Pre-purchase report · Melbourne metro
The compliance costs your building inspection won’t reveal.
A building inspection tells you the condition of the property. It doesn’t tell you whether it meets Victoria’s 15 rental minimum standards — and from 13 October 2026, whether you can prove it did. Buy a rental and you inherit that obligation at settlement. We check it, cost it, and get it to you before you bid.
- $495 fixed
- Report within 3 business days
- 15-minute debrief call included
- Auction deadline? Ask about express turnaround
Before you bid
What your due diligence is missing.
You’ve checked the finance, the contract and the building condition. Nobody has checked whether the property is actually rental-ready — against the 15 minimum standards today, and against the energy standards phasing in from 2027 and 2030.
A clean building inspection doesn’t mean the property is rental-ready.
They’re different jobs. A building inspection reports on structure and condition. It doesn’t assess whether external doors have compliant locks, whether every openable window has a working latch, whether there’s ceiling insulation, or whether the heating in the main living area meets the standard.
Some properties need almost nothing. Others need cooling, insulation, draught sealing, showerheads, safety items or a hot water upgrade before they can be advertised again.
Minor items only — blind cord anchors, a showerhead, a door lock, a few window latches, and the paperwork to prove it.
Where cooling, draught sealing or ceiling insulation is missing, and several smaller items need attention at the same time.
Older stock needing several upgrades together — heating, cooling, insulation and hot water on the same property.
Indicative ranges only, based on Safehaus published prices and typical Melbourne supply-and-install costs for the items listed. Your property’s actual exposure depends on its age, construction, existing equipment, agreement triggers and any applicable exemptions.
The bill doesn’t land at settlement. It lands the first time you re-let.
This is the part buyers get wrong. Most of the new standards are triggered by a new rental agreement — so a tenanted property can look fine on the day you buy it, and become an expense the moment that tenant moves out.
Most buyers find this out after settlement.
That gap between the purchase price and what the property really costs you is the one nobody quotes on. A Safehaus report identifies the compliance gaps, puts indicative costs against them, and gives you a dated plan — before you commit.
Timing
Your window is smaller than you think.
Most buyers assume the settlement period is when you sort this out. It isn’t. By then the price is set and the contract is signed. In Victoria the leverage sits before you sign — and at auction, it ends the moment the hammer falls.
Before you sign or bid
Book the report while the property is still on the market. You can adjust your offer, ask for works before settlement, build the cost into your bidding limit, or decide it isn’t for you.
This is the only window that exists at auction. Publicly advertised auction purchases carry no cooling-off period at all.
Cooling off — private sale only
A private-sale contract generally carries 3 clear business days to withdraw. Withdrawing costs you 0.2% of the purchase price, or $100 if that’s greater — on a $900,000 property, $1,800.
It doesn’t apply if the contract is signed within 3 clear business days either side of a scheduled auction.
After that, it’s yours
The settlement period is for finance and conveyancing, not renegotiation. The requirements don’t disappear — but the ability to price them into the deal is gone.
Whatever the property needs, you now pay for it.
General information only, not legal advice. Cooling-off rights depend on how the property is sold and what your contract says — check with your conveyancer or solicitor before relying on them.
How it works for buyers
Book online or call. Tell us the auction or offer date so we can work backwards from it.
We coordinate access with the agent, or attend an open for inspection if that’s all that’s available.
Written report within 3 business days, photo-documented, with indicative costs against each item.
A 15-minute call to walk you through it, so you know what matters and what doesn’t before you decide.
Appliance details captured. Upgrade costs forecast.
Safehaus records the key systems that affect rental compliance, 2027 readiness and future ownership costs.
The property probably doesn’t need every upgrade — but you need to know which ones apply, and what they cost.
The report
Safehaus Pre-Purchase Report
Before you bid or sign, we assess the property against Victoria’s current minimum standards, flag what the 2027 and 2030 energy standards will require, and put an indicative cost against each item — so you’re working with a number instead of a guess.
Investor buyers who want a number before they commit — especially older homes, apartments, properties with gas appliances, and anything that will need work before it can be advertised again.
$495 before you bid. Or the whole bill after you own it.
Still deciding? Read a sample report extract first →
A Safehaus report is a practical property review, not a building inspection, a pest inspection, or a compliance certificate. Indicative costs are estimates given as ranges, not fixed quotes.
Before you bid
Know the number before you’re committed.
Find out what the property will actually need while you can still do something about it — set your limit, adjust your offer, or decide it isn’t the one.
- Report within 3 business days
- 15-minute debrief call included
- Tight deadline? Ask about express turnaround
Not ready to book? Read a sample report extract →
