When repairs aren’t getting done: your options, in order

Landlords must provide and maintain a rental property in a reasonable state of repair. That is a legal obligation under the Residential Tenancies Act, not a courtesy, and it does not depend on how well you get on with them. There is a defined escalation path — work through it in order, each step is stronger than the last, and skipping ahead weakens your position at every subsequent one.

First: is it urgent or routine?

Urgent means the problem makes the property unsafe, insecure or unhealthy, or risks serious damage: no hot water; no working heating in winter; a serious leak, burst pipe or flooding; gas leaks; electrical faults; a blocked or broken sole toilet; broken locks, doors or windows leaving the property insecure; sewage or drainage failure. Routine is everything else — a dripping tap, a sticking door, a worn seal, a cosmetic defect. Urgent repairs must be addressed promptly. Routine repairs must be done within a reasonable time, judged against how serious the problem is and how hard it is to fix.

Step 1: put it in writing

Email or message your landlord or property manager with:

• What is wrong, and exactly where
• When you first reported it, and by what method
• Photos or a short video
• Any safety concern or worsening
• A specific, reasonable deadline

That last item is what most people leave out and the one that changes outcomes. “Please fix the leak” invites drift. “Please have this repaired by Friday 5 September” starts a clock. Keep every message.

Step 2: urgent repairs you can arrange yourself

For urgent repairs only, and only if you have made reasonable efforts to contact your landlord and been unable to reach them, you can arrange the repair and seek reimbursement. Three conditions determine whether you get your money back:

• The repair was genuinely urgent
• You made and can evidence reasonable attempts to contact the landlord — call logs, texts, emails, at reasonable hours, more than once
• The cost was reasonable for the work

Get a written quote where the situation allows. Use a qualified, licensed tradesperson — for anything electrical or gas, that is not optional. Keep the invoice and receipt, and submit them in writing with your evidence of attempted contact. Do not use this route for routine repairs — you will not be reimbursed, and you may be liable for the work.

Step 3: the 14-day notice to remedy

If a written request with a fair deadline has gone unanswered, escalate formally. Tenancy Services publishes an approved form: 14-day notice to remedy — breach of landlord responsibilities. Use it rather than writing your own. Name the specific breach, state the remedy required, and serve it to the landlord’s address for service. This step resolves the majority of stuck repairs, because it signals you know the process and are prepared to use it.

Step 4: the Tenancy Tribunal

If the 14 days pass without action, apply. The Tribunal can:

• Order the work carried out
• Award compensation for the loss you suffered
• Award exemplary damages where the failure was an unlawful act
• Order a rent reduction for a period during which the property wasn’t up to standard

Applications are designed to be made without a lawyer, and jurisdiction runs to $100,000. Your written record is the case: dated reports, photos, the notice to remedy, and the landlord’s responses or silence. Free self-resolution guidance and free mediation are both available first, and both are faster than a hearing.

The thing not to do: withhold rent

Withholding rent puts you in breach of your own obligations. It exposes you to a 14-day notice for arrears and potentially a termination application — even where the landlord is plainly in the wrong on the repair. It badly damages your position at the hearing, because the Tribunal will be looking at two breaches instead of one. Keep paying rent. Use the process. If you’re ultimately owed money, the Tribunal is the mechanism that gets it back, and it works considerably better when you arrive with clean hands.

If the problem is a Healthy Homes breach

Failures of heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture and drainage, or draught stopping are a separate and stronger category. They breach the Healthy Homes Standards as well as general repair obligations, and carry penalties of up to $7,200. Reference the standard by name in your written request, and ask for the property’s compliance statement — landlords must provide compliance information within 21 days of a request.

Retaliation

If you receive a termination notice shortly after requesting repairs, that may be a retaliatory notice, which is unlawful. Apply to the Tribunal within 28 working days to seek cancellation of the notice, or within 12 months for a declaration and exemplary damages.

Frequently asked questions