Requesting Repairs
All requests for repairs and maintenance are best reported via our website.
To lodge your Repair Request on line click here after you have checked the information and tips below. If you do not have internet access you should lodge all non-urgent repair requests in writing to our office at 445 Moss Vale Road Bowral NSW 2576 (PO Box 2074) or by fax (02) 4861 0688.
In the event of an urgent repair (defined below) requiring emergency attention outside normal office hours, you should call the office number (02) 4861 0666 which will be diverted to an emergency answerer who can advise and assist you: leave a voice message if it is not answered immediately. In the alternative, you may, if we do not respond in sufficient time, contact the relevant emergency tradesperson noted in your lease agreement to arrange for immediate attention to the emergency.
Your Property Manager, or another member of our team, will attend to arranging non-urgent repairs, and advise you of the likely progress of your request, within one business day. However, because of other priority commitments by our tradespeople, or because of the need to obtain the landlord's approval for the work, it may be a day or two before work can commence. If you are at all concerned about delay, please do not hesitate to call the office and enquire.
Before Lodging a Repair Request
Before lodging your Repair Request, please have a look at the repair tips below first. This may well assist you to fix the problem quickly yourself and avoid an unnecessary call out. An unnecessary call out could result in you receiving a bill, and certainly results in some frustration for all concerned.
No power
- Check with neighbours to see if it's a general blackout.
- Check the main meter/fuse box. There may have been an overload and one or more safety switches may simply need resetting.
- Check for faulty appliances. Unplug all appliances in the house. Reset the safety switch in the meter box. Plug in the fridge and turn on the power point, check the safety switch. If the safety switch clicks off then you know that there is a fault with the fridge and you will need to get it repaired. Otherwise unplug the fridge again and plug in another suspect appliance (jugs, heaters, irons and the like are often the culprits) and check again. Continue checking all appliances until the faulty appliance is located. Remember: if our electrician attends to your Repair Request and finds the fault is with one of your appliances, then you will be charged the service fee.
Hot water is not hot
- Check that the gas/electricity is connected and working.
- Check that the water tap on the hot water system itself is turned on.
- If it's electric, check the main switch/fuse in the meter/fuse box and try resetting it if it's off.
- If it's electric, briefly release the copper valve on the overflow pipe until a flow of water starts coming out. This commonly needs to be done every six months or so.
- If it's gas, check to see if the pilot light has gone out. Some gas hot water systems can be easily relit - others may require a tradesperson.
(Some) lights or (some) power points are not working
- Check the main meter/fuse box. If there has been an overload one or more safety switches may need resetting.
- Have you replaced relevant light globes?
Electric stove element is not working
- Check the connections to make sure they are not loose or dirty. Sometimes pulling the element out, and simply cleaning and replacing it can fix the problem.
Kitchen/bathroom sink is blocked
- Try pouring boiling water or a supermarket drain cleaning product down the sink.
- Clean out the U-bend. Put a bucket under the drain pipe under the sink, unscrew the pipe under the sink (where possible) remove hair, old soap and all the greasy grunge, then re-screw the pipe back together. Then pour more boiling water down the drain, this should clear the blockage.
- Do not put fat and oil into the kitchen sink as these will clog up the pipes.
Washing machine is not working
- Check that the washing machine tap(s) are turned on at the wall.
- Check that the appliance is turned on at the wall.
- Check that the lid/door is closing properly.
- If the machine has stopped half way through a cycle make sure that you have not overloaded the machine or that it is out of balance: re-arrange the items evenly in the bowl.
Clothes dryer is not working
- Check to see if the lint filter needs cleaning. Dryers can automatically shut down due to overload of lint in the filter.
Urgent repairs (extract from OFT guidelines)
Residential premises must always be 'fit to live in'. Landlords are obliged to organise any urgent repair, as soon as reasonably possible, after having been notified by the tenant of the fault or damage. An urgent repair is any work needed to fix:
- a burst water service
- a blocked or broken lavatory system
- a serious roof leak
- a gas leak
- a dangerous electrical fault
- flooding or serious flood damage
- serious storm or fire damage
- a failure or breakdown of the gas, electricity or water supply to the premises
- a failure or breakdown of any essential service on the premises for hot water, cooking, heating, cooling or laundering
- any fault or damage that causes the premises to be unsafe or not secure.
How to get urgent repairs carried out
Tenants can spend up to $1,000 on urgent repairs and be reimbursed within 14 days by the landlord.
The landlord or agent must first be given a reasonable opportunity to arrange the work, or if they cannot be reached, any properly qualified tradesperson nominated in the tenancy agreement (lease) should be contacted. Refer to your tenancy agreement (lease) for more information.
