Tenants generally pay for the connection of essential services for which they will be billed (such as telephone, gas, electricity, etc.). Landlords however are responsible for paying the installation of any land lines necessary for the telephone.
You do not have to provide a telephone or TV aerial but they will indeed make your property more attractive to rent.
Digital TV aerials
There is no obligation on the lessor to upgrade an otherwise working TV antenna to a digital antenna, in saying that what’s the cost of replacing an unhappy tenant?
Water
When a tenant starts living at a property, the landlord (or owner or operator) must inform the relevant water provider.
When a tenant leaves the property, the tenant must inform the water provider.
Landlords are allowed to pass on the full cost of water consumption, provided:
- the rental premises are individually metered (or water is delivered by vehicle),
- the rental premises are water efficient, and
- the tenancy agreement states the tenant must pay for water consumption
Water efficient devices:
- Internal cold water taps and single mixer taps (excluding bathtub taps and taps for appliances) must have a maximum flow rate of 9 litres per minute
- Showerheads must have a maximum flow rate of 9 litres per minute
- Toilets muts have a dual flush function not exceeding 6.5 litres on full flush and 3.5 litres on half flush and a maximum average flush volume of 4 litres (based on the average of 1 full flush and 4 half flushes)
For any water fixtures produced from 2005 onwards, the easiest way to check if they meet the required efficiency standard is to look for products with a WELS rating of three stars or higher. WELS is Australia’s water efficiency labelling scheme which rates fixtures including taps, showerheads and toilets according to water efficiency – the more stars the better. To find out more about the scheme or search the registered product database, visit www.waterrating.gov.au.
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