Often we have people contact our office to report an emergency at their property, but in all honesty it is rare for a true emergency to happen.  How is it that we decide what is an emergency and what is just a repair?  It is listed in the lease for the tenant and also listed in the Residential Tenancy Act 2002.   Please see below for the full list that is set out in NSW Tenancy Law as being considered an emergency repair:

a) a burst water service

b) an appliance, fitting or fixture that uses water or is used to supply water that is broken or not functioning property, so that a substantial amount of water is being wasted.

c) a blocked or broken lavatory system

d) a serious roof leak

e) a gas leak

f) a dangerous electrical fault

g) flooding or serious flood damage

h) serious storm or fire damage

i) a failure or breakdown of the gas, electricity or water supply to the premises

j) a failure or breakdown of any essential service on the residential premises for hot water, cooking,  heating, cooling or laundering

k) any fault or damage that causes the premises to be unsafe or insecure.

If your tenant has an item that is listed above, then you will need to treat this item as an emergency repair and it will need to be dealt with as soon as possible.  The thing for everyone to remember is that we still need to deal with issues around supply and trades being able to attend the property – I mean if we had a magic wand, we would definitely get things done on the spot!!   Sadly, we do not live in Hogwarts, so we have to rely on our own supply chains!!

If you have any questions about this blog, or about our processes around these issues, then please reach out to the office on 63525125