VIC Increase in Safety & Compliance Obligations in Victoria

Neither. I am with Detector Inspector for smoke alarms, but do not have them servicing gas/electrical due to the cost. I negotiated with my plumber and electrician - their checks are $220 incl GST each and Detector Inspector are $99.

Total cost is $638 across two years for the full service (220 x 2 and 99 x 2) - which is more or less the same as having TaskForce do them according to the link posted.

 

Here are the 2 summaries of charges from Smarthouse and Taskforce if you want to compare apples with apples. I have calculated the GST for each service. Prices for both are listed for multiple gas appliances (heater, stove HWS etc). I think Taskforce are cheaper if you are doing gas, electrical and smoke every 2 years and smoke every alternate year. Smarthouse are cheaper if you are only doing gas/smoke or electric/smoke every 2 years.

Smarthouse:
Electrical Gas and Smoke Alarm $778.80 inc GST (every 2 years)
Electrical Gas no Smoke $679.80 inc GST
Electrical and Smoke Alarm $394.90 inc GST
Gas and Smoke Alarm $482.90 inc GST
Electrical no Smoke $295.90 inc GST
Gas no Smoke $383.90 inc GST
Smoke Alarm $99 inc GST (every year)

Taskforce:
Electrical Gas and Smoke Alarm $548.90 inc GST (every 2 years)
Electrical Gas no Smoke $456.50 inc GST
Electrical and Smoke Alarm $438.90 inc GST
Gas and Smoke Alarm $438.90 inc GST
Electrical no Smoke $346.50 inc GST
Gas no Smoke $346.50 inc GST
Smoke Alarm $93.50 inc GST (every year)

 

Or.... Go local.

Find an electrician and gas fitter (a plumber with license to do gas) who lives locally and send business their way.
They will be your emergency contacts for all the other things you might need anyway.

 

I can only speak for my gasfitter, who spent at least an hour on each property doing all the testing. Any time there was an issue he would call me to see the problem (eg tenant duct taping over front of gas heater and another tenant placing contact all over heater with furniture pushed up hard against it). He also verbally told me the state of each appliance and how much life it probably had left. He gave a very thorough report to the pm for each property.

I'm surprised you would diss a tradie just because he did the same job at a better price.

 

That's what I did.

 

Would there be less testing for a new dwelling or for a reno that has been rewired or has new fittings such as a switch box, lights, GPOs and switches?

 

Not very likely...
The new rules does not distinguish between different properties and how old they are.
I don't think it's even possible to do.

It looks like a blanket requirement to cover all based, at the cost of, and the end of the day, tenants.

 

It's not rocket science. Gas compliance checks need the following (for anyone sourcing their own tradie):

- Appliance Servicing: Servicing all gas appliances throughout the property as per AS4575

- Fitting Line Pressure Test: Pressure testing the consumer fitting line to all gas appliances throughout the property

- Carbon Monoxide Testing: Carbon monoxide and negative pressure testing of the heater and within the property

- Compliance report: Compliance report upon completion.

A leak and pressure retention test on the main gas line
Negative pressure test
Carbon monoxide spillage test
7-point safety check

Paperwork is not onerous.

 

And this is today's job!!, When you pay for cheap trades this is the work you will receive.
They have ticked yes that the switchboard has been opened and checked and clearly it's never been done.

Im not after work just please do homework before someone gets hurt.

 

Established electrical have you reported the precious people to the ESO? If good tradies did this rather than just winge about them maybe there would be less dodgy ones. Most only find the dodgy after the event but I have found some during their work and sacked them on the spot. My safety is.not worth their incompetence

 

Do you have a list of the electrical compliance checks that need to be done, or have a link to it. I would prefer to use my own plumber/sparky to do these BS compliance checks every 2 years but want to make sure they know what it entails.

 

For your electrician - Electrician's toolkit.

I'm not sure about the plumber but it would be in ESV as well.

 

Hey Doingok,

From these findings the Owner, Real Estate and ESV have been notified.

I just wanted to show people that this is how the larger companies work such as detector inspector & smart house work because all work is sub contractored out and the person doing the job only gets paid a set amount per job, so things get rushed and not checked correctly because they need to do 4/5 a day to make enough money.

I would always recommend finding a local electrician you like and trust. It may cost a little more but you get more for your money then this outcome.

 

What happens if these companies goes belly up and ?

Also here is a spill from one of the company who provides these packages:-


"
when a property is signed up for our compliance services the smoke, gas and electrical all need to be done as soon as possible to ensure the full compliance of the property.

This means that in the first year there is an added cost to the owner (for example, $379 + $299 +GST if they have unlimited gas appliances) after which it will then become the consistent annual amount of $379+GST moving forward as the cost of the gas and electrical can be spread across a two year period.

As a result of bundling the services this way the property is receiving the added benefits of a 10% discount on the standard servicing costs along with free call outs for the entirety of their enrolment in the service (generally for a 2 year service such as gas and electrical the industry standard is warranty call outs for the first 12 months).

Broken down the standard pricing is $90+GST for smoke per year, $365+GST for gas every second year and $299+GST for electrical every second year.


Beyond the first year when all servicing needs to occur, if paid individually the rental provider would end up paying $844+GST over a two year period however our subscription package means that they pay $379+GST (x2) which ends up being $758+GST.

We do still have the option of individual sign ups to each of the services outside of the bundle however the bundle does bring with it the above benefits.

We also invoice upfront to ensure there is clear evidence of the rental provider doing all within their power to ensure compliance (the sign up and payment). After payment is made we will begin making contact with the tenant within 1-2 business days to arrange a booking time."

Any local ViC PMs has any tradies they can recommend to promote Small business @Lil Skater @Michelle Evans and other folks from VIC

 

I have used this company for my rental inspections. I have compared pricing with other providers, they seem to be the most competitive, and service has been great. Rental Property Compliance: Fire, Gas & Electrical Safety Inspections

 

Dear Sydney investor

The new Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021 became mandatory 29th March 2021 for Victoria. In those regulations yes all owners are required to get gas and electrical safety compliance certificates every 2 years and these must be made available to all renters that ask for them. The cut off date is January 2023 but only for tenancies that were in place prior to 29 March and are still continuing, however these certificates must be done prior to all new tenancies after 29th March 2021 and also all lease renewals or if the tenancies changes to periodic. With smoke alarms they are required once per annum and must have a signed off safety check as per the manufacturers instructions including the logging of the used by date.

I personally have found that the companies that are providing the overall service that you have indicated to be very overpriced and there already have been many instances where they have gone in and capped appliances off and then without authority or quoting doing the work for double the normal cost. There are however many companies out there that are doing and excellent job and doing the right thing but definitely not at the prices you are talking about.

 

We have recently used Detector Inspector for our property - both gas and electrical . I did not do a lot of research prior and took the "simple option" - and they were the recommended option by the agent and were already doing the smoke alarm checks.
It took over 3 months to get the inspection done - due to the backlog of people getting it done and probably many rushing into it even though there is a grace period.
The result was capping off of central gas heating due to risk -> It is an old system but it was okay when checked 3 years ago. Lucky there is an alternate heat source for the tenant - might be good to do these tests outside the winter months..
Also a number of power points where not checked due to obstructions - like a bedhead or a microwave, so not sure if there was advice before the checks (done through the agent) to make sure that all power points were accessible but there was at least 5 that were not done but stated as 'Compliant' - with comment "It is not reasonably practicable to test this appliance due to an obstruction restricting access. We may recommend a reattendance to test the obstructed appliances when the property is vacant."
The quote for the work to rectify the issues found was at least 25% above the 2nd quote i requested. Also not sure how long it would take to do this work considering it took so long to get the inspection done.
The reports are reasonably detailed and includes photos to show the issues.
I will be looking at other options for the other properties we have.

 

A property had a total reno a few years ago, new everything, certificate of compliance. I've asked a number of inspection companies to do the first inspection under the new rules, but nobody has replied. Is everyone so busy or locked down that they cannot do the job? Also, is there a breach if I have made an effort to get an inspection and cannot find anyone? Finally, might the tenant seek compensation for there being no inspection?

 

The gas/electrical checks only need to be done every 2 years.

If one wasn’t done within two years of the new tenant moving in, it just needs to be done ‘as soon as possible’ according to this guidance from consumer.vic.

If you have been making a real effort that will be fine. I would keep an email trail or notes about who you contacted and when. But we are in lockdown and it it’s not possible, it’s not possible. Are you self managing?

Guide for rental providers - Gas and electricity safety checks

Helpfully, it also lists the exact checks required.

 

An effort has been made, asked about seven companies. Some cannot do it, most no reply. I have a PM.