Being ‘piggie in the middle’ when it comes to maintenance requests is one of the many challenges faced by agents.
But there are times when you just might need to give the landlord a bit of a poke as it could mean the difference between them keeping their insurance protection or not…
Many agents get caught in the middle of the maintenance tug of war at rental properties.
Tenants are paying good money for the roof over their heads, so they expect it to be in good shape and to be able to feel safe and comfortable.
Landlords usually need to prioritise and budget for both routine maintenance and unexpected repairs.
Both sides have valid positions when it comes to general maintenance matters and minor repair requests, things that may be run-of-the-mill, purely aesthetic or niggling annoyances or inconveniences (for example, loose internal doorknobs, chipped paintwork or sticking windows).
These are usually nothing that has the potential to cause anyone any harm or damage the property.
In these cases, there is usually a bit of leeway for you to display your negotiation skills and come up with a reasonable timeframe for the requests.
However, there’s no such wiggle room when it comes to emergency repairs at the rental.
And if your landlord tries to brush off a request for an emergency repair to be made, you have a problem.
Why emergency repairs are vital
The residential tenancy laws in every state and territory across the country have provisions that relate to emergency (or urgent) repairs.
The legislation, generally, not only details what constitutes an emergency repair but also sets out a timeframe in which it must be addressed.
Failing to meet statutory obligations can have legal ramifications for your landlord, which you’ll likely be dragged into.
What’s considered an emergency repair?
While there is some variation between jurisdictions, as a rule, emergency repairs at a rental property are those that need immediate attention because they make the property unsafe or uninhabitable.
Emergencies can include things like:
- Burst water service or serious water leak.
- Blocked or broken plumbing system including toilets and sewerage leaks.
- Serious roof leak.
- Gas leak.
- Dangerous electrical faults.
- Serious storm or flood damage.
- Fire damage.
- Serious impact damage.
- Breakdown of gas, electricity or water supply to the premises.
- Failure or breakdown of essential services.
- Faults or damage that make the property unsafe or insecure.
- Damage that can cause health issues.
- Faults or damage that could likely injure a person or damage property.
The ramifications of not responding to an emergency repair
The emergencies listed above need to be attended to immediately – if they aren’t, the landlord is not only likely to be in breach of the tenancy agreement but also the applicable laws.
This could see them (and you – their property manager) having to appear before a tribunal or court, and face fines and/or compensation payments.
But it isn’t only legislation that concerns itself with emergency repairs – insurers do too.
TIP: Acting early and fast also protects landlords and keeps tenants safe.
The impact on insurance
There are a couple of reasons why failing to take care of emergency repairs can impact insurance.
Cover under an insurance policy is contingent on the policyholder and their representatives, such as their property manager, acting lawfully.
If the landlord fails to uphold their duty of care, for example by not attending to emergency repairs as legislated, then any claim they make could be jeopardised.
Say, for example, there is a leak in a water pipe in the roof space which they are notified of as soon as it is noticed but they choose to ignore.
Two days later there is water dripping through the ceiling, and the landlord still refuses to allow a repair to be made.
A week later, the ceiling collapses and the room below suffers damage.
The insurer denies the claim because the emergency repair was not carried out within the legislated timeframe, and the policyholder also did not act to prevent further loss when the damage first occurred (which is also a condition of insurance cover).
Jeopardising cover doesn’t only apply to any damage claim. It also applies to any legal (or public) liability claim.
If an emergency repair isn’t carried out at the rental properly – and by this we mean within the legislated timeframe and correctly (e.g. by a licensed tradesperson if required) – and someone gets hurt or their property gets damaged as a result, then they could have a claim against the landlord.
And, if the landlord doesn’t act lawfully, their insurer could limit or even reject the legal liability claim, and these have the potential to stretch into the millions of dollars.
If you are the one who has acted unlawfully, you could put your Real Estate Agency’s professional indemnity (PI) insurance cover at risk.
Another reason insurers take an interest in emergency repairs is because these generally relate to safety and the home being habitable.
So, not addressing these repairs also means the premises is unlikely to fulfil the insurance obligation of being adequately maintained.
This too could put a question mark over any claim.
How to respond if a landlord ignores an emergency repair request
If the landlord refuses to authorise an emergency repair, you should explain that the tenancy legislation requires emergency repairs to be carried out within a specific timeframe and if they don’t, they could get into legal trouble.
And be sure to also tell them to check with their insurance provider about the consequences of not making emergency repairs.
Presented with evidence of the losses they are sustaining and the consequences they could be facing, reason will hopefully prevail.
Be sure to keep meticulous notes about your correspondence with all the parties involved and the actions you take.
As I said earlier, you will want to make sure you safeguard your PI cover, so ensure you fulfil your legal and contractual obligations, and keep excellent records.
While there is often a fair bit of to-ing and fro-ing about getting routine maintenance and repairs done, in most cases emergency repairs are handled as a matter of urgency by landlords – it’s their investment property that has been damaged after all – and very few landlords would want to fall foul of the law, or their insurance provider!
If you have questions, reach out to your EBM RentCover Relationship Manager.
If you aren’t partnered with us, but would like to be, please get in touch.
