THE Real Estate Institute of WA has hit out at the State Government for failing to take greater responsibility for alerting the public to safety reforms that will affect the property industry from this month.
REIWA president Rob Druitt said many property owners were unaware that from August 9, all residential properties in WA which are leased to a new tenant, or sold, must have two residual current devices (RCDs) installed.
RCDs monitor the flow of electricity from the main switchboard and prevent electrocution by cutting the electricity supply if an imbalance in the current is detected.
By installing two RCDs, the property’s circuits can be divided evenly between the two.
This ensures some light and power remain if only one RCD operates and also minimises faulty operation from appliances that have low-level leakage current.
All properties constructed after 2000 should already have two RCDs fitted. From this month, two RCDs must be fitted to protect all power point and lighting circuits in all homes before land title is transferred after a sale.
If you are planning to sell your home and it does not already have two RCDs protecting all powerpoint and lighting circuits, you will need to engage a licensed electrical contractor to fit RCDs to the main switchboard.
It should cost no more than $500 to supply and fit two single-phase RCDs in an average sized 4x2 home.
Mr Druitt said while the safety initiative was to be applauded, the Government had failed to clearly get its message across to owners.
“We call on the Government to properly fund a community awareness and education campaign around this change so owners are not unaware, confused or vulnerable to fines,” he said.
He said he was concerned that the poor levels of awareness over RCDs did not bode well for new laws on smoke alarms, expected to be introduced in October.
“From October, the Government has said it will mandate that all residential properties for sale or rent must have hard-wired smoke alarms fitted. The common battery types will no longer be acceptable,” Mr Druitt said. “This further change to property laws will also raise many questions and confuse some owners.”
For more details about the RCD reforms, visit www. energysafety.wa.gov.au/RCD or call 9422 5200.