What Is A Landlord’s Responsibility For A Rental Property In Australia?
When you are in a situation of being a tenant or a landlord, there can be grey areas of who is responsible for what, and in this article, we share the landlord’s responsibilities for a rental property in Australia so you can ensure all parties are aware of their roles and responsibilities.
When you’re a landlord, there is a little more to the role than collecting your rent cheque each week, maintenance, repairs, paying outs for the property, council rates, and managing the property is just the beginning.
Whether you are a landlord for a unit, townhouse, house, or property on acreage, there are some responsibilities to be aware of to ensure you are carrying out your end of the arrangement and tenants are happy and safe.
Landlord responsibilities
Companies such as Tenancy Check offer an insight into the responsibilities of landlords and outline the following:
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Maintaining the structure and exterior of the house.
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Ensuring all 'installations' are working, such as gas, electricity, and heating.
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Installation and appliance maintenance and safety. Please note, this only applies to landlord-owned appliances.
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Treat potentially health-threatening issues such as rising damp.
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Anything else that's stipulated in the tenancy agreement.
As well as this, your individual state and territory can share the state by state tenancy agreements and checklists that both tenants and landlords should be aware of. For example, landlords need to cover basic plumbing, electrical issues, and any repairs or maintenance inside or outside of the property.
What should a landlord take care of?
While each case is unique, a landlord should take care of issues such as fire damage, gas leaks, roof leaks, blocked toilet, broken toilet, burst water pipe, leaking pipes, failure of the water supply, issues with the electricity, failure of the cooking appliances provided such as oven and stove, issues with security and any air conditioning units that are provided in the property and lease agreement.
It should be noted, landlords that don’t abide by the regulations and responsibilities can face fines and legal action should they not carry out their end of the tenancy agreement. The Office of Fair Trading can provide more information as well as your state tenancy authority should landlords or tenants wish to dispute landlords’ responsibilities.
Landlords and tenants have rights and responsibilities, and tenants deserve to live in a safe and secure property. On the other hand, landlords should have the peace of mind that renters will carry out their end of the tenancy agreement and should be forthcoming with any urgent and non-urgent repairs that require attention.
Check out the relevant government body in your state for detailed information on the rights and responsibilities of bother parties.
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NSW: Fair Trading
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VIC: Consumer Affairs
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ACT: ACT Revenue Office
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NT: Consumer Affairs
If you have any questions about the responsibilities of the tenant or the landlord in a rental agreement, speak with your state body to find out more or discuss your complaint with a property manager or property lawyer to get legal advice.
