The 13 October deadline every Victorian landlord needs in the calendar
There's a date twelve weeks away that most Victorian rental providers still haven't heard of. From 13 October 2026, two-yearly gas and electrical safety checks become mandatory for every residential rental agreement in Victoria — including leases signed before March 2021. If your property has a long-term tenant on an older agreement, the safety-check obligation that never applied to you is about to.
What actually changes on 13 October 2026?
The short answer: coverage. Since March 2021, rental providers on new agreements have been required to have gas and electrical safety checks done every two years. Consumer Affairs Victoria has confirmed that from 13 October 2026, those checks apply to all rental agreements — whether they commenced before, on or after that date. The properties most affected are exactly the ones least likely to have ever had a check: long-held rentals with stable, long-term tenants on pre-2021 leases.
What does each check involve?
The electrical check must be carried out by a licensed electrician and covers the property's switchboard, wiring and fittings, tested to the Australian Standard for periodic assessment (AS/NZS 3019:2022). One common flow-on: older switchboards without safety switches (RCDs) on every circuit have needed upgrading in Victorian rentals since March 2023 — so a first-ever check on an older property can trigger real remediation work, not just a certificate.
The gas check must be done by a licensed or registered gasfitter endorsed for Type A appliance servicing, covering all gas installations and fittings — heaters, cooktops, hot water.
Smoke alarms are separate and stricter: annual smoke alarm safety checks became mandatory for all Victorian rentals from 25 November 2025.
The part most landlords miss: the record is the requirement
The obligation isn't just to do the checks — it's to keep and produce the records. Under the Residential Tenancies Act, rental providers must hold the record of each check, show it to a renter on request, and provide a copy after each check is completed. The record needs the date, the tradesperson's licence details, what was inspected and tested, and what needs attention. If a dispute lands at VCAT, "we did the check but can't find the paperwork" is functionally the same as not having done it.
Why booking early beats booking in October
Three practical reasons. First, capacity: every pre-2021 rental in Victoria needs the same two trades in the same window, and licensed gasfitters and electricians don't scale for a deadline spike — expect October pricing and October wait times. Second, remediation: if the check finds a switchboard that needs upgrading or a heater that needs work, you want that discovered with months of runway, not mid-tenancy under time pressure. Third, the rhythm: checks done now set a clean two-year cycle with records filed from day one.
Frequently asked questions
My tenant has been in the property since 2018 — do the checks apply to me? Yes. That's precisely who 13 October 2026 captures: agreements that started before the 2021 rules and were never covered until now.
Who can legally do the checks? Only a licensed electrician (electrical) and a licensed or registered gasfitter with the Type A servicing endorsement (gas). There is no DIY or handyman version of these checks.
How long must records be kept? Keep the record of the most recent check at minimum until the next one is completed, and be able to produce it on request — renters can ask, and prospective renters can too. Best practice is a permanent file per property.
What if the property has no gas? Then only the electrical check applies — but it applies.
Getting it handled
Safehaus schedules both checks through licensed partners, chases the trades, and files every certificate and date against your property — so the record exists before anyone asks for it. For rental providers who want the whole obligation off their plate permanently, the Safehaus Compliance Register keeps the two-year cycles on schedule and the file audit-ready, year after year, from $149 per property per year. And if the checks surface minimum-standards gaps, our fixed-price rectification menu closes them in one visit — photos and paperwork included.
Book before the October rush: safehaus.com.au/landlords or call 0451 177 610.
Safehaus is a Melbourne-based rental compliance and home security service. Sources: Consumer Affairs Victoria, Energy Safe Victoria, Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021 (Vic).