How long does my landlord have to fix an urgent repair in Western Australia?
Your landlord must contact a repairer within 24 hours for essential services like electricity, gas, or water. For other urgent repairs that make the property unsafe or insecure, they have 48 hours to take action. The repairs must then be completed as soon as practicable.
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How it works in practice
Essential Service Repairs
In Western Australia, renting laws strictly divide urgent repairs into two categories to protect your health and safety. The first category is "essential services." This includes broken water, gas, electricity, or plumbing services, as well as a broken refrigerator if one was supplied with the property.
If an essential service fails, your landlord or property manager must contact a suitable repairer within 24 hours of you notifying them.
Other Urgent Repairs
The second category covers "other urgent repairs." This applies to significant damages that make the rental property unsafe, insecure, or likely to cause injury, further damage, or undue hardship. Examples include a broken window, a severe roof leak, or a broken lock that compromises your security.
For these types of urgent repairs, the landlord has 48 hours to contact a repairer after being notified.
Ensuring Timely Completion
While the law specifies 24 or 48 hours for the landlord to arrange the repair, the actual work must be completed as soon as practicable. The timeline for completion depends on the availability of tradespeople and parts, but the landlord must demonstrate they are taking immediate and continuous action to resolve the problem.
Important exceptions
There are specific conditions where these timeframes or rules do not fully apply. If the damage was caused by your own negligence or intentional actions, the landlord is still required to fix it, but you will be legally responsible for paying the repair costs.
Additionally, if you cannot reach the landlord after making a reasonable attempt, or if they fail to act within the legal 24 or 48-hour windows, you have the right to arrange a minimum standard repair yourself. You can only authorize work by a qualified tradesperson and claim reimbursement, provided the cost is reasonable.
What you should do now
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Contact your landlord or property manager immediately by phone to report the urgent repair issue.
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Follow up your phone call with a written notice, such as an email or text message, to create a formal timeline of your request.
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Keep a detailed record of all your attempts to contact them, including the exact dates and times you reached out.
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Arrange for a suitably qualified repairer to fix the issue yourself if the landlord fails to act within the legally required 24 or 48 hours.
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Submit a copy of the repair invoice to your landlord alongside a formal written request for reimbursement if you had to organize the emergency repair.
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