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Housing, property and land

Property condition and maintenance

On this page you will find information about:

Standards of a rental property
Repairs and maintenance
Property damage caused by tenants
Tenants making alterations to the property
Reasonable security
Property inspections
Abandoned goods
Pests and vermin
Smoke alarms
Swimming pools

Standards of a rental property

As a landlord you are obliged to provide the rental property to the tenant in a reasonable state of cleanliness and repair at the start of the tenancy. The property must meet all legal requirements affecting the property - eg building regulations.

You can contact a building inspector to inspect the property and make sure that it meets all legal requirements. Your local council may have a building inspector who can provide information and advice.

You must maintain the property to a reasonable standard throughout the tenancy. What constitutes a reasonable standard will depend on the property’s age, character and prospective life. Even if the tenant was aware of maintenance issues at the start of their tenancy you will still be required to carry out repairs and maintenance.

If the property fails to meet minimum standards the Housing Improvement Branch can assess the property and place a limit on the amount of rent that you can charge until the minimum standards are met.

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Repairs and maintenance

You are responsible for maintaining the property to a reasonable standard throughout the tenancy.

The tenant must tell you if any maintenance or repairs are required as soon as possible.

If you are aware of a maintenance problem or have been told by the tenant of an issue but don’t repair it you are breaking the conditions of the lease agreement.

The tenant can:

give you a request for repairs (PDF 233KB) under section 68 that will give you a date by which to inform the tenant when you will carry out the repairs or the tenant will take action as specified on the form. For an alternative version of this document contact Consumer and Business Services (CBS) tenancies branch.
request assistance from CBS to help resolve the problem
apply to the Residential Tenancies Tribunal to end the tenancy, to request compensation or to ask for a legal order made to you to carry out the repairs
request investigation from the Housing Improvement Branch who can determine if the property is substandard and can limit the amount of rent you can charge.

The tenant can organise for the repairs to be done and pass the bill on to you if all of these apply:

you have been made aware of the problem but have either refused or have failed to do the repairs
the defect wasn’t the tenant’s fault
the defect is likely to cause inconvenience or damage to a tenant or their belongings
the property isn’t subject to a housing improvement order.

Repairs must be carried out by a licensed, qualified professional who can provide you with a report on the apparent cause of the problem.

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Property damage caused by tenants

It is a condition of the lease agreement that the tenant is responsible for maintaining the property to a reasonable standard of cleanliness. The tenant is responsible for the behaviour of any other occupants or guests to the property - eg visitors to the property.

The lease agreement states that a tenant should not cause or permit damage to a property. This includes damage that was caused:

intentionally
due to negligence.

You can issue a notice that the tenant either remedy a breach of this kind or the lease agreement will end.

A tenant who intentionally causes serious damage to the premises is guilty of an offence which carries a penalty of up to $2000.

At the end of a tenancy you are entitled to claim from the bond for valid repairs or cleaning required.

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Tenants making alterations to the property

A tenant can not, without your written consent, make alterations or additions to the property. They can remove a fixture they have erected with your consent, but would be responsible to repair any damage to the property this may have caused.

If a tenant does not repair the damage they must compensate you for the cost you incur to get the damage repaired.

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Reasonable security

You must take steps to provide and maintain any locks or other security devices to ensure the property is reasonably secure - eg fix a lock that is faulty.

Locks can not be changed by you or by a tenant without the consent of the other party. You can be fined up to $1000 if you change the locks without the tenant’s permission.

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Property inspections

If you are in the process of either selling or renting the property, after giving the tenant reasonable notice, you can show prospective purchasers or tenants through the property.

First inspection

When a new tenant is moving in you must provide them with two copies of the inspection sheet (PDF 842KB). This sheet can be modified to accurately reflect the property - eg if there is no bath remove it from the inspection sheet. For an alternative version of this document contact CBS tenancies branch.

Both you and the tenant should look at the property, either on your own or together, and complete the itemised inspection sheet. This sets out the details of the contents and condition of the property at the start of the tenancy.

After completing the sheets the tenant should keep one copy and return the other to you for your records. It is important these are correctly and accurately completed.

Final inspection

At the end of the tenancy you should organise for you and the tenant to complete a final inspection. This is to compare the property’s condition and contents at the end of the tenancy to those detailed on the inspection sheet you both completed when the tenant moved in.

When comparing the contents and condition of the property at final inspection you should take into account any damage that may have been caused by fair wear and tear.

If the tenant has caused any damage to the property they should organise for it to be repaired before the end of the tenancy. If this is not repaired at the end of the tenancy you are entitled to claim the costs of valid property damage or cleaning from the bond.

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Abandoned goods

When a tenant vacates a rental property they may leave belongings in the property. There are legal restrictions on how you deal with a tenant’s abandoned goods.

Once at least two days have passed after taking possession of the property, you can begin to deal with the tenant’s abandoned goods.

Perishables - eg food, can be disposed of after two clear days of taking possession of the property.
Items of little value - eg blankets, toys, can be disposed of or donated after two clear days of taking possession of the property. If their value is less than a fair estimate of the cost to remove, store and sell them.
Valuable items - eg antique furniture, other goods whose value is more than the fair estimate of the cost to remove, store and sell them, must be stored for at least 60 days.

Within seven days of storing these items you must issue a written notice of storage of goods (PDF 220KB) to the tenant. If you do not have a forwarding address for the tenant, issue the notice to another person with known interest in the goods - eg next of kin. A notice must also be published in a newspaper circulated state-wide. For an alternative version of this document contact CBS tenancies branch.

The tenant or another interested party can reclaim these belongings from you within 60 days of receiving the notice, provided that they pay you for:

the reasonable cost to remove and store the goods
the reasonable cost of putting a notice in the paper
any other reasonable costs you have incurred from the removal and storage of the goods.

If no-one has reclaimed the goods at the end of the 60 day period you must organise to have them sold at a public auction as soon as possible. Once the goods are sold at a public auction the tenant and any other interested parties have no further claim to them.

Any money made from a public auction should be used to cover:

the reasonable cost to remove, store and sell the goods
the reasonable cost of putting a notice in the paper
any other reasonable costs you have incurred from the removal and storage of the goods
any money still owing under the lease agreement - eg unpaid rent.

Once these costs have been deducted the remaining balance should be returned to CBS who will hold the money in a fund for the tenant.

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Pests and vermin

Below is a guide to who is responsible when an infestation occurs. It may change depending on the individual situation.

Pestand vermin	The landlord is responsible:	The tenant is responsible:
Ants	if present at the start of the tenancy	if present during the tenancy
Bees and wasps	if present in a wall cavity or similar if present at the start of the tenancy	if present during the tenancy
Birds	to remove and seal off any entry points
Cockroaches, fleas and spiders	if present at the start of the tenancy	if present during the tenancy
Mice and rats	if present at the start of the tenancy	if present during the tenancy
Possums	to remove and seal off any entry points
Snakes	if present at the start of the tenancy if caused by the landlord breaching the conditions of the agreement - eg landlord left piles of rubbish in garden	if present during the tenancy
White ants	at the start and throughout the tenancy

The removal of European wasps is managed by your local council.

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Smoke alarms

You are required by law to install a smoke alarm. If you don't do this you can be fined up to $750. The type of smoke alarm you need depends on when you first bought or built the property.

It is important that smoke alarms are correctly installed in an appropriate location to provide occupants with reasonable warning when they are asleep. It may be necessary to install more than one smoke alarm depending on the layout of the property.

For more information about what type and where to install smoke alarms see Smoke alarms.

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Swimming pools

If the property has a swimming pool there are certain legal requirements you must comply with to ensure the safety of the occupants. As the property owner you must ensure that these requirements are met and that the pool and its barriers are correctly maintained.

The law requires a continuous safety barrier that restricts access by young children to the pool and its surrounding area. Regulations apply to the fence, gates and any doors or windows that provide access to the pool.

If you would like to have an inspection carried out to ensure that the pool complies with the regulations you can contact your local council.

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