What to do today
Two recent examples. In NSW, renters reported their oven was not working, a technician came out, found it only needed its clock set, and the agent sent them a $165 call-out bill. In Victoria, a renter was told before the plumber even came that they would pay the call-out if nothing turned out to be broken.
1. Do not pay yet, and do not let it come out of your rent. Ask for the invoice and the basis for charging you, in writing (template below).
2. Write down what happened. When you reported the fault, what you said, what the technician found, and whether anyone said you caused it. Keep the report email or the maintenance portal screenshot. Reporting a fault is your legal duty: in NSW you must notify the landlord of damage as soon as practicable (s 51(2)(b)), and in Victoria you must give written notice of damage or a breakdown of facilities as soon as practicable (s 72AA).
3. If they will not drop it:
- NSW: complain to NSW Fair Trading online or on 13 32 20. It is free. Fair Trading aims to finish most complaints within 30 days, but it cannot order either side to pay. For a binding decision, apply to NCAT: $64, or $16 for eligible pensioners, students on an allowance and people helped by legal aid or a community legal centre (as at 1 July 2026).
- Victoria: if you cannot agree on whether you caused a fault, Consumer Affairs Victoria offers a free repairs inspection (1300 55 81 81). Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) handles repairs and compensation disputes for free. A VCAT application under the Residential Tenancies Act costs $67.40, or nothing for Health Care Card, Pensioner Concession Card or Veterans' Affairs Gold Card holders (from 1 July 2026).
Who pays for repairs
NSW. The landlord must provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair, having regard to their age, rent and prospective life (s 63(1)). The landlord is not in breach only where the disrepair was caused by the tenant's breach (s 63(3)). A breakdown of an essential service for hot water, cooking, heating, cooling or laundering is even an urgent repair (s 62).
Victoria. The rental provider must keep the premises in good repair and reasonably fit and suitable to live in (s 68(1)). Consumer Affairs Victoria puts it plainly: "The rental provider must organise and pay for all repairs if they are not the renter's fault."
Checking a reported fault is part of that job. Whether the technician fixes something big, something small or nothing, the visit happened because the landlord has to maintain the property.
When you can be charged
You pay when you, or someone you let in, caused the damage.
- NSW: a tenant must not intentionally or negligently cause or permit damage (s 51(1)(d)), and is responsible for what other people lawfully on the premises do (s 54). Fair Trading says tenants need to organise and pay for repairs for damage they caused or allowed, for example by other occupants or guests.
- Victoria: a renter and any visitor must not intentionally or negligently cause damage, and damage does not include fair wear and tear (s 61). To make you pay, the rental provider must give you a written repair notice saying what the damage is and that it was caused by your failure to take care (s 78), and give you the cost in writing. You then have 14 days to pay the reasonable cost (s 79). No notice, no liability under that section.
A clock that needed setting is not damage. Nor is a fault you reported honestly that turned out to be minor. If you did break something (a child jammed the oven door, a guest blocked the toilet), you can be asked for the reasonable cost of fixing it.
The amount must be a real cost. If you are liable, ask for the tradesperson's own invoice. In NSW a bond claim is limited to "the reasonable cost of repairs" (s 166(1)(a)) and in Victoria you are liable for "the reasonable costs of repairs" (s 79(3)). An agent's own admin or handling charge added on top is not a cost of the repair. Ask them to remove it, and to show you the invoice if the figure differs from what the tradesperson charged.
"It's in the lease"
A lease term cannot take away what the Act gives you.
- NSW: a term is void to the extent it is inconsistent with a term the Act puts into every lease, or is prohibited (s 21(1)). The landlord's repair duty in s 63 is one of those terms (s 63(4)). The Act also prohibits terms exempting the landlord or agent from liability, and terms making you use a business they choose to carry out your obligations (s 19(2)(c) and (f)). NCAT can declare a term void (s 21(2)).
- Victoria: a prohibited term is void and unenforceable (s 26A(2)), and an added term is invalid if it restricts a right under the Act (s 27(1)(a)). Prohibited terms include making you indemnify the rental provider, making you use their nominated service provider, and charging you fees for safety-related maintenance that is the rental provider's responsibility (s 27B and Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021 reg 11).
If it comes out of your bond, or arrives as a bill
A bill on its own is not an order. If you dispute it and do not pay, the landlord would need a Tribunal order to make you pay.
NSW bond. A landlord can lodge a bond claim without your agreement, but must give you the outgoing condition report and copies of quotes, invoices or receipts within 7 days. You get a Notice of Claim by email and SMS with 14 days to respond. To stop the money being paid out, apply to NCAT and log in to Rental Bonds Online before the due-for-payment date so the bond is frozen. If it is paid out anyway, you can still apply to NCAT within 6 months of the payout.
Victorian bond. RTBA only repays the bond when everyone on it agrees or RDRV or VCAT makes an order. If the rental provider starts a claim that includes a call-out fee, do not accept it. Start your own claim for the full bond instead, and they have 14 days to contest it at RDRV or VCAT.
Reply to the agent
Subject: [address]: call-out fee of $[amount] on [date] Dear [agent name], I have received a request to pay $[amount] for the [technician / plumber] visit on [date]. I reported [the fault] on [date] because the law requires me to report damage and faults. Maintaining the property in repair is the landlord's responsibility (Residential Tenancies Act [2010 (NSW) s 63 / 1997 (Vic) s 68]). I did not cause any damage, and the technician did not find any. I am only liable for the cost of a repair if I or my guests caused the damage. [For Victoria: You have not given me a repair notice under section 78.] Any clause in the lease that makes me pay for repairs regardless of cause is void to that extent. Please confirm in writing within 7 days that the charge is withdrawn and will not be deducted from my rent or bond. If you believe I caused damage, please send the technician's report and their invoice, so I can see what was found and what they actually charged. Regards, [your name]
Related
If the fault is urgent and nobody comes, see Urgent repairs in NSW and Urgent repairs in Victoria. If the agent is claiming your bond for old carpet or paint at the end of a long tenancy, see Landlord claiming bond for old carpet and paint.
Each NSW section above links to its text on ZoeLaw. Victorian sections are in the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic) and the Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021 (Vic) on the official Victorian legislation site.