For rental providers and property managers · City of Casey

Drainage and ground repairs at a Victorian rental: who pays, the timeframes, and what it costs

The rental provider pays for almost all of it. Under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, drains, stormwater and the ground around the building are the provider’s to keep in good repair. Flooding, serious flood damage and anything that makes the property unsafe are urgent repairs, and a renter who cannot reach you may arrange the work themselves up to $2,500 and be reimbursed within 7 days. Non-urgent work has 14 days from written notice. Budget $600 to $2,500 for an urgent drainage callout and $1,200 to $6,500 to fix the cause properly.

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Obligations at a glance

Who is responsible, how fast, and what it costs

The ten situations below cover nearly every earthworks call we take from agencies across Berwick, Cranbourne, Narre Warren and Hampton Park. Timeframes are the Victorian rules; the costs are 2026 figures for a standard suburban block with reasonable side access.

Situation	Who is responsible	Legal timeframe	Typical cost (2026)
Stormwater blocked, water running under the house	Rental provider	Urgent repair, immediately. Renter may spend up to $2,500 and be reimbursed within 7 days	$600 to $2,500
Yard floods after every storm, nothing entering the building	Rental provider	Non-urgent, 14 days from written notice	$1,200 to $3,500 to regrade and pipe the downpipes away
Ground has sunk at the front path, 60mm trip step	Rental provider	Urgent if it makes the property unsafe, otherwise 14 days	$800 to $2,200
Driveway sinking at the crossover, cars grounding	Rental provider	Non-urgent, 14 days	$1,500 to $4,500 to cut out, re-base and reinstate
Retaining wall leaning over a path or the neighbour’s yard	Rental provider as owner	Urgent if unsafe, and fence it off the same day	$2,500 to $12,000 depending on height and length
Root-blocked sewer, toilet not draining	Rental provider	Urgent repair, a blocked or broken toilet system is on the list	$700 to $1,600 to expose, plumbing repair on top
Damp at the slab edge, property not weatherproof	Rental provider, rental minimum standards	Must be met before a new tenancy starts, then as a repair	$2,500 to $6,500 to lower levels, drain and reinstate
Renter parked a caravan on the lawn, deep ruts and a blocked surface drain	Renter, damage beyond fair wear and tear	Breach notice, or at vacate against the bond	$400 to $1,200 to reinstate and re-level
Renter built a shed pad or raised garden against the slab	Renter, unless written consent was given	Restore at end of tenancy	$500 to $1,500 to remove and re-establish levels
New concrete driveway to lift the rent	Rental provider, and it is a capital improvement not a repair	No statutory timeframe, plan it between tenancies	$8,000 to $20,000 including sub-base preparation

General information about Victorian rental rules, not legal advice. Consumer Affairs Victoria and VCAT are the authorities. Full machine and cart-away rates are on our pricing page.

Urgent versus non-urgent, and why the label matters

The Residential Tenancies Act 1997 sets out a specific list of urgent repairs. The ones that catch earthworks are flooding and serious flood damage, serious storm damage, a blocked or broken toilet system, a burst water service, and the catch-all of any fault or damage that makes the premises unsafe or insecure. If the situation is on that list, the renter notifies the rental provider or agent, and if they cannot get a response they can arrange the repair themselves, spend up to $2,500, and be reimbursed within 7 days of giving written notice of what it cost.

If it is not urgent, the renter gives written notice and the rental provider has 14 days to get it done. Miss that and the renter can ask Consumer Affairs Victoria to inspect, or apply to VCAT, which deals with urgent repair applications very quickly. Neither outcome is expensive in itself. What is expensive is the six weeks of water running against a slab while everyone argues about the category, because reactive clay in Casey moves 30 to 50mm between wet and dry, and a slab that gets soaked on one edge and dries on the other is how you buy a $15,000 to $40,000 underpinning job instead of a $2,800 drainage job.

Access and notice

For a booked repair you need 24 hours written notice on the approved notice of entry form, entry between 8am and 6pm, and not on a public holiday, unless the renter agrees otherwise. For a genuine urgent repair we can attend immediately. Machinery adds a practical layer on top of the legal one: the renter needs cars off the driveway, pets inside, and the work zone cleared, and a 1.7 tonne excavator needs about 900mm of clear side access. Where that is not available, read our tight access page before you promise a tenant a one-day job.

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What shows up at the vacate inspection

Ground damage is one of the few condition report items where the renter genuinely can be liable, so it is worth knowing where the line sits. Damage beyond fair wear and tear is chargeable: caravan and trailer ruts across a lawn, a compacted parking strip where nothing will grow, a homemade shed slab, a raised garden bed built against the slab edge that traps water, soil dumped over a stormwater grate, or a fire pit dug into the yard. Reinstating those is $400 to $1,500.

Not chargeable: settlement over a buried service trench, seasonal clay cracking, a drain that has failed with age, tree root damage, or ground that always fell the wrong way. If you want any of it to stick at VCAT you need the entry condition report photos to show the same area in good order, so photograph the yard levels, the driveway edge and every surface grate at the start of a tenancy, not just the kitchen. Our signs of bad earthworks guide is a useful way to tell an original defect from something the renter did.

Repair or capital improvement

The tax treatment is different and the difference is real money. Restoring something that existed and has worn out, such as re-laying a collapsed section of stormwater pipe or re-levelling a settled trench, is generally a deductible repair in the year you pay it. Putting in drainage that was never there, replacing the whole driveway rather than a section, or building a retaining wall is generally capital works, deducted at 2.5 per cent a year over 40 years. Repairs to defects that already existed when you bought the property are treated as capital as well, no matter when you do them. That is general information only: your accountant decides your situation, and it is worth one phone call before you approve a $12,000 job in June.

What we will tell you not to spend money on

Roughly a third of the rental drainage jobs we look at do not need earthworks at all. A downpipe discharging onto bare soil beside the slab is a $250 to $600 fix with a spreader and a length of agricultural pipe, not a $4,000 regrade. A single blocked surface grate is a $180 clean, not a new pit. A puddle in the middle of a lawn that clears within a day is a wet lawn. We will say so, in writing, and you can put that email in the owner’s file.

We are earthworks contractors: we dig, level, trench, drain, prepare and reinstate. We are not plumbers, so we expose sewer and water lines for your licensed plumber rather than repairing them, and we do not do concreting or paving, though we do the sub-base underneath it. If you need those trades we keep a local trades list for the area. We work across Hampton Park, Endeavour Hills, Berwick, Cranbourne, Narre Warren, Hallam, Officer, Clyde and Pakenham, and for anything happening right now start with the first-hour emergency guide. If the owner is preparing to sell instead of re-let, the pre-sale page has the honest return figures.

Questions from owners and property managers

Is a flooded yard at a rental an urgent repair in Victoria?

It is urgent once water is entering the building or the property has become unsafe, because flooding, serious flood damage and any fault that makes the premises unsafe all sit on the urgent repairs list in the Residential Tenancies Act 1997. A yard that puddles after 40mm of rain and drains away is a non-urgent repair, which gives the rental provider 14 days from written notice. The practical difference is a $660 to $900 after-hours callout versus a $480 to $640 weekday one.

How much can a renter spend on urgent repairs without approval?

Up to $2,500. If the renter cannot get hold of the rental provider or agent, they can arrange the urgent repair themselves and the provider must reimburse them within 7 days of receiving written notice of the cost. That covers most emergency drainage callouts here, which run $600 to $2,500, so the practical answer for an agency is to answer the phone rather than argue about it later.

Who pays when tree roots crush the stormwater line at a rental?

The rental provider, in almost every case, because it is a repair to the property rather than damage the renter caused. Excavating to expose and replace a root-crushed section is $900 to $2,600 depending on depth and whether it runs under paving. If the tree is on the neighbouring block it is still the provider who fixes their own pipe first and then deals with the neighbour separately.

How much notice do we need before sending an excavator to an occupied rental?

For ordinary repairs, 24 hours written notice using the approved notice of entry form, with entry between 8am and 6pm and not on a public holiday, unless the renter agrees to something else. For genuine urgent repairs, entry can happen straight away. Machinery in a backyard also needs the renter to move cars, pets and anything stored on the work area, so give them a start time and a realistic finish, usually one day for trenching and two to three for a driveway.

Is a new drain a deductible repair or a capital improvement?

Repairing an existing drain back to working order is generally a deductible repair in the year you pay for it. Installing drainage that was never there, or replacing an entire structure such as the full driveway, is generally capital works, which is written off at 2.5 per cent a year over 40 years. Repairs to defects that existed when you bought the property are treated as capital too. This is general information only, and your accountant decides how it applies to you.

Can we charge the renter for ruts and damaged ground at vacate?

Only for damage beyond fair wear and tear, and only with evidence. Ruts from a caravan parked on the lawn, a shed slab poured without written consent, or a garden bed built up against the slab edge are all chargeable, and reinstating them runs $400 to $1,500. Ground that has settled over a buried service trench, clay cracking in a dry summer, or a drain that failed with age are not the renter's problem and a VCAT member will say so.

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Get a written quote for a rental repair, with photos for the file

Send the address and the renter’s report and we will inspect within 48 hours, then email an itemised quote and site photos you can forward straight to the owner.

Urgent repair at a managed property?

Mon to Sat 7am to 6pm, after-hours for genuine urgent repairs. Owner on site, fully insured, invoices to the agency.

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