Maintenance and Repairs - Tips to make the process easier

Many tenants believe that any requests and repairs MUST be undertaken & immediately. While the property must be maintained and repairs must be completed in a timely manner, a Property Manager must seek permission prior to going ahead with any repairs, alterations etc. An owner is not required to agree to upgrades to the property, such as an additional air conditioner as an example.

Emergencies such as a blocked toilet can be requested over the phone.  As you will need this fixed as soon as possible, we do not want the delay of waiting for a form.  After hours emergencies can be organised by phoning the trades people directly, however this is only in the case of a true emergency, not for regular repairs.  The phone numbers of the emergency trades people are on your General Tenancy Agreement.

A tenant must put all requests in writing unless the request is considered an emergency. Written forms can be dropped in to the office, posted, faxed or emailed to request repairs. Repair forms are given with your sign up pack and extra forms are available at reception.

Please ensure there is a full description of any concerns. If there is no hot water, explain when this started, is it just running out, is there any water at all or just no hot water, is your system gas or electric?  The information given will help so that we do not delay having the repair completed.

Once received, your Property Manager will take the request to your owner for approval or consideration.  Depending on the issue or request, the owner may ask for several quotes prior to going ahead with the work requested.  We will send a work order to our trade’s people who will contact the tenants to book a suitable time.  At time of booking, the trade’s people may ask questions to help determine the problem and assist with what tools and parts to bring to the property.

When the quotes are returned to the office, the owner is contacted again for approval on each quote.  When consent is given to the Property Manager, another work order is sent for the successful quote to go ahead.  The trade’s people will again contact the tenant for an appropriate time to complete the repairs. 

Please note, tenants cannot add items to the repairs list while the trade’s person is at the property.  Approval is given for the repairs on the work order only, and by adding to this, the trades person risks not being paid for work completed.  They are not trying to be difficult; we have signed agreements stating they cannot undertake extra works.

All invoices are sent to the office for payment, no money is expected to be paid by the tenant¸ even in an emergency situation.  Please advise the office if any money is requested.

In some circumstances, the owner may request that your Property Manager attends the property to inspect the work.  If this happens a time will be discussed or a notice issued to view the works.  This is not a routine inspection, and only that item will be examined.