Rental electrical safety checks for Melbourne landlords and property managers

The 2-yearly rental electrical safety check, done properly

If you rent out a home in Victoria, an electrical safety check every 2 years is part of the job. Gloform Electrics has been doing these checks for landlords, property managers and owners corporations across Melbourne, and we have been doing this a long time. We are Registered Electrical Contractor REC 27575, on call 24/7 on 1300 456 367.

We book the visit with your renter, check the switchboard, safety switches, power points, lights and the appliances you supply, test the smoke alarms if you want them done at the same time, and send you a clear written record. If anything fails, you get a plain-words explanation and a price before any repair starts. You choose what gets fixed and when.

What Victorian rental rules ask for

Under the Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021, rental providers must make sure an electrical safety check of the electrical installations, appliances and fittings they provide is done at least every 2 years by a licensed or registered electrician. If no check has been done in the 2 years before a renter moves in, it has to be arranged as soon as practicable.

Before a new rental agreement is signed, you need to tell the renter the date of the most recent check and any recommendations still outstanding. You keep the record of the latest check, and if a renter asks in writing, you give them a copy within 7 days. Consumer Affairs Victoria sets these rules out in plain terms.

The safety switch standard

Since 29 March 2023, the electrical safety minimum standard has applied to Victorian rentals. Every power outlet and lighting circuit must be protected by a circuit breaker and a safety switch (an RCD, RCCB or RCBO) at the switchboard. Many older Melbourne rentals still had boards without safety switches on the lights, so this is one of the first things we look at.

• Circuit breaker board without safety switches on power and lights. Usually the fix is adding safety switches to those circuits. Other circuits such as the oven, hot water or air conditioning do not have to change for the standard.
• Old fuse board. Ceramic fuses and older panels may not take modern safety switches. Then the board may need replacing, and every circuit on it gets circuit breaker protection. Our guide to when to upgrade a switchboard explains the warning signs.

Safety check record or Certificate of Electrical Safety?

Landlords often search for a "rental electrical safety check form" or a "landlord electrical safety certificate". They are two different things, and it helps to know which one you need.

• The safety check record. This is what the 2-yearly check gives you. It shows the electrician's name and registration details, the date of the check, the results, any repairs needed and what was done about them, plus the report itself. This is the document you keep, show your renter on request, and file with your property manager.
• A Certificate of Electrical Safety. A registered electrician issues this for electrical installation work, such as adding safety switches, replacing a switchboard or running a new circuit. A check on its own is not installation work.

If the check finds something that needs fixing and we do the repair, you may end up with both: the safety check record for the inspection, and a Certificate of Electrical Safety for the work.

What we check and test

The regulations point to the Australian Standard for periodic assessment of electrical installations, AS/NZS 3019. In practice that means a visual inspection of the whole installation plus limited testing. On a typical Melbourne rental we look at:

• The switchboard. Circuit breakers, safety switches, labelling, the condition of the enclosure, and any sign of heat, scorching or water getting in.
• Safety switch operation. We test that each safety switch actually trips, so you know the protection works and not just that it is installed.
• Power points and switches. Cracked covers, loose fittings, scorch marks, and outlets that feel warm or move in the wall.
• Lights and fittings. Damaged fittings, old downlights sitting against insulation, and outdoor lights with water damage.
• Visible wiring. Exposed, perished or poorly joined cables in the roof space access, under the house where safe, and around sheds and garages.
• Appliances you supply. The oven, cooktop, rangehood, hot water unit connection, heating and air conditioning isolators.
• Smoke alarms, if booked with the visit (see below).

How a rental safety check runs

1. Book. Call 1300 456 367 or send the quote form with the property suburb, the renter's contact details, and when the last check was done if you know.
2. Arrange access. You or your property manager give the renter proper written notice of entry. We confirm a time that suits the household so the visit is not a surprise.
3. Check on site. The electrician inspects and tests the installation, the appliances you supply and, if booked, the smoke alarms. Most houses and units take about an hour.
4. Make safe. Anything dangerous, such as a scorched power point or exposed wiring, is made safe on the day and explained to you straight away.
5. Record and price. You get the written record, with photos of anything that failed and a price for each repair. Nothing is fixed without your OK.
6. Fix and file. Approved repairs are booked in, a Certificate of Electrical Safety is issued where the work needs one, and the record is ready for your next lease.

Landlord checklist before the visit

• Give the renter written notice of entry and pass on the booked time.
• Make sure the meter box and switchboard can be opened. If it is locked, arrange the key.
• List the appliances you supply, such as the oven, cooktop, rangehood, heating or air conditioning.
• Find the record of the last check, and any renter reports of flickering lights, tripping or warm power points.
• Book the smoke alarm test for the same visit so it is one trip, not two.

Common faults we find in rentals

Most checks pass with a few small notes. When something does fail, it is usually one of these:

• No safety switch on the lighting circuit. Common on older boards where only the power points were protected.
• Old fuse boards that cannot take modern safety switches and need replacing.
• Damaged or scorched power points, often behind beds, fridges and washing machines. A hot or scorched outlet should never wait for the next check. Our post on a burning smell from a power point explains why.
• Safety switches that trip and will not reset, usually a fault on one appliance or circuit. See why a switchboard keeps tripping.
• Unlabelled switchboards, which make it hard for renters and tradies to isolate the right circuit in a hurry.
• Worn outdoor fittings and garden or shed power affected by water.
• Smoke alarms past their use-by date, missing, or not working.

Repairs fall under our repairs and faults work, and board replacements under switchboards and power.

Smoke alarms: every 12 months

Smoke alarms have their own rule, separate from the 2-year electrical check. In a Victorian rental they must be correctly installed, in working condition, tested at least once every 12 months to the manufacturer's instructions, and have their batteries replaced as needed. If a renter reports a faulty alarm, it is an urgent repair.

Hard-wired alarms need a qualified person to repair or replace them. We test, replace and fit smoke alarms, including interconnected alarms, as everyday work. Booking the alarm test with the electrical check keeps it to one visit. Gas is separate: it has its own 2-year safety check by a licensed or registered gasfitter.

Property managers, portfolios and owners corporations

If you manage more than a handful of rentals, the hard part is not the check, it is keeping track of due dates and access. Send us your list of addresses, renter contacts and due dates. We contact each renter, book the visits in sensible runs by area, and send each record back labelled by property so it lands in the right file.

• One point of contact for the whole portfolio, by phone or [email protected].
• Repairs quoted per property, so each owner can approve their own work.
• Apartment blocks and townhouse groups handled together, including common-area lighting through our maintenance visits.
• Urgent renter calls answered 24/7, so a tripped board on a Sunday night does not wait until Monday.

Rental safety checks across Melbourne

We do rental electrical safety checks right across Melbourne, with crews working most days in the south-east and bayside suburbs and down the Mornington Peninsula. Local pages for the areas we visit most:

Cheltenham and Mentone Moorabbin Caulfield Brighton Brighton East Braeside Keysborough Dandenong Frankston Seaford Mornington All of Melbourne

Further out, or not sure whether we cover your rental? Call and ask. For a longer read on the rules, see our rental electrical safety check guide for landlords.

From Google reviews

Related work

Safety and compliance Switchboards and power Repairs and faults Maintenance Power points and small jobs Rental safety check guide All services