What happens if the hot water service blows up on Christmas Eve?
A hot water repair is what is termed by the Residential Tenancies Act, “an urgent repair” and therefore must be carried out immediately. There is no choice as it is covered by an Act of Victorian Parliament. Urgent Repairs usually relate to basic issues of housing such as heating, bathing, cooking and shelter, NOT refurbishment such as painting etc. All of the tradesmen on our maintenance list are aware of what constitutes an “urgent repair” and will act in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Any appliance that supplies water that cannot be repaired, must be replaced with an appliance that has an A rating. Once again this is under government guidelines. If the tenant takes “reasonable steps” to contact one of the tradesmen recommended by the agency of their property manager, and cannot do so, there are provisions in the Act for the tenant to contact any available tradesmen who can fix the problem. The tenant may spend up to $1000.00 and then recoup this from the landlord. 9. Wou
