Repairs - How should they be dealt with for Rentals

[aklsan]

Team,

1. Who should pay for wear and tear like plumbing, stove elements etc? Tenants or Owner?

2. Should there be any special clause under standard tenancy agreement to make tenants responsible for some or all of the repairs?

3. What if Property Manager keeps using his tradesmen, even after having my preferred tradesmen list. There is always a reason for not using my tradesmen. This is not giving me a good indication. What's the best way to deal with it?

Your assistance would certainly be appreciated.

Cheers,

[ATandGT]

1) If its fair wear and tear then the landlord is liable. Fair wear and tear is anything that wears out or breaks over time through ordinary use eg tap washers, oven elements.
2) No; that would be an unlawful clause
3) Stipulate to your property manager that no repairs are undertaken without consulting you first.

[flyernzl]

1. Who should pay for wear and tear like plumbing, stove elements etc? Tenants or Owner?

2. Should there be any special clause under standard tenancy agreement to make tenants responsible for some or all of the repairs?

The Landlord is responsible (under the terms of the RTA) for wear-and-tear repairs.
Any attempt to shift that responsibility on to the tenant would be struck down by the Tenancy Tribunal.
You cannot agree to override the Act.

Where there is actual damage, that's legally the responsibility of the tenant.

[revdev]

1) Given your description as "wear and tear", then the Landlord, no question

2) No such clause would be acceptable, if it was put to the test.

3) PM's have their own systems in place, to make the whole PM process as smooth as possible. Can you imagine if they had 250 owners under contract and everyone wanted to use their own tradies? Of course we know most clip the ticket with their preferred suppliers on the way through but that is part of the deal. You could insist on your own tradies of course, but isn't the whole idea to give them the property and let them get on with it?

[artemis]

Some things, eg lightbulbs, are covered on the DBH site. Check out the Tenancy A-Z index.

[chrisrussell]

It is a pretty grey area and is case-by-case really.
The owner should pay for reasonable wear and tear - the tribunals have a provision for excessive wear and tear. The tribunals also take the age of the item in question into consideration too. For example they deem that carpets should be replaced every 7 - 10 years in rental properties.

The standard clauses in the govt tenancy agreements are fine.

The PM should be working for you, under your instruction. So if they are not, then maybe time switch.

[BigDreamer]

The only time I had asked one of my tenant to pay for plumber is when one of them broke the shower. All other times I called the plumber (leak under house due to burst pipe, tap not closing properly) I had paid for and I would expect other Landlords should as well.

[phillip30]

agree with previous comments to my knowledge tenants cannot sign their rights away and it would nee to be 'damage' rather than general wear and tear. regarding the PM surely this would come back to what was agreed between you?

[aklsan]

Thank you everyone for your responses. Appreciate your efforts.

[aklsan]

1) Given your description as "wear and tear", then the Landlord, no question

2) No such clause would be acceptable, if it was put to the test.

3) PM's have their own systems in place, to make the whole PM process as smooth as possible. Can you imagine if they had 250 owners under contract and everyone wanted to use their own tradies? Of course we know most clip the ticket with their preferred suppliers on the way through but that is part of the deal. You could insist on your own tradies of course, but isn't the whole idea to give them the property and let them get on with it?

PM shall ensure, work carried in property is reasonably done with proper communication to landlord. Their business is Property management and landlord's business is investment management. Paying big money for small jobs and continuing with that approach doesn't justify work overload. It is called rip off. PM may have thousands of properties but he should be mindful while executing repairs and not let landlord feel that he cares about his commission and nothing else.