Rental Repair Rights 🌐

Knowing when you can ask your landlord to complete repairs at your property can help you make sure your home is safe and secure for you to live in. This blog outlines your rights to repairs as a renter.

Both the renter and the landlord can be responsible for ensuring the property is in good quality. The renter is responsible for looking after the property while they live in it, while the landlord is responsible for making sure the property is in good repair. If you broke something at the property, you may be asked to cover the cost of the repairs. However, if the issue arose because of wear and tear over time or because the property is no longer in compliance with minimum standards, your landlord will be responsible for covering the cost of carrying out the repairs.

Either way, if something breaks or you suspect the property is not in good repair, you should contact your agent in writing as soon as you can.

If something at the property is not working or has broken, you can ask the agent or landlord for repairs. If you caused the damage yourself, they are still responsible for organising the repairs but may ask you to cover the costs of the repair job.

There are certain types of repairs that are listed as “urgent repairs” under the law. These include:

• Blocked or broken toilet system
• Serious roof leak or flooding
• Gas leak
• Dangerous electrical fault
• Serious storm or fire damage
• Failure or breakdown of any essential service or appliance provided by the landlord or agent, such as hot water, water, cooking, heating, or laundering
• Breach of Rental Minimum Standards - which includes specific standards that are outlined below.

Rental Minimum Standards mean that your property must include things like:

• External doors must have functioning deadlatches
• External windows must be lockable and be fitted with coverings that can be closed, block light, and provide privacy
• Main living area must have a working fixed heater
• Working toilets
• Bathrooms must be connected to hot and cold water, and have a washbasin and a shower/bath
• Adequate ventilation in the bathroom and laundry
• Kitchens must have a proper food preparation area, a sink that is connected to hot and cold water, and a working stove top with at least 2 burners
• The property must be structurally sound, and be free from mould and damp caused by the building structure

If you’re still unsure of whether you have an urgent or non-urgent repair on your hands, tell us more about the problem and we’ll tell you which it is.‍

In an ideal situation, the landlord should organise for the issue to be fixed as soon as possible once you’ve made them aware of it. However, if nothing is done after you tell them about the issue, you can send the landlord a formal letter, either written by yourself or issued by a lawyer, requesting for the repair to be carried out.

Your landlord is not entitled to evict you or raise your rates simply because you have asked for repairs to be performed. However, some landlords may still choose to do so (even if they are not entitled to). This might mean that you have to go to VCAT to resolve the issues.

Anika Legal provides a free service which helps tenants get their home fixed. If you’ve tried to contact your landlord and your home still isn’t fixed, we might be able to help you.

Nope! If you stop paying rent and you become at least 14 days overdue, your landlord can begin the eviction process by issuing you with a 'notice to vacate' – which can require you to leave the property within 14 days. So, even if the bathroom’s flooded, the window’s cracked or there’s a flock of birds taking up residence in your roof, always pay your rent.

However, there is a pathway to pay rent into another account that the landlord can't access until they fix the issues. There are very specific steps you need to follow for this, which we can help you navigate. Contact us today to get started.

Anika Legal can provide legal assistance if you:

• Need repairs at your home and haven’t yet applied to VCAT
• Have received a Notice to Vacate due to rental arrears
• Need help with a bond dispute after your landlord has applied to VCAT

Fill out our 10-minute questionnaire to see whether you’re eligible.

We last updated this page in March 2023. Please remember that this is only legal information. If you're thinking about taking action, you should chat to a lawyer for advice about your situation first.