RACV have just Released Emergency Home Assist to investment property , your tenant can call the RACV 24 / 7 and access all trades for free 8 times per year for around $ 150.00 per year !!! I used the service for the first time , it was 10 pm on a Friday night and my toilet was blocked , a plumber arrived 25 minutes after I called RACV and cleared the blockage for free. !!! Great service paid for itself on the first call and I have 7 left !!!!!
Do you know if it is per member or per property? I have 7 properties in Vic and if it could be used across properties it would be well worth it.
Certainly is a good idea, at one of my properties I have to pay $50 every winter just to get the pilot light lit!
Cheers
One property per subscription
I've had this since the product came out. Well worth it. The wife locked herself out when I was away on business. A locksmith came out and let her in – he was on site within half an hour.
Also have used as toilet blocked up, again out really quickly and fixed problem.
Worth it for the peace of mind, I'm not looking through yellow pages pleading with a contractor to come and look at my problem, one call and they are on your doorstep in an hour.
I've got friends who have it as well, they're really happy with it
Sounds like a very good idea. Just had a couple of questions on the use of this on investment properties though:
– Is the cost deductable?
– Can you expect tennants to have this cover prior to approving the rental? (this would help if you have multiple properties because it would cost Ibluedento $1050 a year to cover all 7 properies)Cheers,
ShivaskoIts 100 percent tax deductable, you can add being a member of this to the new lease agreement , some lease agreements list certain problems are the responsibility of the tenant anyway, i am sure the tenant would be happy if he didnt have to pay for the cost of a plumber to come and unblock a toilet on a Sunday night.
Only available in Victoria I take it… anything similar for NSW?
Unfortunately – RACV means only for members of Royal Automotive Club Victoria. Surely the other clubs will follow the lead, but at this stage I think only Victoria
This is a great service!
Shivasko, you can never expect a tenant to pay for maintenance so you can't expect a tenant to pay for this cover themselves.
We run a 24/7 emergency service for tenants and have for years, it works really well to save owners on re-paying tenants for expensive call out fees as our tradies are really reasonably priced.
If the tenant had an emergency after hours problem, they could claim the cost from you up to $1000.00 in Victoria under the Residential Tenancies Act.
Tenants responsibilities in terms of maintenance (under legislation) are:
– replacement of light globes
– to report any maintenance to the landlord before further damage occurs
– to repair any damage caused by the tenant or the tenants visitorsThe only instance where tenants are liable to pay invoices for maintenance is if they caused the problem i.e. they flushed something down the toilet and caused a blockage – which you must prove with a plumbers report.
Lease agreements with stipulations outside the Residential Tenancies Act don't mean anything more than the paper they're written on because if the matter is heard at the tribunal (Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal), they will throw out any clauses in the lease agreement that do not adhere to the Residential Tenancies Act.
Kristin – you mentioned that tenant’s responsibilities includes replacing light globes …. does this cover extra ceiling heights where a tenant needs a ladder to replace the globe (may invoke OHS issues)? Anyway, does the RACV Emergency Home Assist cover replacing light globes on high ceilings?
NM7
NM7,
No, it does not cover where the tenant cannot access the globes – the landlord will need to arrange a tradesperson. For example we have a property where there is a light in a stair well that is not accessible so we would arrange a handyman at the cost of the landlord.
I can't comment on whether RACV covers light bulbs I don't have any clients using this service as yet, you'd need to check the policy.
There are some negative opinions from the other forum
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1855032
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