Why can’t the tenant get a fan? Property managers, how many times have you heard this from your owners? The tenant has let you know the airconditioning in the property they are renting has broken down and the owner isn’t in a hurry to get it fixed, after all it doesn’t affect them directly.
Owners need to understand that if the rental property included working airconditioning at the time the tenant signed the lease, it is a fair expectation that it will continue to work during the term of the lease and that it will be fixed if it breaks down.
An owner’s obligation is to attend to usual repairs and maintenance “in a timely manner”. Unfortunately, we know delays can occur, particularly at this time of year when there is a lot of demand for airconditioning repairs.
However, in certain circumstances, such as during extended periods of extremely hot weather, airconditioning repairs can be considered an urgent repair.
The Residential Tenancies Act states:
urgent repairs, in relation to residential premises, means repairs to the premises that are necessary:
(a) for the supply or restoration of a service prescribed as an essential service; or
(b) to avoid:
(i) exposing a person to the risk of injury; or
(ii) exposing property to damage; or
(iii) causing the tenant undue hardship or inconvenience.
Broken airconditioning can be considered to cause a tenant undue hardship or inconvenience.
It is a term of every residential tenancy agreement that if the need for urgent repairs arises (other than as a result of a breach of the agreement by the tenant):
(a) the tenant is to notify the owner/property manager of the need for those repairs as soon as practicable after the problem arises; and
(b) the owner/property manager must take action to contact a suitable repairer and arrange for them to fix the problem.
Owners need to be aware that they have 48 hours to arrange an urgent repair (24 hours for essential services). Failure to do so could result in your owner having to compensate the tenant for undue hardship and inconvenience should the tenant take the matter to court.
Tenants need to understand that while the repair needs to be arranged quickly, it does not have to be fixed in this timeframe – when it comes to airconditioning repairs, the issue is likely to take some time to fix due to demand. However, they do need to be informed that arrangements have been made and they have actioned within the given timeframe.