Rental repair request letter template

For renters whose landlord or agent hasn’t fixed something, urgent or not.

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Written as you type
PDF, or posted for you

General information, not legal advice. These templates follow what Australian regulators, legal aid commissions and community legal centres publish, checked on 26 October 2026. They can’t know your situation. If a lot is at stake, or a deadline or court case is running, talk to a lawyer, your state’s legal aid commission or a community legal centre first. Unopost isn’t a law firm.

Your details

Printed at the top of the letter, and used as the return address if we post it.

Your full name, as on the lease

Street address or PO Box

Address line 2 (optional)

Suburb

Postcode

Email (optional)

So they can reply without posting a letter.

Phone (optional)

Who it’s to

A business’s registered or postal address is on its invoices, its website or ABN Lookup.

Their name, or a contact’s (optional)

Agency or landlord’s business name (optional)

If an agent manages the property, write to the agency.

Street address or PO Box

Address line 2 (optional)

Suburb

Postcode

The repairs

We assume the rental is the address you gave above.

State the rental is in

Its tenancy law and tribunal apply.

Are they urgent repairs?

No, routine repairsYes: no hot water, gas, power or water, a burst pipe, a blocked toilet, a serious leak, a dangerous fault or similar

What needs fixing, one per line

Say what’s wrong and where, plainly.

When you first reported it, and how (optional)

When they can get in (optional)

Time to finish the repairs

7 days14 days21 days28 days

Your state’s law says a reasonable time. Fourteen days is usual for routine repairs.

What you’re enclosing, one per line (optional)

11 to fill in · the highlighted gaps in the letter

3 November 2026

Repair request:

Dear Sir or Madam,

I rent . I am writing to ask you to carry out the following repairs:

Please have the repairs completed by 17 November 2026, which I consider a reasonable time.

Please contact me to arrange access, with the notice of entry the law requires.

I will continue to pay the rent as usual.

If the repairs are not done in time, I intend to apply to the tribunal in my state.

Yours faithfully,

Your answers stay in this browser: nothing is sent to us unless you choose to post the letter. Posting it takes you to our letter form with signature on delivery ticked, so it goes by Registered post ($16) or Express Post with a signature. Untick it if you don’t need one.

About this letter

Every state’s tenancy law makes the landlord responsible for keeping a rental in repair, and several set how quickly repairs must be done once you ask in writing. A written request starts that clock, and you’ll need it if you go to a tribunal.

Choose your state and the letter quotes the right Act and timeframe, and names where you can go next. Send it to your agent if one manages the property.

Timeframes by state

Victoria: urgent repairs immediately; non-urgent within 14 days of a written request.
New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory: within a reasonable time. In WA, urgent repairs must be arranged within 24 hours for an essential service and 48 hours otherwise.
Tasmania: within 28 days of notice, or 14 days for a cooking stove’s heating element. If an essential service, such as hot water or power, isn’t arranged within 24 hours, you may authorise a repairer.
ACT: non-urgent within four weeks; urgent as soon as necessary.
Northern Territory: NTCAT can order emergency repairs that aren’t done or arranged within 5 business days of written notice and done within 14 days. A renter can arrange some urgent repairs after 7 business days (21 days if arranged).
A fixed time runs from when the landlord receives the request, so allow for the post.

What not to do

Don’t stop paying rent, even if repairs aren’t done. Withholding rent can put you in breach and lead to eviction. Tribunals can reduce rent or pay it into a fund instead.
Don’t arrange routine repairs yourself and deduct the cost unless the landlord agrees in writing. Each state has its own rules for when a renter can arrange urgent repairs and be paid back.
Don’t exaggerate. Describe each problem plainly, and enclose photos.

If nothing happens

Victoria: Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria, then VCAT. NSW: NSW Fair Trading, then NCAT. Queensland: a Notice to remedy breach (Form 11), the Residential Tenancies Authority’s dispute resolution, then QCAT. WA: Consumer Protection, then the Magistrates Court. SA: SACAT. Tasmania: the Residential Tenancy Commissioner. ACT: ACAT. NT: NTCAT.
In most states, a tribunal can refuse or set aside a notice to vacate given because you asked for repairs. In Victoria, you can challenge a notice to vacate given in retaliation.
Free help: Tenants Victoria, the Tenants’ Union of NSW, Tenants Queensland, Circle Green Community Legal in WA, the Tenants Information and Advocacy Service in SA, the Tenants’ Union of Tasmania, the ACT Tenants’ Advice Service and Darwin Community Legal Service in the NT.

Questions

How long does a landlord have to do repairs?

It depends on the state and on whether the repair is urgent. Victoria allows 14 days for non-urgent repairs after a written request is received, Tasmania 28 days (14 for a cooking stove’s heating element) and the ACT four weeks; NSW, Queensland, WA, SA and the NT say a reasonable time. Urgent repairs must be done straight away nearly everywhere.

Should a repair request be in writing?

Yes. Several states’ timeframes only start from a written request, and a tribunal will want to see when you asked and what you asked for. Email is written too, but a posted letter is harder to miss, and every letter we post is tracked.

Can I stop paying rent until repairs are done?

No. Keep paying rent. Withholding it can put you in breach of your lease. If repairs aren’t done, apply to your state’s tribunal, which can order repairs and reduce the rent.

Should I write to the agent or the landlord?

If an agent manages the property, write to the agent: they act for the landlord. If you deal with the landlord directly, write to them at the address for notices in your lease.

Where this comes from

Checked on 26 October 2026. Laws and limits change: check the source before you rely on a figure.