RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES ACT 1995 - SECT 68

RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES ACT 1995 - SECT 68

68—Landlord's obligation to repair

        (1)         It is a term of a residential tenancy agreement that the landlord—

            (a)         will ensure that the premises, and ancillary property, are in a reasonable state of repair at the beginning of the tenancy and will keep them in a reasonable state of repair having regard to their age, character and prospective life; and

            (b)         will comply with statutory requirements affecting the premises.

        (1a)         The obligation to repair applies even though the tenant had notice of the state of disrepair before entering into occupation.

        (2)         However—

            (a)         the landlord will not be regarded as being in breach of the obligation to repair unless—

                  (i)         the landlord has notice of the defect requiring repair; and

                  (ii)         the landlord fails to act with reasonable diligence to have the defect repaired; and

            (b)         if the landlord is a registered community housing provider, the regulations may limit the extent of the obligation imposed by subsection (1).

        (3)         If—

            (a)         premises or ancillary property are in a state of disrepair that does not arise from a contravention of the residential tenancy agreement by the tenant; and

            (b)         the state of disrepair is, unless remedied, likely to result in personal injury or damage to property or undue inconvenience; and

            (c)         the landlord—

                  (i)         has been notified of the state of disrepair by the tenant but has failed to take reasonable action to remedy the state of disrepair; or

                  (ii)         has not been notified of the state of disrepair despite the tenant's reasonable attempts to do so,

then the tenant is entitled—

            (d)         to reasonable compensation from the landlord in respect of any damage to property resulting from the state of disrepair after the tenant has notified, or made a reasonable attempt to notify, the landlord of the state of disrepair (however, the tenant must take reasonable steps to mitigate any loss and is not entitled to compensation for damage that could have been avoided by those steps); and

            (e)         to recover from the landlord reasonable costs incurred by the tenant in having the state of disrepair remedied, but only if the repairs are carried out by a person who is licensed to carry out the necessary work and the person provides the landlord with a report on the work carried out and the apparent cause of the state of disrepair.

        (5)         The Tribunal may, on application by the tenant, order the landlord to pay to the tenant compensation to which the tenant is entitled under this section.