As a landlord in Victoria, ensuring the safety of your property's gas and electrical systems is crucial for the well-being...
You may have heard about the new renting laws that affect your responsibilities as landlord in Victoria. But do you understand the details and what is actually expected of you when it comes to safety and compliance?
Don’t stress. Avoid hefty penalties and lease with confidence when you learn about the changes and how to ensure your home meets the requirements in this article.
Home safety and compliance checks are a means of ensuring that a property is safe and livable according to current regulations- in this case the Residential Tenancy Regulations 2021 in Victoria. These checks are often conducted before a home is leased out and following the appropriate schedule.
The checks cover systems that may pose a danger to tenants and usually include all electric, gas, smoke alarms and even swimming pool systems where applicable.
The purpose of the Residential Tenancy Regulations is to make certain that properties that are leased are safe for tenants to reside in and compliant with minimum standards.
The new changes involve assessments for gas, electricity, and smoke alarm systems and make it the landlord’s duty to ensure that these checks are carried out in a timely manner.
As of 29 March 2021, landlords who enter into a new rental agreement or have a fixed term agreement of more than five years which rolls over into a periodic tenancy must ensure that these house appliances or systems are assessed for safety according to the schedule below.
Appliance/ System | Scheduled Checks |
Smoke Alarm | Every year |
Electric | Every 2 years |
Gas | Every 2 years |
It’s important to note that these checks have to be carried out by a licensed or registered technician and that all records (such as compliance certs etc) should be kept to prove that they have been done.
That said, if a gas or electrical safety check has not been conducted within the last 2 years at the time the renter occupied the premises, the rental provider must arrange a gas or electrical safety check as soon as possible.
At CheckHero, we offer our clients an accredited, thorough, friendly, and affordable service to ensure that your property is safe and compliant. We are a comprehensive and seamless end-to-end compliance solution, with checks conducted by fully licensed and accredited professionals.
The new safety check regulations, which came into effect on March 29 2021 (under the Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021), have added yet more work to agents or self-managed landlords. CheckHero is here to take all this extra workload off of your hands.
CheckHero services include:
Smoke Alarm Testing
Electrical Safety Check
Gas Safety Check
These can be purchased individually, or as a comprehensive bundle for your convenience.
At CheckHero, our business is geared around providing the most hassle-free support to our clients (property managers) and, in turn, to their landlords.
The way in which we administer everything for you is significantly more effortless than alternative solutions. Our product is built around providing a seamless experience that runs on autopilot without you needing to worry about anything.
We also promise
We know that you have enough work as it is. As such, our software makes it easy to manage every part of your compliance needs. This includes features such as:
Compliance Reminders
Quickly view which properties need an inspection and set up reminders for follow ups.
Quick Bookings
Creating an inspection takes under a minute.
Tenant Management
No keys, ever. We’ll coordinate with your tenants directly to organise a suitable time to conduct the checks.
Full Compliance History
Legislation prescribes certain recordkeeping standards, including the tradesperson’s name, date of inspection etc. We save all your inspection history (including any previous inspection documentation) in one place.
Easy to Share
Provide you a link to quickly view the compliance status of any one or more of their properties.
Pain-Free Invoicing
We’ll send you an invoice following each inspection – all fully accessible at any time via the Portal.
Automatic Repairs Quotes
We know finding quotes can be a pain. We’ll list any repairs job to our tradesperson marketplace and send you multiple competitive quotes. There is no obligation for you to use one of our quotes.
Avoid getting penalised for a home that’s less than compliant, and more importantly protect your property and your tenants from mishaps.
Learn more about CheckHero’s home safety and compliance solutions below:
Yes, the electrical safety standard in Victoria mandates that rental properties must be equipped with modern-style switchboards, which include circuit breakers and electrical safety switches. These safety switches are technically referred to as residual current devices (RCD), residual current circuit breakers (RCCB), or residual current circuit breaker with overcurrent protection (RCBO).
In 2021, updated rental legislation was enacted in Victoria.
This revised law broadened the rights and responsibilities of both tenants and landlords, aiming to create a more equitable and secure rental environment in the region.
These amendments are applicable to various types of rental arrangements, encompassing private rentals, caravan parks, residential parks, and rooming houses.
Key modifications in the legislation include:
These alterations are designed to be relevant throughout the entire duration of a rental agreement, from the initial signing phase through to the conclusion of the agreement.
Under the new rental laws, rental providers (formerly known as landlords) have specific responsibilities concerning gas and electrical safety. They are required to undertake gas and electricity safety checks in the following situations:
In addition to conducting these safety checks, rental providers are also obligated to maintain and be capable of producing records of the gas and electrical safety checks that have been performed at the property.
Rental providers are required to ensure that gas and electrical safety checks are conducted every 2 years. These checks must be performed by a licensed or registered gas fitter or electrician, as mandated by Schedule 3 of the Regulations.
Rental providers are responsible for keeping records of the most recent safety checks until the subsequent check is conducted. These records must include:
Rental providers are obligated to ensure that smoke alarms are correctly installed, functioning properly, and tested annually in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, as specified in Schedule 3 of the Regulations. This includes the responsibility of replacing batteries in the smoke alarms as necessary.
In addition to this, before or on the day that renters move into the property, the rental provider must furnish them with specific information about each smoke alarm. This information includes:
Content Writer at CheckHero. Dennis is from Victoria, AUS. He loves going to galleries and writes about creative things in his spare time.
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