Most landlords and agents do the right thing. But almost every renter eventually meets the other kind: the one who does not return calls, who promises a plumber who never arrives, who treats a failed hot water system as something you should simply live around. It is exhausting, and it is easy to feel like you have no leverage — especially when you are worried that pushing too hard might cost you your lease.
You have more power than you think, but it only works if you use it in the right order. Australian tenancy law across every state and territory puts a clear duty on lessors to keep the premises in a reasonable state of repair, and every jurisdiction gives you a tribunal that can order them to comply. The catch is that tribunals decide on evidence, not frustration. This guide walks through the process step by step, in the order that actually gets results.
Step 1: Work out what kind of problem you have
Before you write anything, classify the issue. Tenancy legislation around the country draws a line between urgent and non-urgent repairs, and the two have completely different timelines and remedies.
Urgent repairs typically cover things like a burst water service, a blocked or broken toilet, a serious roof leak, a gas leak, a dangerous electrical fault, flooding, a failed hot water service, or a fault that makes the property unsafe or insecure. The exact list is set out in your state's legislation — for example, the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 in NSW and the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 in Victoria each define urgent repairs directly. Urgent repairs must be attended to promptly, and most jurisdictions allow you to arrange the work yourself and be reimbursed up to a capped amount if the landlord cannot be reached or fails to act.
Non-urgent repairs are everything else: a sticking window, a broken cupboard door, worn blinds, a slow-draining sink. These still have to be fixed within a reasonable time, but you cannot self-arrange and claim the cost the way you can with urgent work.
A third category matters too. In Victoria, Queensland and an increasing number of jurisdictions, properties must meet minimum standards at the start of the tenancy — things like functioning locks, adequate ventilation, hot and cold water, and working cooking facilities. If your complaint is that the property never met the standard in the first place, that is a stronger argument than a general repair request, so name it as such.
Step 2: Put everything in writing, from the very first request
This is the single most important habit, and it is where most renters lose their case months later. A phone call that is not followed up in writing effectively did not happen as far as a tribunal is concerned.
Send your repair request by email or through the agency's portal, and include:
- The property address and your name as it appears on the lease
- A plain description of the fault and when you first noticed it
- Whether you consider it urgent, and why
- Clear photos or a short video, taken in good light
- A request for a response within a specific, reasonable timeframe
If you have already called, follow up with an email that starts: "Confirming our phone conversation today, in which I reported...". That converts a verbal report into a dated written record without being combative.
Keep a running log in a single document: date, what you did, who you spoke to, what they said. Every entry takes thirty seconds and the cumulative file is what wins tribunal matters. Save the photos somewhere other than just your phone.
Never stop paying rent to force repairs. It feels like the obvious lever, and it is the fastest way to lose. Withholding rent puts you in arrears, exposes you to a termination notice, and hands the landlord the stronger position. If the property is genuinely unliveable, the correct path is a rent reduction or compensation order from your tribunal — not self-help. Keep paying, and pursue the repair separately.
Step 3: Escalate past the agent
If a reasonable period passes with no action, send a second, firmer written notice. Reference your earlier email by date, restate the fault, and note the time that has elapsed. Many states have a prescribed form for this — in Victoria, for example, renters can give a formal breach of duty notice, and in NSW you can use a written notice that puts the landlord on notice of the breach. Using the prescribed form where one exists signals that you know the process.
Go above the property manager
Property managers are often juggling large portfolios, and a request can simply stall on one desk. Ask in writing for the issue to be escalated to the principal or licensee in charge of the agency. A polite email to the principal referencing the dates of your previous unanswered requests frequently produces movement where weeks of chasing the manager did not.
Use the consumer regulator's conciliation service
Before going to a tribunal, most states offer a free dispute resolution or conciliation step, and in some jurisdictions it is a required precursor. Depending on where you live, that is NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) in Queensland, Consumer Protection in Western Australia, Consumer and Business Services in South Australia, or the equivalent body in the ACT, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. Conciliation is informal, free, and surprisingly effective — a lot of landlords who ignore a tenant will not ignore the regulator.
Step 4: Apply to the tribunal
If conciliation fails, you can apply to your state's tenancy tribunal for an order compelling the repairs. That is NCAT in New South Wales, VCAT in Victoria, QCAT in Queensland, SAT or the Magistrates Court in Western Australia depending on the matter, SACAT in South Australia, ACAT in the ACT, and the relevant commissioner or tribunal in Tasmania and the Northern Territory.
Tribunals are designed to be used without a lawyer. Filing fees are modest and concessions are commonly available. Depending on the application you make and what you can prove, a tribunal can order the landlord to carry out specific repairs by a set date, order a reduction in rent for the period the property was not up to standard, award compensation for damaged belongings or costs you incurred, or authorise you to arrange the work yourself.
What to bring
Your case is your paperwork. Arrive with a printed timeline of every request and response, copies of all emails, dated photographs showing the fault and how it progressed, any quotes or invoices, the condition report from the start of your tenancy, and a short written statement of what order you are asking for. Be specific about the outcome you want — "an order that the hot water service be repaired or replaced within fourteen days" lands better than "I want something done".
If you are worried about retaliation
Several jurisdictions, including NSW and Victoria, allow a tenant to challenge a termination notice they believe was issued in retaliation for asserting their rights. If you receive a notice to vacate shortly after making a repair complaint or lodging a tribunal application, raise it immediately with your tribunal or tenants' advice service — the timing itself is evidence. Every state and territory also has a free, specialist tenants' advice and advocacy service; they deal with negligent landlords every day and the advice costs you nothing.
Step 5: Protect your bond on the way out
If the relationship has broken down badly enough that you are leaving, the same discipline applies at the end. A landlord who neglected repairs during the tenancy will sometimes attempt to claim against the bond for the very conditions they failed to fix. Your documented repair history is the answer to that. Take thorough dated photos at the final inspection, compare them against the original condition report, and do not sign anything agreeing to deductions you dispute. Bonds are held by a government authority — not the landlord — in every state and territory, and you have the right to contest a claim.
Dealing with a negligent landlord is rarely about one dramatic confrontation. It is about a calm, dated paper trail, escalating one deliberate step at a time: written request, formal notice, escalation to the principal, conciliation through your state regulator, then the tribunal. Most disputes resolve well before the last step — precisely because you look like someone who is prepared to take it there.
The best protection, though, is knowing what you are walking into. RentIntel exists so renters can see what previous tenants experienced at an address before they sign, including how a landlord or agent handled repairs. Search your address on RentIntel to see what other renters have reported — and if you have been through this yourself, leave a review so the next tenant goes in with their eyes open.