Strata & Real Estate Plumbing Wollongong

Strata Plumbing Services: Common Property and Lots

In a strata scheme, the first question is often who fixes it. NSW Government guidance is that the owners corporation or strata committee must repair and maintain common property, while owners must repair and maintain anything within their own property. Where that line falls for a particular pipe or fitting depends on the building, so the guidance is to check the strata plan and by-laws.

We don't make that call for you, but a strata plumber can help you make it. We'll explain where the fault sits and what it affects, whether that's a shared waste pipe, one unit's fixture or a pipe running between the two, so the strata manager or committee can decide.

The same guidance tells lot owners to raise common property repairs with their strata manager or strata committee, and tenants to ask their landlord, so most requests should reach us through one of those channels.

Urgent Repairs in Rental Properties

NSW residential tenancy law treats some faults as urgent repairs. The plumbing and gas items on the NSW Government list include:

• a burst water service
• a blocked or broken toilet
• a gas leak
• a serious roof leak
• a failure or breakdown of the gas or water supply, or of an essential service for hot water
• a fitting or appliance that uses or supplies water and is broken or not working properly, so that a substantial amount of water is being wasted

How urgent callouts work

Tenants must notify the landlord or agent of urgent repairs straight away, so the first call usually goes to you. Our 24/7 emergency plumbing line is open after hours, and we respond within 2 hours for emergencies in Bellambi and the surrounding Wollongong area. For properties further out, we'll estimate an arrival time on the phone.

When you book an urgent job, tell us what we're authorised to do on the spot, for example stopping the leak and making the area safe, and what needs approval before further work. If a pipe has burst, the tenant can limit the damage by turning off the water at the meter; our burst pipe repair page explains what happens after that.

What notice is needed for tenant access?

Access is often the hardest part of a rental job. Under NSW rules, no notice is required for urgent repairs, while carrying out or assessing necessary repairs or maintenance needs at least 2 days' notice each time, unless the tenant agrees otherwise. Those are calendar days, so weekends count.

To keep a non-urgent job on schedule, send us:

• the tenant's name and phone number, and whether we should contact them directly or go through your office
• the date and time window you've given notice for
• key or lockbox arrangements if nobody will be home
• anything we should know about pets, parking or building access, such as a car park fob or a common area key
• your approval limit, or who approves the quote

Quotes and Reports Before Work Goes Ahead

Property managers are usually spending someone else's money, so outside an emergency we quote before starting. A free quote sets out what's wrong and what we recommend, and you can forward it to the landlord or owners corporation for approval.

You also get a free plumbing safety report with every job, plus fully qualified advice. For a landlord, that's a useful note of the plumbing's condition at that visit; for a strata committee, it can feed into maintenance planning.

Common rental plumbing jobs include blocked drains, hot water faults, dripping taps, running toilets and gas checks.

Maintenance Between Tenancies

The gap between tenants is a good time to deal with small problems before they turn into urgent repairs. A fitting that wastes a substantial amount of water counts as an urgent repair, so a cistern that runs constantly or a tap that won't turn off fully is worth fixing while the property is empty.

A quick plumbing check for a vacant property:

• Run every tap and check for drips, stiff mixers and low pressure.
• Flush each toilet and listen for the cistern refilling long after it should have stopped.
• Check under sinks and around the hot water system for leaks or water stains.
• Run water down every drain and watch for slow draining or gurgling.
• For a longer list, see our guide to maintenance tasks for rental properties, or book a preventative maintenance visit.