New South Wales Consolidated Acts

RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES ACT 1987 - SECT 28

28 Urgent repairs

(1) It is a term of every residential tenancy agreement that the landlord shall, not later than 14 days after receiving a written notice from the tenant, reimburse the tenant for any reasonable costs (up to but not exceeding, in each case, $500 or such other amount as may be prescribed) incurred by the tenant in making urgent repairs to the residential premises, where:

(a) the state of disrepair arose otherwise than as a result of a breach of the agreement by the tenant,

(b) the tenant has given or has made a reasonable attempt to give the landlord notice of the state of disrepair,

(c) if notice has been given, the tenant has given the landlord a reasonable opportunity to make the repairs,

(c1) if the landlord has, in the agreement, nominated a licensed or otherwise properly qualified person or persons to carry out repairs of the kind concerned, the tenant has made a reasonable attempt to arrange for that person or one of those persons to carry out the repairs,

(d) the repairs were carried out, where appropriate, by licensed or otherwise properly qualified persons, and

(e) the tenant has, as soon as practicable, given or has made a reasonable attempt to give the landlord a written notice specifying details of the repairs and their costs, together with all receipts or copies of receipts for costs paid by the tenant.

(2) In this section:
"residential premises" includes everything provided with the premises (whether under the residential tenancy agreement or not) for use by the tenant.
"urgent repairs" means any work needed to repair any one or more of the following:

(a) a burst water service,

(b) a blocked or broken lavatory system,

(c) a serious roof leak,

(d) a gas leak,

(e) a dangerous electrical fault,

(f) flooding or serious flood damage,

(g) serious storm or fire damage,

(h) a failure or breakdown of the gas, electricity or water supply to the residential premises,

(i) a failure or breakdown of any essential service on the residential premises for hot water, cooking, heating or laundering,

(j) any fault or damage that causes the residential premises to be unsafe or insecure,

(k) any other prescribed damage,

but does not include work needed to repair premises not owned by the landlord or a person having superior title (for example, a head landlord) to the landlord.

(3) Nothing in this section prevents a tenant, with the consent of the landlord, from:

(a) making repairs to the residential premises, and

(b) being reimbursed for the costs of those repairs.