The Law Handbook 2024

484 Section 6: Houses, communities and the road • a burst water service; • a blocked or broken toilet system; • a serious roof leak; • a gas leak; • a dangerous electrical fault; • flooding or serious flood damage; • serious storm or fire damage; • a failure or breakdown of any essential service or appliance provided by a rental provider for hot water, water, cooking, heating or laundering; • a failure or breakdown of the gas, electricity or water supply to the rented premises; • a failure or breakdown of any cooling service provided by the rental provider; • a failure to comply with minimum standards; • a failure or breakdown of any safety-related devices, including smoke alarms and pool fences; • an appliance, fitting or fixture provided by a rental provider that uses or supplies water and that is malfunctioning in a way that results or will result in a substantial amount of water being wasted; • any fault or damage that makes the rented premises unsafe or insecure, including a pest infestation or the presence of mould or damp caused by, or related to, the building structure; or • a serious fault in a lift or staircase. First, the renter must take reasonable steps to arrange for the rental provider to immediately carry out the repairs (s 72(1) RT Act). This ordinarily involves attempts to advise the rental provider or agent of the need for repair by telephone. At the start of the rental agreement, the rental provider should have provided the renter with an emergency telephone number to be used in case of the need for urgent repairs (s 66(2)(b)). What constitutes ‘reasonable’ depends on the circumstances; that is, the degree of urgency of the repairs and the number of times the renter has attempted to contact the rental provider. With particular urgent repairs (e.g. a serious gas leak), the renter may only need to make one or two attempts to contact the rental provider before taking further steps. Renters should keep a record of all telephone calls (answered and unanswered) and any other attempts to contact the rental provider or agent. The renter should also submit the repair request in writing as soon as practicable (s 72AA RT Act). Following this, if the rental provider does not get the repairs done, or is not responding, the renter has a choice: • the renter can pay for the repairs to be completed by a suitably qualified tradesperson and seek reimbursement from the rental provider (if the cost of the repairs is under $2500 including GST) (reg 32); or • the renter can apply to VCAT for repair orders to make the rental provider attend to the repairs. Where the renter pays for urgent repairs The renter should ensure that the cost of the repairs does not amount to more than $2500 (including GST). If the renter arranges for urgent repairs and the cost is more than $2500, the rental provider is only liable to pay the reasonable cost of repairs up to $2500 (s 72(2)(b) RT Act). It is not recommended renters use this process unless they are certain the repairs meet the definition of urgent repairs. To recover the money paid for urgent repairs, the renter must give the rental provider seven days’ notice in writing of the repairs carried out and the cost of the repairs (s 72(2)(a) RT Act). It is sufficient notice to send the rental provider a letter, or use the Notice to Rental Provider form; attach copies of the receipts or paid invoices. The rental provider must pay the amount within seven days. If they do not, the renter may apply to VCAT for a compensation order (ss 73, 209AAB). Note that the renter may request that the rental provider’s liability be offset against the rent by way of a rent reduction order, rather than a monetary order (s 212(5) RT Act). If a monetary order has been obtained from VCAT and the rental provider is refusing to pay, a rent reduction order may be sought instead (s 120A VCAT Act). Applying to VCAT for urgent repairs If a renter does not want to, or cannot afford to, pay for repairs themselves or the repairs cost more than $2500 (including GST), after attempting to arrange for the rental provider to do the repairs, the renter should make an application to VCAT (s 73 RT Act). VCAT is required to hear an application for urgent repairs within two business days of receiving the application (s 73(2)). The renter should provide evidence that there is an urgent need for repairs, and the attempts made to arrange for the rental provider to do the repairs. VCAT can make an order requiring the rental provider do the repairs within a specified time (s 76 RT Act).