When it comes to urgent repairs to the rented premises, they can be performed by either the landlord or tenant. In saying that, the landlord should generally be given the opportunity to conduct the repairs first. If the landlord or anyone they have instructed attempts to carry out urgent repairs then it is advisable the tenant should oblige and allow the person access to the premises.

        Who can conduct Urgent Repairs to a rental property?

If a tenant chooses to carry out urgent repairs, they must first notify the landlord of the need for the repairs. Once again must give the landlord a reasonable opportunity to make those repairs. If the tenant chooses to carry out urgent repairs or organises for someone else to do them, then the landlord must reimburse the cost of repairs to the tenant. The landlord must reimburse the tenant within 14 days of being notified.

Note: The maximum amount that can be reimbursed to the tenant is $1,000.

The tenant is only entitled for reimbursement by the landlord if the following conditions are met:

1) the need for urgent repairs was not caused by the tenant.

2) the tenant gave the landlord notice of the need for urgent repairs, or at least made reasonable attempt to notify landlord.

3) the tenant gave the landlord a reasonable opportunity to make the repairs.

4) if a nominated person in the residential tenancy agreement was to carry out repairs, the tenant also made a reasonable attempt to arrange for that person to perform the repairs.

5) if the urgent repairs require licensed/qualified trades people such as an electrician that the work would be completed by a licensed person.

6) Once the repairs are carried out, the tenant must give the landlord, or make reasonable efforts to give a written notice to the landlord. The written notice should include a description of the repairs and their costs in addition to copies of the receipts associated with the repairs.

Repairs considered urgent include the following: broken toilets, serious roof leaks, gas leaks, dangerous electrical faults, flooding or serious flood damage, serious storm or fire damage, burst water service, broken water appliances causing substantial water wastage, failure of gas, electricity or water supplies, failure of essential services for hot water, cooking, heating, cooling or laundry, faults / damage that make the premises safe or insecure.

Is property maintenance a concern for you? To find out how easy it is to protect your property call the team at PayOnce Property Maintenance today.