If you own a rental property, it’s important to know what property repairs and/or damage you are responsible for throughout a tenancy under the Residential Tenancies Act and Tenancy Services legislation, and how ‘fair wear and tear’ is defined.

‘Fair wear and tear’ refers to the gradual deterioration of items simply through the act of those items being used by tenants. Some examples include marks or scratches on paintwork which occur over time, flooring and carpets wearing out, aging rubber seals or corroded tap fittings becoming leaky. Faulty lights or appliances, leaking taps or toilets are ‘must fix’ items that impact the tenancy and use of the property.

If a tenant hasn’t damaged an item by using it incorrectly, then you can put it down to ‘fair wear and tear’.

Deterioration is an owner’s responsibility and remediation is generally a claimable expense against the taxable income of the property.

As your property manager, it’s our job to work out what repairs are needed and organise the relevant tradespeople. Getting this kind of repair done in a timely manner prevents deterioration of the property, loss of value and fosters good relations with you tenants. Small repairs often prevent major repairs down the track.

(We’ll cover tenant damage in another article.)