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Regulations

While the RTA has pushed back the deadline for legislation date changes, property managers shouldn’t be lulled into a false sense of security. As always, tenant safety comes first. There is still a shortage of technicians in Victoria to complete the necessary services, and the window for meeting new mandatory requirements is closing fast. Here’s how to meet your obligations and keep tenants safe in uncertain times.
1. Put safety first

The rental provider must ensure a gas safety check of all gas installations and fittings is conducted every 2 years by a licensed or registered gasfitter. (The gasfitter will require a license/registration for ‘Type A Servicing’). The rental provider must provide the renter with the date of the most recent safety check upon request. If a gas safety check has not been conducted within the last 2 years the rental provider must arrange one as soon as practicable upon a renter occupying the premises.

2. Stay on top of compliance

While safety comes first, compliance is a close second. A simple compliance service makes it easier to check and maintain compliance regularly, making safer homes. And a watertight compliance management system, with everything backed up digitally, protects landlords in case of a safety incident.

In light of Covid restrictions, the RTA has extended the date for legislation changes to come into effect to 29 March 2021. The extension means that Covid-19 won’t be an excuse for not meeting the mandatory requirements by the new deadline. To get your portfolio compliant in time, how many services a day will you need between now and the 29 March? Don’t procrastinate!

Many property managers are feeling overwhelmed by the task of getting compliant before the deadline. Detector Inspector is here to help you! Reach out to us today and we’ll get the process started—giving you one less thing to worry about.

3. Plan ahead for the unpredictable

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that circumstances can change on short notice and planning ahead is difficult. While the situation in Victoria remains relatively stable, don’t miss the window for getting your portfolio compliant before the deadline.

Many property managers have procrastinated on organising compliance checks ahead of the new legislation, creating an even bigger spike in demand for service providers. There’s still a state-wide shortage of property qualified and accredited tradespeople to carry out the services required for over 600,000 rental properties in Victoria. The window before the deadline is closing fast!

As covid restrictions ease, there remains the possibility that legislation could come into effect earlier than 29 March. Take the opportunity to organise services while you can, as soon as you can!

As a essential safety service, Detector Inspector is operating normally throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. To keep everybody safe, our technicians are taking precautions outlined in our COVID-19 Action Plan. It’s just one more way we’re putting safety first in our communities.  

The new regulations: more rights for tenants, more work for property managers

Increased compliance obligations for rental properties in Victoria will create a significant increase in the administrative burden for property managers.

More rights for tenants. Under the new regulations, property managers will be obliged to:

  • On request, provide the date of the last safety service and a copy of the last service report
  • On or before occupation day, provide every renter with information about how each smoke alarm works, how to test it, and “no tamper” instructions
  • When notified by a renter that a smoke alarm is not working, consider it an “urgent repair” and arrange immediately for it to be repaired or replaced
  • Ensure there’s a fixed heater in the main living area or install an energy-efficient one

More work for property managers. There will be more record-keeping and increased negotiations with owners, occupants and tradies to meet the new safety obligations.

  • Time-consuming landlord education about their new mandatory safety obligations
  • Increased hassle where multiple property entries are required to get tradies in
  • Negotiation of new issues with owners (like extra costs) and tenants (increased disturbance for services)
  • Increased record keeping and audit trail obligations, including logging tenant requests
The Detector Inspector Solution

By putting safety first and compliance a close second, we’re driven to create solutions that ensure safety for tenants, year-round compliance for landlords and virtually no admin hassle for property managers.

Our Safer Home Package is an all-in-one solution for smoke alarms, gas and electrical safety compliance with an all-inclusive, flat annual fee. The predictable yearly price and automatic continuity of services keeps landlords happy and reduces the organisational burden for property managers, while year-round compliance keeps tenants safe.

We use a sophisticated digital mailout system that automates the service offer and onboarding of landlords, customised with your agency logos and the look and feel of your regular communications.  Once landlords are onboard, tenant entry notifications for services are fully automated via text and email direct from the system to your tenants.

2020 has been overwhelming and unpredictable. A hassle-free, reliable compliance solution helps you keep things under control and keep tenants safe in uncertain times.

Contact us to discuss a solution and a rollout strategy for your office before it’s too late to make the deadline.

Our Safer Home Package provides ongoing protection for property managers and landlords by ensuring optimal safety and compliance.

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While you’re here

Regulations
Mandatory smoke alarm upgrades in QLD
27 March 2020
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The Safer Home Package: Our solution to the RTA (VIC) regulation changes
15 May 2020
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NSW Legislation Changed in March 2020: Have you done a compliance audit lately?
14 August 2020
In QLD, new legislation effective from 1 January 2022 will impact the requirements for smoke alarms in all residential buildings and most will require upgrades in order to be compliant with the new regulations. Let Detector Inspector take this off your to-do list—we’ll make sure you don’t miss out on securing compliance for your properties.
Changes to smoke alarm legislation in QLD: what it means for agents and landlords

f you’re a property manager or a landlord in Queensland, it’s time to get on top of the smoke alarm legislation changes that effect you and your properties. The task of getting all residential properties compliant before the deadline is a huge one that could exceed the capacity of Queensland’s qualified electricians and technicians. Some properties will miss out or will pay large premiums as the date looms closer. Don’t let that happen to you!

If you’re still trying to understand what the legislation changes mean for you, we’ve summarised the changes for you here.

In short, the new legislation states that all residences must have hardwired 240-volt photoelectric or 10-year lithium battery powered smoke alarms installed in each bedroom and on each storey, in accordance with strict placement guidelines. In almost all cases, this will mean multiple alarms on each storey and all smoke alarms must be interconnected with each other.

The deadline for installing and interconnecting new smoke alarms in accordance with legislation is 1 January 2022 for all residential buildings being leased, re-leased or sold. All other residential buildings must have their smoke alarms upgraded by 1 January 2027.

If you think you’ve got plenty of time to get this sorted before 2022, think again.

With an estimated 400,000+ rental homes yet to be upgraded in Queensland, smart property managers and landlords are thinking ahead and acting NOW, before prices increase dramatically and service providers book out!

We are helping Queenslanders to get ready for 2022 with the simplest and most attractive upgrade offer.

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3 reasons to get in touch with Detector Inspector and get this organised today:
We’re #1 in Australia for Smoke Alarm Servicing and we’re leading the industry in measures to keep you and our staff safe from COVID-19.

Detector Inspector has been installing, servicing and maintaining smoke alarms in Australia for over 15 years. We’ve completed well in excess of 1m services and we currently look after the smoke alarm safety for more than 210,000 Australian homes.

As an essential safety service, the demand for our services remains a legislated requirement in most states. As such, we are continuing to operate nationwide with a number of additional safety precautions. You can read in detail about the extensive measures we have implemented to keep tenants, agency staff and our technicians safe here.

The deadline date won’t change, and landlords will be legally responsible for ensuring compliance in time.

Smoke alarm safety remains an essential service. With emergency services facing an unprecedented workload in the coming months, now more than ever it’s crucial to have preventative safety measures in place to keep residents safe inside their homes. As the date approaches for the new legislation to come into effect, it’s crucial to plan now to get properties compliant in time. If compliance isn’t met by the deadlines, landlords and agents will still be legally exposed if there’s an incident at a rental property.

As the deadline gets closer, prices are being driven up by increasing demand.

It’s increasingly evident that there will be a shortage of labour to perform all the upgrades and new installations before the deadline. Increased demand will drive up the prices for getting the necessary upgrades as the deadline draws near. In other words, the later you leave it to organise the upgrades, the more it will cost. If you act now, Detector Inspector can help you get the best possible price and meet the new requirements in time.

Remember: services are already starting to book up ahead of the deadline on 1 January 2022! Get in touch now to secure upgrades and ensure uninterrupted smoke alarm compliance in all your properties.

Remember: services are already starting to book up ahead of the deadline on 1 January 2022! Get in touch now to secure upgrades and ensure uninterrupted smoke alarm compliance in all your properties.
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As a property manager & owner in Victoria, your obligations are significantly changing between now and the end of March 2021. As Australia’s #1 residential Safety & Compliance services company, we designed the Safer Home Package, an all-inclusive (smoke alarm, gas & electrical) low annual fee solution, to help you stay compliant under the new legislation.
The new legislation: more than just new safety checks

On or before 29 March 2021, new legislation from the RTA (VIC) will mean a significant increase in the compliance & administrative burden for already stretched property managers and a range of new tenant Safety & Compliance requirements:

  • From optional to under the new legislation, regular safety checks for smoke alarms, gas and electrical are compulsory, not just recommended.
  • From an obligation to offer services to an owner, to an obligation to ensure property compliance and retain relevant documents. Since safety checks are no longer optional, agents need to ensure that all owners actually take up compliance maintenance services.
  • Smoke alarms, gas, electrical and pool fences. The new legislation introduces mandatory checks for a number of safety measures that weren’t previously legislated, multiplying the obligations for agents and owners.

There are more than 600,000 properties in Victoria requiring these safety checks for the first time between now and the end of March 2021, driving prices higher, creating competition for properly qualified tradespeople, and potential for service delays as the demand spikes.

Introducing Safer Home Package: All-inclusive, low annual fee

Detector Inspector is the first company offering a comprehensive set-and-forget service that ensures landlords and agencies will be compliant with the new RTA Regulations ahead of the 29 March 2021 deadline.

Step 1: Enrol your properties on our annual subscription to cover smoke alarms, gas and electrical appliances, installations and fittings.

Step 2: Our industry-leading system automates service reminders and communication with tenants, cutting the agent’s administrative load and creating a digital audit trail to fall back on. Agents can rely on our expertise to help keep properties compliant.

Step 3: As long as the property is enrolled, we automatically maintain compliance year after year.

The Safer Home Package ensures ongoing compliance for smoke alarms, gas and electrical safety in one streamlined package. It really is that easy!

Find all the details including pricing here.

Why some agencies won’t maintain compliance in 2021

Responding to the legislation on a large scale creates some challenges.

Currently, Victoria is experiencing a state-wide shortage of qualified tradespeople (such as Type A gas fitters) required by the legislation to perform safety checks. Once the legislation takes effect on or before 29 March 2021, qualified tradespeople will find themselves booked out well in advance with agents unable to secure the necessary services to keep their properties covered.

With the new legislation requiring multiple types of Safety & Compliance checks, many agencies will be forced to deal with multiple service providers. This increases the frequency of entries and key requests, and the potential for mistakes and missed communication. There’s an increased burden on agents to maintain up-to-date records of multiple service types and provide compliance reports to occupants at the beginning of a tenancy or within 7 days of their request.

There’s no way around the fact that owners will be facing increased costs to maintain compliance. They’ll be looking for a simple, cost-effective solution with the minimum amount of hassle involved to ensure their protection.

If you want to deal with a single reliable provider and maintain watertight digital records with minimum admin, Detector Inspector’s Safer Home Package is the solution you’re looking for.

If you’re a landlord, ask your property manager about enrolling in Detector Inspector’s Safer Home Package for uninterrupted all-inclusive compliance at a low annual fee.

If you’re a property manager, enquire below to find out why Safer Home Package is the smart solution for your office and your landlords.

What’s included in the Safer Home Package subscription?

 

What’s included in the Safer Home Package subscription?

The Safer Home Package combines all mandatory safety checks (smoke alarm, gas and electrical) into a low annual fee subscription keeping Safety & Compliance and reporting up to date, year after year.

  • Dedicated tenant support hotline to minimise the burden on agents
  • FREE callouts for most faults and FREE rectification (including parts) for common faults
  • Digital Safety & Compliance report after every service for peace of mind and maintaining a digital audit trail

All managed seamlessly with Detector Inspector’s industry-leading system, integrated with your existing property management software.

With the proposed legislation changes coming into effect on or before 29 March 2021, technicians are in short supply and some agencies will miss out.

Don’t be among them! Get organised now and beat the rush.

Click below to learn more or submit an enquiry via below form.

Detector Inspector is the first company offering a comprehensive service that ensures landlords and agencies will be compliant with the new RTA Regulations ahead of the 29 March 2021 deadline.

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Regulations that came into effect in NSW in March 2020 made smoke alarm safety obligations on landlords and property managers mandatory.

On 23 March 2020, updated Residential Tenancy Regulations (NSW) came into force mandating increased obligations for landlords and property managers regarding smoke alarm maintenance including annual testing and battery replacement.

While the new legislation comes with an increased burden for property managers, it doesn’t have to. Detector Inspector clients can leverage our digital mailout system and contracts to sign up landlords with a minimum of fuss. Why not get in touch with your account manager to ask for an audit today? We can work with you to design an approach to get your landlords compliant, and your tenants safer.

What’s changed?

Here’s a summary of the changes that came into effect in March 2020.

  • Mandatory annual smoke alarm service
  • Landlords are responsible for the urgent repair or replacement of smoke alarms
  • Landlords are responsible for the replacement of batteries (at least annually)
  • Landlords are obligated to replace alarms according to manufacturer instructions (requiring knowledge of the instructions for the specific brand and type of alarm)

Although tenants are permitted to arrange their own maintenance in some circumstances, the notification requirements for this are complex.

A new administrative burden

Under the new regulations, there are options for tenants to manage their own smoke alarm requirements under some circumstances. Unfortunately, instead of reducing the landlord’s burden, this could generate more administration with the potential for confusion.

Consider something as simple as a battery replacement. Under the new regulations:

  • A tenant must notify the landlord of their intention to replace the battery, then replace it within 2 days;
  • Once replaced, the tenant has 24 hours to notify the landlord that the replacement is completed; and
  • If the landlord doesn’t receive the notification, the responsibility shifts back onto the landlord (and their property manager) to attend the property and replace the battery within 2 business days!

By working with Detector Inspector, we can ensure that you and your landlords remain compliant and your tenants are safer in their homes.

Contact us today to arrange a free audit of your portfolio and speak with us about how we can help get your properties compliant.

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References:

Changes to the residential tenancy laws

Residential Tenancies Regulation 2019

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Detector Inspector has new safety checks covered! The Victorian state government recently foreshadowed changes to the RTA that will increase the mandatory safety obligations on smoke alarm, gas and electrical safety checks. We have done the research and planned the remedy - make sure you take advantage.

In November 2019, the Victorian state government released a draft of proposed changes to the Residential Tenancy Regulations (Vic), due to come into effect on 29 March 2021.

The changes will impact landlord and property managers’ obligations around smoke alarms and add new obligations to carry out mandatory gas and electrical safety checks

What’s changing?

From the draft published in November 2019 (now under final review) these are the key obligations that are expected to change:

Smoke Alarms:

  • A smoke alarm safety service will be a mandatory requirement every year.
  • Property managers will be required to provide renters with instruction manuals for all installed alarms.
  • Renters will need to be notified that they can’t tamper with alarms and that they have a positive obligation to notify the property manager of any faults.

Gas Safety:

  • A gas safety service will be a mandatory requirement at least every 2 years.
  • The safety service must be carried out by a licensed or registered gas fitter; the reference to all gas installations and fittings means that “Type A” licensed gas fitters will be required to service appliances as part of these checks. ESV has indicated that pressure tests of the main line will also be required.

Electrical Safety:

  • An electrical safety service will be a mandatory requirement at least every 2 years. The safety service must be carried out by a licensed or registered electrician in respect of all electrical installations, fittings and appliances.
A new financial, administrative and practical burden for landlords

Under the new regulations, renters will have the right to request the date of the last safety service for both gas and electrical. There will be an obligation to complete a service ‘as soon as practicable’ when a new renter moves into a property that hasn’t had a check for 2 years or more.

Proper documentation will become a critical protection for landlords and property managers, with records maintained meticulously to show that you’ve met your obligations around services and notification of tenants

Demand to spike as March approaches

Once the final amendments to the regulations are released in 2020, landlords and property managers will be rushing to organise safety checks ahead of the 29 March 2021 deadline. A limited pool of qualified technicians will be in hot demand!

Savvy property managers will move early to schedule and complete the safety services well before the deadline looms. You can also reduce the financial and administrative hassle for yourself and your landlords by bundling smoke alarm, gas and electrical safety services together.

As the experts in safety and compliance, Detector Inspector has put together a complete solution for our valued agency clients to meet the changing regulations in 2021.

Are you one of our current clients? Contact your Account Manager to learn more about the changes and our one-stop solution; the Safer Homes Package.

Are you looking for a provider to help you navigate the new legislation, hassle-free? Fill in the form below and we'll be in touch within one business day.

Our Safer Home Package is a subscription service that provides Victorian property managers and their landlords with a total compliance solution across smoke alarm, gas and electrical services

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