Gas safety checks in Victorian rentals

Under the current rules, rental providers who entered into a new agreement after 29 March 2021 must have a licensed or registered gasfitter carry out a gas safety check every 2 years. Consumer Affairs Victoria lists a change from 13 October 2026: rental providers and their agents must arrange gas and electrical safety checks every 2 years for all rental agreements, whatever date the agreement started.

That second change matters for long-running tenancies. A property with a periodic agreement that began years ago may never have had a rental gas check, and from 13 October 2026 it needs one on the same two-yearly cycle as everything else.

If the property has no gas supply and no gas appliances, there's nothing for a gas check to cover. If it has gas anywhere, even just the hot water, plan for the check.

Consumer Affairs Victoria says the check must be done by a licensed or registered gasfitter endorsed in the specialised class of Type A gas appliance servicing, shown as 'Gas Servicing Type A' on their Plumbers Identity Card. Ask to see the card. A general plumbing or gasfitting licence without that endorsement isn't enough.

In Victoria the Building and Plumbing Commission registers, licenses and disciplines plumbers and gasfitters. Energy Safe Victoria says Type A appliances include domestic appliances such as space heaters, central heaters and water heaters, and that it's illegal and potentially fatal for unlicensed people to do any gasfitting work. An electrician doing your electrical check doesn't do the gas check unless they also hold that endorsement.

The rental check must include testing to confirm that all Type A gas appliances have been serviced in line with AS 4575. In practice the gasfitter looks at every gas appliance in the property, not just the heater: ducted or space heating, the hot water service and any other Type A appliances.

Energy Safe Victoria says a gas appliance service should include a visual inspection of the appliance and flue, a negative pressure and combustion spillage test for carbon monoxide, internal cleaning, any repair or replacement of parts, and running the appliance to confirm it works safely. For ducted gas heaters it recommends a carbon monoxide test at the heating outlets in every room, and ESV says the gasfitter must use a carbon monoxide analyser to test for spillage.

Renters need to allow reasonable access for the check. Give proper notice, and if the heater outlets are behind furniture in bedrooms, tell the renter in advance so every room can be tested.

Energy Safe Victoria warns that all gas heaters can spill carbon monoxide, a gas you can't see or smell that can make you seriously unwell or kill you. It says open-flued heaters, which draw combustion air from the room, can spill carbon monoxide more easily than other types.

Household habits matter too. ESV advises against running rangehoods or bathroom exhaust fans while a gas heater is on, because the negative pressure can draw carbon monoxide into the living space, and warns that weather-sealing around an open-flued heater may trap carbon monoxide inside. That's why the rental draughtproofing standard, from 1 July 2027, needs a gas safety check before work starts in a property with gas appliances, and stops the draughtproofing if the check finds unflued or open-flued appliances.

Consumer Affairs Victoria says the gas check record should include the gasfitter's full name and business details, including their licence or registration number, the date of the check, and the results, including any servicing and repairs required and the action taken.

Two obligations hang off that record. Before entering into a rental agreement, the rental provider must disclose the date of the last gas safety check and any outstanding recommendations. And a copy of the most recent check must be given to the renter within 7 days of a written request. Keep the gas record with the electrical one so the agent can answer both quickly.

Separately, the Building and Plumbing Commission says a gasfitter must give you a compliance certificate after servicing work that reaches a set value, removes an appliance from its fixed location or modifies the gas piping. File those too.

The electrical check follows section 4 of AS/NZS 3019:2022 and is done by a licensed electrician. It's a different job by a different trade, but aligning the two dates means one entry notice, one round of disruption for the renter and one reminder in your calendar every two years.

The two also overlap in the appliances. A ducted gas heater has a fan, igniter, controller and power point, so a no-heat fault is often electrical. And the gas check's findings feed your planning: from 1 March 2027, a rental heater that fails beyond repair must be replaced with efficient fixed electric heating, and a failed gas hot water system can't be replaced with gas. An appliance the gasfitter flags as near the end is the one to plan around.

If the gasfitter finds an appliance unsafe, it shouldn't be used until it's repaired or replaced. A gas leak, or a heating or hot water appliance that has stopped, is an urgent repair, and urgent repairs must be done immediately.

Renters play a part between checks. ESV says any change in how a gas heater runs, such as the flame colour, means a qualified gasfitter should inspect it and check for carbon monoxide leakage, and a carbon monoxide alarm helps but never replaces servicing. Ask renters to report changes in flame, new smells, soot or anyone feeling unwell when the heater is on.