Between tenancies: electrical and heating jobs while the property is empty

A vacancy is the one time you can switch the power off for half a day, open every room, and run trades through the house without coordinating with anyone's work or school run. It's also, since 25 November 2025, when the property has to be brought up to the minimum standards, because a rental must meet them before it's advertised.

Plan the order. Checks first, so their findings feed the repair list. Then power-off work and upgrades, then servicing, and finally the handover items once the trades are done. A week or two of planning before the old renter leaves can save a week of vacancy afterwards.

For the electrical and heating side, three standards do most of the work. Every rental needs a fixed heater, not a portable one, in good working order in the main living area, and for agreements from 29 March 2023 it must be energy efficient. That means a non-ducted air conditioner or heat pump rated 2 stars or above, a gas space heater rated 2 stars or above, a ducted or hydronic system with an outlet in the main living area, or a solid fuel appliance.

Power outlets and lighting circuits must be connected to both a switchboard circuit breaker and a switchboard safety switch, and the rental provider is responsible for engaging an electrician to meet that standard. Rooms, corridors and hallways must also have enough light to be usable. CAV's full minimum standards checklist covers more, including locks, window coverings and mould, so work through the whole list.

Electrical and gas safety checks are each due every 2 years. If no electrical check has been done in the 2 years before a renter moves in, one must be done as soon as possible, so a vacancy is the obvious time if the last one is getting old.

There's a second reason. Before a new agreement, CAV says the rental provider must disclose the date of the last gas and electrical safety checks and any outstanding recommendations from them. A fresh check with the repairs already done is a much cleaner disclosure than an old report with open items.

The electrical check follows section 4 of AS/NZS 3019:2022 and is done by a licensed electrician. A Certificate of Electrical Safety isn't the right document to record the check, but one must be issued for any repair work it leads to. The gas check is a separate job for a gasfitter endorsed for Type A appliance servicing.

Work through the defects from the last check and anything the outgoing renter reported: damaged power points and switches, dead lights, flickering circuits, exhaust fans that no longer clear steam, outdoor lights full of water. Each is a small job on its own and a nuisance to schedule around someone's day.

Bigger electrical work belongs here too. With old panel-and-fuse or federal fuse boards, Consumer Affairs Victoria says the electrician may have to replace the whole switchboard, giving every circuit circuit breaker protection, cooking, hot water and air conditioning included. Energy Safe Victoria says power can't go back on to a replaced main switchboard until a licensed electrical inspector has inspected the work. WorkSafe Victoria lists switchboards and their backing boards as a typical location for asbestos in buildings built or renovated before the late 1980s, so an old board should be assessed before anyone starts cutting.

Energy Safe Victoria recommends servicing ducted gas heaters every two years, with a carbon monoxide test at the heating outlets in every room. That's far easier in an empty house with every door open. Service reverse-cycle and evaporative systems at the same time, and clean filters so the new renter starts with a clean system.

It's also the moment to decide about an ageing heater. From 1 March 2027, a rental's fixed heating that fails and can't be repaired must be replaced with energy-efficient fixed electric heating with an outlet in the main living area. If the service report suggests the heater is near the end, replacing it during the vacancy beats an urgent replacement in July.

From 1 March 2027, a new agreement also triggers the cooling standard, so a vacancy after that date is when energy-efficient fixed cooling goes into the main living area if there isn't any already.

Test every smoke alarm and read the dates. The Building and Plumbing Commission advises replacing alarms generally after ten years, and alarms fitted together expire together, so replace the set if they're close. Rental providers must make sure every alarm is correctly installed, working, fitted with batteries and tested at least every 12 months. Hardwired alarms must be installed by a qualified electrician.

On or before the start of the new agreement, CAV says the renter must be given written information on how each smoke alarm works, how to test it, and their obligations not to tamper with alarms and to report faults. Leave a labelled switchboard, the manuals for each heater and air conditioner, and a note of where the isolators and the gas meter are.