Renting or Holiday-Letting in Coogee? Your Plumbing Emergency Rights
Coogee is a rented accommodation suburb. At the last census, more than half of all households here, around 55.6%, were rented rather than owner-occupied. Throw in the vast number of holiday-makers, backpackers and short-stay visitors that the beach attracts year-round and you’ve got a suburb with a large percentage of residents having a plumbing emergency and not being homeowners. In case you’re one of those, you’ll save a lot of stress once the water flows through the ceiling if you know your rights and what to do about it.
If you’re renting long-term
The important thing to know is that, in NSW tenancy law, the landlord’s duty is to pay for the repairs if they are urgent repairs. Urgent repairs specifically include a burst pipe, major water leak, clogged or broken toilet and gas leak, all of which are considered plumbing emergencies.
Even more crucial: you won’t have to sit on your hands waiting for approval as your rented Coogee flat floods. The law gives tenants the right to carry out repairs themselves (up to a legislated amount) if they are unable to contact the landlord or the landlord’s nominated tradesperson, and then be reimbursed for the repair works. In reality, the logical order is:
- Stop the damage first. Turn off the water at the isolation valve or main. Don’t wait for anyone to say it’s okay to do this, whenever there is active damage, it’s always the right time to stop it.
- Notify your agent or landlord, and the agent’s nominated tradesperson (if any), as soon as you reasonably can.
- If you cannot get them to come and it is truly an emergency, hire a licensed plumber, save the paperwork and seek reimbursement.
- Take pictures of everything and retain all documentation, the plumber’s report is proof that you are entitled to reimbursement.
Your plumber will provide a written report for each job, this is what you need to provide your agent or landlord at the end of the job.
If you’re a holiday-let guest
Coogee’s short stay and holiday apartment industry is massive, and if there is a plumbing issue while you stay there it is another story. You are not a tenant, you are a guest. The first thing to do is to notify the host or property manager and have it fixed right away; if you can and are safe, turn off the water at the shut-off valve. As a short-stay guest, you shouldn’t be arranging and paying for repairs yourself; that’s your host’s responsibility.
Plumbing Emergency in a Rental or Holiday Let?
We give tenants and landlords a written report of every job, exactly what they need. Available 24/7 across Coogee. Talk to an Emergency Plumber on 1300 026 452.
If you’re the landlord or holiday-let owner
The maths of a plumbing emergency is harder for owners letting out Coogee property (which a lot of them do, and it’s not surprising when you consider the tourist and rental market in the suburb) than for an owner-occupier. An unattended burst in a holiday let between guests, or a slow leak a busy tenant doesn’t report promptly, can cause far more damage than it would in a home someone lives in full-time. And in Coogee’s dense apartment blocks, that damage can easily spread to neighbouring apartments, creating a strata and multi-insurer problem.
Two things genuinely help: respond quickly when a tenant or guest reports a problem (the legislation expects it for urgent repairs anyway), and keep abreast of the predictable failure points such as ageing flexi hoses, water heaters over 10 years old, or a history of repeated blockages. A little proactive maintenance on an investment property prevents the large, multi-unit emergency.
Whether you are a tenant or homeowner, it’s important to have a licensed emergency plumber who is familiar with Coogee on hand. The team behind our emergency plumber covering Coogee and nearby Rose Bay handles tenant, guest and landlord emergencies across the Eastern Suburbs every week, and provides the documentation that all parties require afterwards.
The bottom line
A lot of people live in the suburb on rent and a lot of people just visit the place, so when there is any plumbing emergency, chances are that someone is not the owner. If you’re renting, know that urgent repairs are the landlord’s responsibility, and that you can act to stop damage without waiting for approval. If you are a host or a landlord, act swiftly and maintain the predictable failure points. Everyone, tenant, guest or owner, should know where the water shut-off is located, that’s the one piece of knowledge that limits the damage.
