Urgent repairs are often a hot topic as the definition often means one thing to a tenant and another to a property investor.
The definition of urgent or emergency repairs are set out in legislation which mandates what constitutes an emergency repair and who is responsible for arranging and paying for the repair.
Emergency repairs can be broadly defined as a repair that affects a tenant's standard of living or safety.
Urgent repairs include:
- A burst water service or broken/not functioning property appliance, fitting or fixture that uses water.
- A blocked or broken lavatory.
- A serious roof leak.
- A gas leak.
- A dangerous electrical fault.
- Flooding/Storm/Fire damage.
- Electricity or water supply failure.
- Breakdown/failure of any essential service for hot water, cooking, heating or cooling.
The residential tenancy agreement states the following under section 20:
The landlord agrees to pay the tenant, within 14 days after receiving written notice from the tenant, any reasonable cost (not exceeding $1000) that the tenant has incurred for making urgent repairs to the residential premises so long as:
20.1 the damage was not caused as a result of a breach of this agreement by the tenant, and
20.2 the tenant gives or makes a reasonable attempt to give the landlord notice of the damage, an
20.3 the tenants give the landlord a reasonable opportunity to make the repairs, and
20.4 the tenant makes a reasonable attempt to have any appropriate tradesperson named in the agreement (the lease) make the repairs
20.5 the repairs are carried out, where appropriate, by licensed or properly qualified persons, and
20.3 the tenant, as soon as possible give or tries to give the landlord written details of the repairs, including the cost and the receipts for anything the tenant pays for.
When an emergency or urgent repair is referred to a property manager, they make an assessment of whether the repair is urgent based upon the definition under The Act and will report it immediately to you for authorisation to appoint a contractor.
Here at Century 21 we have simplified our maintenance making it easy for both tenants to report maintenance and landlords to approve. Our tenant concierge delivers amazing tenant experience and saves our landlords money and makes maintenance easier - even when you're unavailable. With the Tenant Concierge, our tenants get immediate answers so their maintenance issues can be resolved, triaged or reported right away. Collecting all the information up-front means we can avoid unnecessary call-outs and extra cost.
Check out our tenant concierge here - https://c21novocastrian.com.au/repair-request
At Century 21 Newcastle, our property managers strive to have a comprehensive understanding of all thing's property, whether tenant or investor related. Contact us today for any enquiries you have about the property market.