The recent sweep of new compliance legislation across the eastern states could be an indication of what’s to come for South Australia.
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Since 2020, mandatory safety checks and stricter compliance rules have been introduced across Victoria, NSW and Queensland. Looking at the trend, it’s fair to suggest that similar regulatory change is on the way for South Australian landlords (Likewise in NSW it’s reasonable to expect evolution of required checks for gas and electrical, coming into line with standards in Victoria.)
A look at what’s happened over the last couple of years across the eastern states suggests that the next step for South Australia will be mandatory smoke alarm servicing.
Timeline of Regulatory Change
2020
NSW introduces mandatory smoke alarm and water efficiency checks.
2021
VIC introduces mandatory smoke alarm checks + mandatory electrical gas and safety checks every two years.
2022
QLD introduces the most stringent new regulations for smoke alarms, with legislation mandating not only regular checks but detailed standards for smoke alarm type, placement and interconnectedness in all dwellings leased or sold.
2023
VIC will roll out new legislation requiring that electrical switchboards are fitted with both circuit breakers and a residual current device.
The sweeping reform to legislation reflects the reality that preventable deaths from house fires, electrical shocks and carbon monoxide poisoning happen all too often. It’s been recognised that protective measures need to be taken seriously.
A large-scale movement to make Australian homes safer
In the eastern states, legislation raising the standard and safety of rental properties has been rolled out quickly. These improvements are being funded by landlords who have seen strong capital growth and more recently strong rent increases. Tax deductions for costs incurred by landlords for completing services and works is supporting the funding of a large-scale movement to improve living standards and make Australian homes safer.
The benefits to landlords and renters are clear, but the practicalities of transitioning to new safety standards have historically created pressure on agencies and landlords who scramble to meet deadlines as last-minute demand exceeds available services.
Learning from experience
In Victoria, the turnaround between regulations being announced and enforced was relatively quick. Agencies were forced to move fast to get their landlords enrolled into safety check programs to meet the legislative requirements. Agents who had an existing partnership with us were able to move quickly and offer additional gas and electrical services. Initial communications showed that around 10% of managed landlords recognised the new requirements and took up services at first, with follow up communications required for wider buy-in.
In Queensland, results were similar. However, with a longer lead time to prepare for the new legislation, early adopters were followed by a long tail. Although new smoke alarm legislation was in play for five years, many QLD landlords did not move until the eleventh hour, putting pressure on compliance services and driving a spike in prices.
The need to educate landlords and make multiple contacts before they understand the requirements and take up new services has been revealed by our experiences in Victoria and QLD. It reinforces the need for agencies to be ahead of the curve and start getting landlords ready to adapt to new legislation well ahead of time.
Getting on the front foot
What we’ve seen in the last two years of rollout is that agents who have a forward view and position themselves and their landlords for change have found the transition to a new compliance environment the most straightforward. Agents and landlords who are complacent and procrastinate until the deadline find themselves unable to secure services in time and leave themselves legally vulnerable.
It’s crucial to partner with a provider who has:
- a bank of skilled tradespeople with the right qualifications to perform the services, AND
- account management capacity and technology systems to manage quality of servicing, scheduling complexities and a digital audit trail.
Recommendations for getting landlords ready
- If you’re a Head of Property Management, get your team on board with change early. As soon as new legislation is foreshadowed, get them educated about the ins and outs of the new regulations.
- Ask your compliance partner to run a session on the new regulations and help with the education process.
- Start passing the information on to landlords when having conversations. Opening the conversation early will build awareness and readiness for when new requirements are mandated.
- Landlord nights and webinars have been seen to be very effective in disseminating information. Take every opportunity to foreshadow change before it comes.
Bringing landlords on to services
- Different landlords respond to different communication channels, pricing structures and key messages. Vary your communication and put it out through multiple channels.
- Emails get lost! Multiple outreach campaigns are important. Clicks and opens must be easy to track so that if you have a scenario where a landlord hasn’t taken action, you have a digital trail to follow and see where they stopped engaging.
- There will be a large cohort who don’t take action until the drop dead date. Apply pressure early and steadily, and don’t give up.
- The power of the property manager is amazing. Try using PropertyMe to send emails—for some the familiarity of the address will cut through the noise in their inbox.
Key takeaways
Trends in the eastern states point to tighter compliance legislation coming soon to South Australia.
Based on our experiences in Victoria, QLD and NSW, we know that landlords are slow to adapt to change and property managers who get ahead of the curve find the transition easiest to manage.
Partner with a provider who has the resources to manage a large-scale transition to new safety standards.
Start educating your team and foreshadowing change with landlords so that everybody is ready when the expected new legislation comes.
Secure a compliance management solution early to get as many properties as possible ready ahead of the deadline and be supported to manage eleventh-hour uptake.
