Hot Water Repairs in Sydney Apartments: Everything You Need to Know

If you are staying in a Sydney apartment and you have lost your hot water, however, the entire hot water repair process will differ in a multitude of ways to a house repair, from who has to pay for the repair to what you can and cannot do. Everything you need to know is here!

Sydney’s inner suburbs have over 50% of its dwellings as apartments. This is near one hundred per cent in some locations like Elizabeth Bay, Rushcutters Bay and Potts Point. However, the majority of hot water repair manuals are created for householders who have a hot water tank on their backyards and a straight line from the driveway to the laundry. It’s not very useful if you live in Darlinghurst on the sixth floor of a walk-up.

The ball game is different for apartment hot water. The system can fit in a cupboard in a hallway which is large enough for a toolbox. The building may have strata policies about what may or may not be installed on a balcony. But when your tank fails, it doesn’t just wet the floors in your home, it runs through the ceiling of the apartment below and then you have a three-way insurance conundrum where two policies overlap.

Common Hot Water Setups in Sydney Apartments

Individual electric storage tanks (most common in older buildings): Older buildings in the Eastern Suburbs, such as post-war walk-ups and mid-century apartment blocks have individual electric tanks, typically located in a cupboard in the hallway, or laundry alcove, or behind the washing machine. Such tanks are typically 50 to 80 litres, and are usually available on off-peak or continuous tariffs. They are small as house pets and that means they need frequent top-ups and they do more work.

Individual gas continuous flow (common in renovated units): When an apartment is renovated and there is gas in the building, it is a common upgrade to have installed a gas continuous flow unit on the balcony wall. It offers endless hot water, releases up space in the cupboard for the old tank and lasts longer. The building should allow gas appliances on balconies, some don’t, due to flue clearance regulations or fire safety rules.

Centralised building systems: In some of the larger buildings in Rushcutters Bay and Elizabeth Bay a shared hot water system is located in a central plant room and the hot water is fed into a common header and circulated to the individual units. When the central system fails, all of the units lose hot water at the same time. The strata will be responsible for making any repairs to the centralised systems from the maintenance fund of the building.

Repair: What's Your Responsibility vs. Strata's

In most cases, your apartment’s hot water heater may be in your cupboard or on your balcony; it’s your property and it’s your responsibility to maintain and repair it. The system is located in the lot you own and is just for your unit.

If the building is centralised, the pipes and plant in the plant room are shared. Strata are responsible for failures. You inform the building manager and he/she gets a plumber, and the expense is deducted from the owners corporation fund.

The grey area: The pipes that lead from a centralised system to your unit. These are commonly used property in some buildings up to where they enter your lot. In others, the lot boundary is the branch pipe. If in doubt, refer to your strata plan, which clearly outlines the boundary of your responsibility and the common property.

Replacement: What You Can and Can't Install

The type of hot water system you can install in your home depends on the space and budget. If you live in an apartment, you have to take into account building rules.

Like-for-like replacement: If replacing an electric tank with another electric tank of similar or like size, in a similar location, strata approval is normally not necessary. The work is conducted in your lot and not in common property.

Changing system type: You may need strata approval to make a change from electric to gas continuous flow on a balcony, especially if gas pipes need to be installed through shared areas, if there are penetrating changes to the external walls or if there is a flue that changes the building’s facade. Before selecting a type of system, confirm with your strata manager.

Heat pump in an apartment: Heat pumps require outside air and have a low noise from the compressor. In a home, this isn’t usually a problem. In an apartment, it would usually be housed on a balcony and strata regulations regarding noise, aesthetics and equipment on balconies differ from building to building. There are some modern constructions that are heat-pump-friendly. Some of the older ones are not. Ask first.

The Leaking Tank Risk: Why Apartments Are Different

The hot water tank in a home leaks and water penetrates the laundry floor or garage slab. Annoying and possibly damaging but damage is contained within your property.

A tank leaks through the slab into another unit in the apartment. The apartment owner below finds out about your issue when their ceiling begins to drip. You now have your own damage, your neighbour’s damage and a three-way insurance discussion: your lot-owner’s insurance, the strata insurance for the building and the insurance for your neighbour’s contents.

This risk factors into the repair-or-replace calculation. For an apartment, we usually suggest replacing tanks proactively sooner than for a house, specifically if a tank is older than 8 years, and if it has not been maintained regularly. If your system fails, it will be a lot more expensive.

Access Challenges: Why Apartment Repairs Take Longer

The plumber has access to the tank from all directions and walks from the driveway to the laundry in a house. Access for an apartment, which includes a narrow corridor, a cupboard (which was designed to hold a hot water tank from the 70s and nothing else), a stairwell or lift and an intercom.

The task of removing the old tank and installing the new tank involves moving doors, corners, and in some instances building goods lift (if available). Other older walk-ups require that a tank be transported up the stairwell, landing by landing. This logistics is organised prior to the day and not during the job so the appointment can go smoothly and the inconvenience to you and your neighbours is kept to a minimum.

If you’re an apartment owner in Sydney, three things are worth doing now: Review your strata rules regarding hot water system types before replacement. Determine if your building has separate or central hot water, and who is responsible for which one. Then check your tank’s anode rod every 3–5 years, as this is much better than a $30,000 water damage event 2 floors down due to a $200 anode rod replacement.