business lesson in Dolly Parton’s life that has nothing to do with country music.

Dolly Parton died this week at 80, and amongst all the tributes to her music, I’ve been thinking about something else.

She knew exactly who she was.

She built an enormous career and business empire without constantly reinventing herself to suit whoever was watching. She was glamorous, funny, clever, commercially astute and completely unapologetic about all of it.

But perhaps most importantly, success didn’t seem to make her forget where she came from.

Her Imagination Library put hundreds of millions of books into the hands of children, and her philanthropy extended across education, healthcare and communities.

There’s something worth remembering in that.

Know who you are.
Be good at what you do.
Treat people well.
And if success comes your way, use some of it to make things better for somebody else.

That’s a pretty impressive legacy.

Vale Dolly Parton. 🤍

28/08/2026

Great Tenants are Everywhere and Deserve to be Recognized and Appreciated!

To all the fabulous tenants just quietly getting on with it - looking after their homes, paying the rent and doing the right thing - THANK YOU!

23/08/2026

First thing to remember here….

Neither the Federal Government or the Unions have any ability to change QLD rental laws - only the Qld State Government can do that.

2nd:

A tenant in QLD can ask for a 2 year lease or a landlord can offer it. If both agree - go ahead sign the 2 year lease - it’s that easy and can already be done under our existing rental laws.

A rent increase can be built in to the lease - as long as there is 12 months since the last time there was a rent increase at the property.

We’ve just all been conditioned to 6 or 12 month leases over the years but there are endless options for the length of the lease.

A two-year rental standard means more security for renters and fewer costly, disruptive moves.

Renters would still be free to choose a shorter lease if that suits their circumstances better.

The goal is more flexibility and making housing more secure for the millions of Australians who rent.

21/08/2026

If your property manager tells you that 60 days’ notice is required to issue a Notice to Leave at the end of a fixed-term tenancy, I’d be asking some serious questions.

Because in Queensland, it’s 2 months’ notice.

And 2 months is not necessarily 60 days.

That distinction might sound minor, but when you’re dealing with statutory notice periods, wording matters. Dates matter. Getting the basics right matters.

Property management legislation is detailed, and mistakes with notices can have very real consequences for a property owner.

This is one of the fundamentals a property manager should have nailed.

20/08/2026

20/08/2026

Yet another reason why our Toowoomba rental market remains strong….
600 new jobs during construction and 150 jobs ongoing.

20/08/2026

Some small relief on way for those on Gov benefits with increases coming in September - including rent assistance.

Millions of Australians receiving Centrelink payments will see changes to their fortnightly payment rates.

18/08/2026

Let’s just take a breath here…..

Landlords have long known their rents don’t increase exactly in line with increases in costs and tax changes won’t be any different.

Supply and demand create the conditions for rent amounts. Reducing supply as a result of Fed Gov tax changes is what will increase rents.

I’m fully in favour of fair market rents being charged.

Be sure you are getting real market information on the ground where your rental is located when setting rent amounts.

16/08/2026

Should your property manager know what this is?

Not necessarily but they should know what it COULD BE so they can alert a landlord to be prepared for potential increased costs of new floor coverings.

Do you know what this COULD BE?

Property Managers are not professional builders or floor installers but a little general knowledge goes a long way.

15/08/2026

You can miss the concert when you’re too busy watching it through your phone. 📱🎶

Could the same thing happen during a routine inspection?

Taking photos is important — but a good routine inspection is about more than documenting what’s in front of the camera.

It’s about looking up, looking around and actually noticing.

The small maintenance issue developing in the corner.
The change that wasn’t there last time.
The early warning sign that might save an owner money later.

Photos record what was seen.

A good property manager notices what needs to be seen.

When was the last time you actually looked through your routine inspection report rather than just filing it away?