new rental laws

Have you heard that as of next year it will not only be mandatory for smoke alarm checks (not actual law now) but that all electrical appliances will have to be checked and certificate issued to tenant every year. Quite apart from the Qld law coming in that every room has to have a smoke alarm hard wired to every other smoke alarm. Then everyone bitches like crazy that rents are too high.

 

No comment on the new rules, but I do believe it is folly to think maintenance (or other) expenses influence rents.

I would go one further and say that rents are not high at all but that is of course relative, a matter of opinion, and unique to each area.

 

If this does happen then I believe tenants too should provide annual certificates showing that all their appliances have been checked and certified, and I'll go one better... all new tenants would have to provide valid compliance certificates for any appliances they want to bring into/onto the rental premises.

There is more chance of a tenant's faulty appliance causing a loss of power/fire to premises etc than the owner's appliances, purely because a rental property doesn't come furnished with too many appliances in the first place.

What is good for the goose is good for the gander !

 

What state are you referring too Fern ?

 

If you mean a yearly test and tag of electrical items with a plug in cord. The only thing in my unit would be the dishwasher.

I already pay $100 a year for smoke detector and RCD tests.

 

Shogun. You are in WA right?

So you pay $100 for someone to press the test button on the smoke detector and the RCD and they then give you a report? I assume this an approved electrical contractor as I couldn’t imagine a PM would know what to do if either worked or not?

I understand you need to cover yourself from liability, but what do you actually receive in writing for that fee?

NB: I do these checks myself as self managing landlord, I am just curious.

 

A test report, replace batteries and a WA certificate of electrical compliance,(which really is not needed annually but you need one for a rental).

Yes electrician and fee waived and fair rates if any item needs replacing.

They don't just press test switch on RCD which should be done monthly. They trip RCD at a few power gpo and measure time to trip.

One type of smoke detector you use a can of "smoke" no idea how you text the other kind

 

I assume this is Vic. Was meant to come in at the start of July, then start of January - now pushed back to April due to covid.

It involves checking all electrical items, such as power points - so not a simple tag and test situation.

There is a cross over period (it was meant to be 2022, but I don’t know yet if this changes with the change of date for the start of the legislation) for getting the property up to date. Some will need full rewires or mains upgrades - for some of our older properties we’ve started getting checks done early to budget upgrades.

 

This could end up costing $1K per annum. And that's without taking into account grow lights.

 

Can you provide a link to this? I am only tracking the interconnection of smoke alarms by 2022, which I'm taking care of next year. Cheers.

 

In Victoria. I like the idea of getting the tenants stuff tested as this has just cost me a call out fee for electrician who said the pizzo ignition on the stove had shut off all the power. I really dont believe this. They are new tenants and an existing stove. I believe once before another new tenant's fan had taken out the power too.

 

And if you dont believe tenant's demands influence rents, do you think landlord's offer accommodation as an altruistic gift, no, it is a business and they need to recoup costs or else why be in it?

 

The accommodation provided is not a gift, but what you are able to achieve in rent has little to do with what it costs you to provide it.

Ask yourself why you are not already charging a higher rent.
Is it because the current rent is about the maximum you reasonably can, or is it because after an analysis of your expenses it seems an appropriate amount to charge? I suspect it's the former.

In the context of this discussion we are referring to compliance costs not tenant demands.

 

It’s every 2 years. Gas is every two as well - I agree with gas if there’s a gas heater for example, but you need a full gas check just for a cooktop... that seems excessive.

No exemptions that I’ve seen either. Much like you I think some properties should be exempt if it can be shown it was at code as at X date and no major changes have been done.

All details are here in case I’ve forgotten something as my brain is a bit of baby mush right now -
New regulations for rental housing

Note the delay until April 2021 isn’t technically “official” yet, but from memory it was part of their consideration to extend the Covid protections until March 2021.