Under the agreement we have with the Director, Office of Housing, Eastcoast is responsible for maintaining the houses we manage.
We have a discreet budget for undertaking maintenance across the 160 properties weF manage.
Maintenance falls into several categories.
Urgent – 24 hours.
An immediate response (within 2 hours) is required and the works must be completed within 24 hours as per the RTA 1997.
If there is an immediate threat to the health and safety of the renter or others on the property, then it is viewed as urgent and works need to commence immediately and be completed within a 24 hour period from the notification by the renter or their representative.
The following is a guide to what constitutes urgent works as defined under the RTA 1997.
- A burst water service
- A blocked or broken sewerage system or toilet
- A serious roof leak
- A gas leak
- A dangerous electrical fault
- Flooding or serious flood damage
- Serious storm damage
- Fire damage
- A failure or breakdown of any essential service or appliance provided by the landlord for hot water, cooking, heating, or laundering
- A failure or breakdown of the gas, electricity, or water supply
- Any fault or damage in the premises, including fittings and fixtures that makes the premises unsafe or insecure
- An appliance, fitting, or fixture provided by the landlord that supplies water and that is malfunctioning in a way that results, or will result, in a substantial amount of water being wasted
- A serious fault in a lift or staircase in the rented premises
Responsive -Priority works 7 days.
Maintenance that has been requested by the renters as required (when things break). When determining whether responsive maintenance works that are not defined as urgent works should be completed as a priority, Eastcoast Housing Association considers whether:
- There would be a significant decrease in the level of service provided to the renter, and
- Future costly repairs could result if the maintenance works are delayed.
A partial appliance failure, such as one of the stove hot plates not working is repaired as a priority so that the renter is not inconvenienced for an extended period of time.
Responsive –Non-urgent works 14 days
The RTA requires that non-urgent maintenance works or repairs are to be completed within 14 days after the request by the renter or their representative, unless these works can be completed in the future as programmed works.
The Residential Tenancies Act 1997 states that renters can request the Director, Office of Fair Trading, to conduct an investigation if the landlord has not carried out the repairs within 14 days.
Examples of works completed as non-urgent maintenance works include:
- Damage to the clothes line or hoist
- Internal door that cannot be closed
- Damage to letter box which does not affect the security of the mail
Cyclical/upgrades.
Cyclical or planned maintenance is directed by the Asset Improvement Group on a planned cycle to ensure the properties remain in good condition. This includes items such as internal and external painting, re carpeting and guttering replacement (see Cyclical Maintenance section). The annual budget is determined each year.
Upgrading includes larger budget items such as bathroom and kitchen refurbishments etc. (see Secondary Upgrade section). There are no funds available from the funding body and requests will only be done by Eastcoast Housing Association if savings are made in the maintenance budgets. Upgrading of properties is directed by the Asset Improvement Group.
Eastcoast Housing is responsible for upgrading all properties under our management. Recommendations for the next two years are made by the Property Manager to the Managing Director by the end of November after completion of the Property Reports. Any recommendations must be accompanied by photos, rationale and cost estimates
Renter Responsibility
The renter is responsible for the condition of the property. The renter must notify Eastcoast Housing as soon as possible about the need for repairs to the property. Neglect, by not notifying Eastcoast Housing Association of the need for repairs, may be treated as “willful damage” and renters may be evicted under the RTA 1997 for willful damage of the property.
We try to inspect all houses annually. Most renters look after their homes. A very few do not and have caused or allowed to be caused (by visitors or family members) damages that they are responsible for fixing up.
If we see damages during an inspection Eastcoast Housing will breach a renter and expects them to fix the problem within 14 days. If a renters does not have rent arrears we may negotiate getting our tradesmen to fix the problem and the renters then pays us for this work.