What is an Urgent or Emergency Repair?
* Repairs must be arranged within 24 hours
• Sustained loss of Hot Water
• Dangerous Electrical faults
• Gas leaks
• Sewerage leaks
• Burst Water service
• Broken windows or glass doors which can not be safely patched or may cause injury
Other Urgent repairs (repairs must be arranged within 48 hours) are defined as something which isn’t required to restore an essential service however may cause damage to the premises, or injury to a person if it’s not attended to. (For example, a hole in your roof or ceiling)
If the urgent repair is carried out by one of the recognised contractors listed below, they will issue their invoice directly to our office. If you arrange for repairs to be carried out by a non-recognised contractor the owner will reimburse you for any reasonable expense incurred in paying for those repairs. 'Reasonable' is a subjective term so we highly recommend you contact our trusted contractors listed below.
What To Do...
Sustained loss of Hot Water
If the Hot Water Service (HWS) at the property is gas, you should contact a plumber (from the list below) however if the HWS is electric, you should contact an electrician (from the list below).
*For electric HWS systems, please ensure you check your electrical meter box to ensure that the RCD switches have not been tripped before calling for an urgent repair. Sometimes RCDs trip for unknown reasons and simply putting them back into place is the solution. If the RCDs continue to trip, please unplug all appliances in your home to ensure that none of them are causing the problem (a faulty appliance will mean that any subsequent electrical issues and associated call out costs are the tenant's liability).
If you are in a strata complex, there is a chance your HWS is communal and therefore you should attempt to contact your strata manager or strata emergency tradesman first.
Gas Leak
Turn off the gas at the main supply and contact a plumber from the list below.
No Electricity / dangerous electrical fault
First, please check that there are no power outages affecting your area. Check the Western Power website here.
Please ensure you check your electrical meter box to ensure that the RCD switches or fuses have not been tripped before calling for an urgent repair. Sometimes RCDs trip for unknown reasons and simply putting them back into place is a solution. If the RCDs continue to trip please unplug all appliances in your home to ensure that none of them are causing the problem (a faulty appliance will mean that any subsequent electrical issues and associated call out costs are the tenant's liability).
If you identify an electrical problem which may cause injury, such as: Crackling from a power point, a loose live wire etc, turn off the electricity at the meter box and contact an electrician from the list below.
Flooding / Burst Pipe
Turn off the water at the mains supply and contact a plumber from the list below.
For urgent faults including no water or anything causing harm or damage, call Water Corporation on 13 13 75 for an immediate response or report a fault here.
Break In / Broken Window / Glass Door
Contact the police and report a break in or vandalism. The police will give you a Police Report Number – you must report this to the office the next working day. Without obtaining the Police Report Number, the cost of replacing the glass will be invoiced to the tenant.
You may instruct the glazier to forward the account directly to our office, marked for the attention of your Property Manager. If the glass breakage is the result of your actions, or the actions of a family member or guest, you may call the glazier to repair the broken glass, however you will be liable for payment.
Severe Damage to Property or Injury to a Person
• If injury to a person call an Ambulance on 000
• If there is a fire call the Fire Brigade on 000
When to call the SES (State Emergency Service) 132 500;
The SES can provide a wide range of services to help cope with the effects of natural disasters. They can provide emergency repairs to protect persons or property from danger or potential danger associated with the emergency. If there is structural damage to the house, flooding or electrical problems do stay not at the property. Your Property Manager will contact the building insurer the next working day, who may send an assessor.
If You Are Locked Out
If you lose your keys or lock yourself out you will need to contact a locksmith directly and you will be responsible for paying the account. Please do not contact your Property Manager outside of business hours if you have locked yourself out of your property as they will not be able to assist.
During normal business hours, if we are able to assist, we will try, but you should not rely on the agency's keys as a back up of your own.
If you are not able to access your property due to damage to the property (caused by a break in or a severe weather event) or because another urgent repair item is obstructing entry, please contact our approved locksmith below.
What is NOT an Urgent Repair
Please contact your Property Manager on the next business day to report items such as those listed below.
• Blocked Toilets (when another toilet is functional in the property)
• Blocked Pipes; Shower, Kitchen Sink
• Stove top/Oven not working
• Hot water temperature not stable (only "NO hot water" is an urgent repair)
• Trouble with Reticulation
• Leaking Taps
• Pest Control
• Air conditioning/heating not working
• General Repairs and Maintenance
PLUMBING - City Metro Plumbing: 0433 350 646 (24 hours)
PLUMBING - Plumbing Bros: 1300 057 827 (24 hours)
ELECTRICAL - Bara Electrical: 0408 950 338 (24 hours)
*Be sure to check for power outages in your area first - Check the Western Power website here.
GLASS - Action Glass: 9249 2429 (24 hours)
LOCKSMITH - RAM Locksmiths: 9201 9232 (24 hours) -
TENANTS PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU DIRECTLY ENGAGE THE SERVICES OF A TRADE AND THAT REPAIR / CALL OUT IS NOT FOUND TO BE AN 'URGENT' OR 'EMERGENCY' REPAIR UNDER THE TERMS OF YOUR LEASE (and the info above) YOU WILL BE LIABLE FOR THE COST OF THE REPAIR / CALLOUT.
A call out for 'advice' will never be considered a reimbursable expense.
Credits:
Created with an image by Samuel McGarrigle - "untitled image"