Roof leaking in a rental property in NSW: what tenants and landlords do

Published 23 October 2026

Is a roof leak an urgent repair?

Yes, if it’s serious. The Act’s list of urgent repairs includes “(d) a serious roof leak” and “(h) serious storm or fire damage”, along with “any fault or damage that causes the residential premises to be unsafe or insecure”. A landlord must keep the premises “in a reasonable state of repair” (s 63), and the minimum standards for a rental say the roof and ceilings must “not allow water penetration into the premises” (s 52).

A leak that isn’t serious is still worth reporting: the landlord’s duty to keep the home in reasonable repair applies whether or not a repair is urgent.

What to do first as a tenant

Make the room safe: keep away from wet light fittings and power points, and put a bucket and towels under the drip. The steps are in roof leaking: what to do first. Then, from NSW Fair Trading’s guidance on getting repairs done:

• “Tell them – in writing if possible – about what needs fixing.”
• “Follow up any conversations in writing.”
• “Keep a copy of any correspondence or conversations as evidence.”
• Take dated photos of the ceiling, the drip and any damage to your belongings.

Keep paying the rent. Fair Trading warns: “If you stop paying your rent, you will be in breach of your lease agreement, and you could be asked to move out.”

Arranging an urgent roof repair yourself: the $1,000 rule

“If your landlord or agent cannot be contacted or is unwilling or taking too long to arrange repairs”, Fair Trading says to check whether your lease names a preferred tradesperson, and to get the work done by a licensed tradesperson, preferably one recommended in the lease. Under s 64, the landlord must reimburse “the reasonable costs of making urgent repairs” within 14 days of your written notice, up to $1,000, if:

• the leak wasn’t caused by your own breach of the lease
• you told the landlord or agent, or made a reasonable attempt to, and gave them a reasonable opportunity to make the repair
• you made a reasonable attempt to use the tradesperson named in the lease, if there is one
• the repair was done by a licensed or otherwise properly qualified person
• you gave the landlord or agent written details of the repair with the receipts as soon as practicable

The Tenants’ Union of NSW advises: “Do not pay any more than $1,000 or you may not get your money back”. If you can’t afford to pay for an urgent repair, it says you can apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) for an urgent hearing instead. A licensed roofer can make a leaking roof safe and give you the written details and receipt the landlord will need.

If the landlord doesn’t fix the roof leak

You can lodge a complaint with NSW Fair Trading. Where a tenant has asked in writing for repairs and the landlord has “without reasonable excuse, refused or failed” to do them, Fair Trading can issue a landlord rectification order with a date to comply by (s 65C).

NCAT can order the landlord to carry out specified repairs or to reimburse you for urgent repairs, and can order that rent be paid into the Tribunal until the order is complied with (s 65). Apply within 3 months of becoming aware of the breach (Residential Tenancies Regulation, clause 39). If the leak makes the home wholly or partly uninhabitable, the rent abates (s 43), and the Tenants’ Union says you can apply for a rent reduction until the repairs are done.

Roof leaks in a rented strata unit

In a unit or townhouse, the roof is usually common property, which the owners corporation must repair. Fair Trading’s strata policy says that “If the issue is related to common property, it is the responsibility of the property manager or landlord to contact the strata manager or the strata committee”. The Tenants’ Union suggests including the building or strata manager when you write to the landlord or agent, and says the landlord’s repair duty includes getting the owners corporation to fix common property that affects your tenancy.

The Act’s urgent repairs definition doesn’t cover work on premises “owned by a person other than the landlord”. By our reading, that means a tenant who books a roofer for a strata roof may not be repaid under the $1,000 rule, so write to the agent and strata manager rather than arranging the roof repair yourself. How the owners corporation handles it is in strata roof leaks in NSW.

For landlords: who pays for a roof leak in a rental

The landlord pays, unless the damage came from the tenant’s breach of the lease (s 63 and s 64). Reimbursing a tenant’s urgent repair is capped at $1,000, but the duty to keep the roof watertight isn’t. Moneysmart’s insurance guidance tells tenants that the building is “the landlord’s responsibility” to insure, so check your own policy for storm and leak cover. Naming a licensed roofer in the lease as the preferred tradesperson gives tenants someone to call if a leak starts when you can’t be reached.

Common questions