Emergency Restoration for Property Managers

When a tenant calls you with property damage — water pouring through the ceiling, smoke damage after a kitchen fire, storm debris through a window — the first 60 minutes determine whether you are dealing with a $5,000 repair or a $50,000 restoration. Acting quickly is not optional; it is your professional obligation and the single most effective way to contain the loss.

Step 1: Ensure the Tenant's Safety

Before anything else, confirm the tenant is safe. If there is structural risk, electrical hazard, or gas leak, instruct the tenant to evacuate and call 000. Do not allow anyone back into the property until the relevant authority (fire brigade, SES, or a licensed electrician) has cleared it. Document this instruction in writing — a text message or email is sufficient.

Step 2: Instruct the Tenant to Mitigate Further Damage

Where it is safe to do so, ask the tenant to take these immediate actions:

• Water damage: Turn off the water at the mains. Move furniture and valuables off wet carpet or flooring. Place towels around the affected area.
• Fire or smoke damage: Do not enter until cleared by fire services. Open windows for ventilation once cleared. Do not attempt to clean soot — incorrect cleaning permanently sets stains into surfaces.
• Storm damage: Move away from broken glass or exposed structural elements. Cover exposed areas with plastic sheeting or tarpaulins if safe to do so.

Step 3: Document the Damage

Ask the tenant to take photos and videos of the damage immediately, before any cleanup begins. This contemporaneous evidence is critical for the building owner's insurance claim. Timestamp the photos if possible — most smartphones do this automatically. Send them to you via text or email so you have them on file.

Step 4: Contact Disaster Recovery

Lodge a claim online — it takes under five minutes and is available 24/7. An IICRC-certified contractor from our NRPG network will contact you within 60 minutes and can be on-site within the hour. Our contractors operate Australia-wide and respond at all hours, including weekends and public holidays.

Step 5: Notify the Building Owner

Contact the building owner as soon as practically possible. Provide the photos from the tenant, a summary of what has happened, and confirmation that you have engaged a certified restoration company. If you cannot reach the owner immediately, proceed with the emergency make-safe — your duty of care requires you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage, and most management agreements authorise emergency expenditure for exactly this situation.

As a managing agent, you hold a dual duty of care — to the tenant occupying the property and to the building owner who has entrusted you with their asset. Understanding where these responsibilities begin and end is critical, both for protecting the people involved and for protecting yourself from liability.

Duty of Care to Tenants

Under the Residential Tenancies Act in each state and territory, landlords (and by extension, their managing agents) are required to provide premises that are fit for habitation, maintained in a reasonable state of repair, and compliant with health and safety standards. When property damage occurs, this translates to a practical obligation: you must take reasonable steps to ensure the tenant's safety and to arrange repairs without unreasonable delay.

If a property is rendered uninhabitable — for example, by significant water damage, fire damage, or mould contamination — the tenant may be entitled to a rent reduction or to terminate the lease. Acting quickly to engage a qualified restoration company demonstrates that you are meeting your obligations and mitigates the risk of a tribunal dispute.

Duty of Care to Building Owners

Your management agreement with the building owner typically authorises you to arrange emergency repairs up to a specified threshold (commonly $500 to $2,000 depending on the state). For expenditure beyond that threshold, you would normally seek the owner's approval. However, where delay would result in further damage — for example, a burst pipe flooding multiple rooms overnight — you have both the authority and the obligation to act.

Document every decision. Send the owner an email or text message explaining the emergency, what action you have taken, and why you could not wait for approval. This protects you and provides the owner with the information they need for their insurance claim.

When You Must Act Immediately

• Active water ingress — a burst pipe, overflowing fixture, or roof leak during rain. Every hour of delay multiplies the affected area and the cost of restoration.
• Fire or smoke damage — soot is acidic and causes progressive damage to surfaces. Delay allows corrosion, staining, and odour to penetrate deeper into materials.
• Sewage overflow — a Category 3 biohazard under IICRC standards. The property is uninhabitable until professionally decontaminated.
• Storm damage with exposed interior — broken windows or roof damage during a weather event. Temporary weatherproofing is essential to prevent cascading water damage.

When You Can Wait for Owner Approval

If the damage is contained, not worsening, and poses no safety risk — for example, a small stain on a ceiling with no active leak, or minor cosmetic damage from a resolved incident — you can wait for the owner to make a decision. Even in these cases, document the damage with photos and notify the owner promptly so they can engage their insurer if they choose to.

Liability Risks of Delayed Action

Failing to act on an emergency can expose you to claims from both sides. A tenant whose health is affected by untreated mould, or whose belongings are damaged by water you failed to address, may seek compensation through the relevant tenancy tribunal. A building owner whose insurance claim is reduced because secondary damage could have been prevented may hold the managing agent responsible for the difference. The cost of a 60-minute emergency response is almost always a fraction of the cost of inaction.

One of the most common questions property managers face during a loss event is: who pays for what? The answer depends on the type of property, the nature of the damage, and the insurance policies in place. Here is how it typically works.

Building Owner's Insurance (Landlord Insurance)

The building owner's landlord insurance policy typically covers damage to the structure and fixtures — walls, floors, ceilings, built-in cabinetry, plumbing, and electrical. This is the policy that covers most restoration work after water damage, fire, or storm events. The building owner lodges a claim with their insurer and provides the documentation from the restoration company to support their claim for reimbursement.

Tenant's Contents Insurance

The tenant's contents insurance covers their personal belongings — furniture, electronics, clothing, and stock (for commercial tenants). If a tenant's belongings are damaged during a covered event, they claim under their own policy. As a property manager, it is worth reminding tenants at lease signing that contents insurance is their responsibility and is strongly recommended. Many tenants do not carry contents insurance and discover this gap only after a loss event.

Body Corporate Insurance (Strata Properties)

In strata-titled properties, the body corporate (or owners corporation) holds the building insurance policy, which covers common property — shared walls, corridors, car parks, lobbies, roofing, and external structures. Individual lot owners are responsible for insuring their own lot improvements (internal walls, flooring, fixtures above the standard finishes). This distinction varies by state — in Queensland, for example, the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 defines what constitutes common property differently from the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 in New South Wales.

How Disaster Recovery Billing Works

We bill you directly — the client who engages us. In most cases, this is the building owner or the managing agent acting on their behalf. Work begins immediately upon engagement, with no need to wait for insurer approval, scope negotiations, or claims assessors. You control the process from start to finish.

We provide full documentation — photos, moisture readings, scope of works, progress reports, and a compliant tax invoice — so the building owner has everything their insurer requires to lodge a claim for reimbursement.

The $2,750 Emergency Make-Safe Fee

The emergency make-safe fee is $2,750, broken down as:

• $550 platform fee — covers emergency dispatch, contractor matching, and claims coordination through the Disaster Recovery platform
• $2,200 held for the attending contractor — covers emergency attendance, initial damage assessment, water extraction or temporary weatherproofing, and insurance-compliant documentation

This covers the emergency response only. Full restoration is scoped and quoted separately once the property is stabilised. Read the full Emergency Make-Safe Guide →

Payment Plans

If the building owner or your agency needs to manage cash flow while the insurance claim is being processed, flexible payment plans are available through Blue Fire Finance. This allows restoration work to proceed without delay while the financial side is resolved at a manageable pace.

As a property manager, you are the conduit between the restoration company and the building owner. The owner needs comprehensive documentation to lodge their insurance claim, and you need documentation to demonstrate that you managed the incident professionally. Our documentation package is designed to serve both purposes.

Photo Documentation — Before, During, and After

Every job is documented with timestamped photographs at three stages: on arrival (showing the full extent of damage), during the restoration process (showing equipment placement, affected areas under treatment, and progress), and on completion (showing the restored condition). These photos form the evidentiary backbone of the building owner's insurance claim.

Moisture Mapping and Readings

For water damage events, our contractors produce moisture maps showing affected areas, moisture readings at each measurement point, and drying progress over the course of the restoration. This data is critical for demonstrating to insurers that the scope of works was necessary and that drying was achieved to IICRC S500 standards.

Scope of Works and Methodology

A detailed scope document outlines exactly what work was performed, the methodology used (referencing IICRC standards where applicable), the equipment deployed, and the timeline of the restoration. This scope supports the tax invoice and gives the insurer confidence that the work was performed to industry standards.

Progress Reports

For multi-day restorations, you and the building owner receive progress reports at key milestones — typically daily during active drying, and at each phase transition (e.g., from water extraction to structural drying to reconstruction). These reports include updated moisture readings, photos, and an estimated completion timeline.

Final Completion Certificate

On completion, our contractor issues a formal completion certificate confirming that the restoration has been completed to IICRC standards and that the property has been returned to a safe, habitable condition. This certificate, combined with the photo documentation and scope of works, gives the building owner a complete claims package ready for submission to their insurer.

Everything the Building Owner Needs

The entire documentation package is provided digitally and can be forwarded directly to the building owner for their insurance claim. You do not need to compile reports, chase contractors for photos, or explain the scope to the insurer yourself — we provide a professional, self-contained package that speaks for itself.

If you manage multiple properties — whether a portfolio of 20 residential rentals or 200 commercial tenancies — a preferred supplier arrangement with Disaster Recovery eliminates the guesswork from emergency response. Instead of scrambling to find a restoration company at 3am, you have a pre-established protocol and a single number to call.

How Preferred Supplier Arrangements Work

We work with your agency to establish a standing arrangement that covers your entire portfolio. This includes:

• Single point of contact — a dedicated relationship manager who knows your portfolio, your processes, and your reporting requirements
• Consistent service standards — every property in your portfolio receives the same IICRC-certified response, the same documentation, and the same professionalism, regardless of location
• Priority response — preferred partners receive priority dispatch, meaning your properties are at the front of the queue when emergencies occur during peak demand (such as after a major storm event)
• Quarterly portfolio reporting — a summary of all jobs across your portfolio, including response times, costs, completion rates, and common damage types. This data helps you identify recurring issues (e.g., a building with repeated water damage may have a plumbing defect requiring capital works)

Onboarding Your Agency

Setting up a preferred supplier arrangement is straightforward. We meet with your team (in person or via video) to understand your portfolio, your internal processes, and your after-hours protocols. We then provide your property managers and after-hours answering service with a clear emergency protocol card — a single-page reference that any team member can follow at 2am under pressure.

Training for Your Team

We offer complimentary training sessions for your property management team covering emergency response best practices, documentation requirements, and common mistakes that increase restoration costs. These sessions can be delivered as part of your regular team meetings and are tailored to the types of properties in your portfolio.

View our full commercial services offering →

Property emergencies do not respect business hours. Burst pipes at midnight, storm damage at 4am, fire alarms at dawn on a Sunday — these are the calls that define the quality of your property management service. Having a reliable after-hours emergency protocol is not a luxury; it is a baseline expectation of building owners and tenants alike.

Our 24/7 Emergency Response

Disaster Recovery operates around the clock, every day of the year. When you lodge a claim online, our system immediately matches your property with an IICRC-certified contractor from the NRPG network in your area. The contractor will contact you within 60 minutes and can be on-site within the hour — at 2pm or 2am, on Christmas Day or a Tuesday in July.

What Happens When You Call After Hours

Our online claim system is available 24/7 and triggers an immediate response. There is no answering machine, no call-back queue, no "we'll get to it in the morning" delay. The process is identical whether you lodge at midday or midnight:

1. You lodge the claim online with property details, damage type, and photos
2. Our system matches a certified contractor in your area within minutes
3. The contractor contacts you within 60 minutes to discuss the situation
4. The contractor is on-site within the hour to perform emergency make-safe

Briefing Your Tenants

We recommend providing every tenant with an emergency response card at lease signing. This card should include:

• Your agency's after-hours number — so the tenant calls you first
• Basic safety instructions — turn off water mains, do not enter if structural risk, evacuate if gas or electrical hazard
• Documentation instructions — take photos and video before touching anything
• What to expect — a certified restoration technician will attend within 60 minutes once you have been notified

This prevents tenants from attempting DIY cleanup (which often worsens damage and compromises the insurance claim), panicking because they do not know what to do, or waiting until morning to report damage that is actively worsening.

Integrating With Your Answering Service

If your agency uses an after-hours answering service, we can provide them with a decision tree specific to property emergencies. This ensures that genuine emergencies are escalated to you immediately (with a simultaneous claim lodged with Disaster Recovery), while non-urgent maintenance requests are queued for the next business day. The goal is simple: zero delay between a tenant reporting an emergency and a certified contractor being dispatched.