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What Are Landlords Responsibilities When it Comes to Locks?

For renters

In a previous blog post, we touched on a tenant, Matthew, who moved into their new home but on moving in they found out that there were no locks on the doors because they were going to be replaced. Matthew reminded the agent that they needed to be installed a handful of times but it didn’t make a difference.

It took three months for these locks to be replaced. That is three months of no sleep out of pure fear, three months of stress and anxiety. Matthew went through all of this because the agent had simply not organised the installation of the locks. It was not made a priority.

On top of this being completely inhumane to put a person through this, it is against the law. Landlords are not required to change the locks between tenants yet but there are strict laws when it comes to making a property secure.

Each state has laws that vary slightly which you can read about in detail here but there is a common theme that you must secure your property. These laws have been made to stop exactly what has gone on here.

As a tenant, it can be scary to stand up to an agent because your home is in jeopardy but in this case, you have the right to have this problem solved.

This scenario is serious. One reminder to the agent might be okay they may have actually just forgotten or missed a call from the locksmith but if after one reminder the locks have not been installed you as a tenant need to stand up and lay down the law.

Here is what you can do to get this under control:

The law states that ‘Victorian landlords need to provide locks to secure every external door and window of a rented property.’ I understand that there may be a delay however my safety is at risk and I will not be paying rent until all of these locks are installed.

As tenancy laws differ between states, it's always important to check the law of the state your property is in. You can read more about state specific regulations in this blog post.

 

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