Blinds in a rental: who pays in NSW, and the Wodonga rule Albury does not have.
The landlord pays for anything that was there at the start of the tenancy. NSW sets no fixed deadline for a non-urgent repair, Victoria sets 14 days, and only Victoria makes a privacy covering a minimum standard. Costs, timeframes and access rules below.
The landlord pays. If blinds, curtains or shutters were in the property when the tenancy started, they are part of what the landlord must keep in a reasonable state of repair under the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW), and the tenant only pays where they broke it themselves beyond fair wear and tear. NSW sets no fixed deadline for a non-urgent repair, only a reasonable time, and a jammed blind is rarely urgent. Across the Murray the rule is harder: Victorian rental minimum standards require a privacy window covering in every bedroom and living area window that can be looked into, so a Wodonga property with a bare bedroom window is non-compliant before a renter moves in. Typical numbers: $60 to $180 to repair, $120 to $280 per window to replace, $1,200 to $3,000 to do a three-bedroom house.
Who is responsible, how fast, and what it costs
This is the table to send to an owner who is arguing about a $95 service call, or to a tenant who has asked for something that is not actually the landlord problem. Costs are 2026 supplied-and-fitted figures for Albury, Lavington, Thurgoona and Wodonga.
| Situation | Who is responsible | Timeframe | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blind supplied with the property stops working through normal use | Landlord or rental provider | NSW: a reasonable time. VIC: 14 days from written notice | $60 to $180 repair · $120 to $280 replacement |
| Tenant snapped the chain yanking it, or cut the cords off | Tenant, as damage beyond fair wear and tear | Agree it in writing with the agent, ideally before the next inspection | $60 to $150 |
| Window cannot be closed or secured after storm or impact damage | Landlord: this is an urgent repair, because the premises are insecure | Immediately. NSW tenant may arrange up to $1,000 and be reimbursed within 14 days if the landlord cannot be reached. VIC limit is $2,500 reimbursed within 7 days | $180 to $450 make-safe, then the repair |
| Corded blind with a loose cord loop in a room used by a small child | Landlord, to bring it back to the mandatory corded window covering safety requirements | Treat as immediate. Do not wait for the next routine inspection | $25 to $60 per blind for a compliant cleat or tension device · $150 to $280 to convert to cordless |
| Bedroom or living room window with no covering at all, Wodonga or Baranduda (VIC) | Rental provider: it is a Victorian rental minimum standard | Must be in place before a new tenancy starts | $120 to $280 per window |
| Bedroom window with no covering, Albury, Lavington or Thurgoona (NSW) | Nobody, legally. It is not a NSW minimum standard, so it is a negotiation | No statutory timeframe | $120 to $280 per window, usually worth doing anyway |
| Blinds faded and perished after 12 years | Landlord, as a capital replacement rather than a repair | No deadline. Plan it for a vacancy between tenancies | $1,200 to $3,000 for a typical three-bedroom home |
| Mould on blockout fabric in a bedroom | Depends on cause: building fault is the landlord, condensation from unventilated drying is usually the tenant | Raise at the inspection, in writing, with photos | $120 to $280 per blind to replace · cleaning rarely works on coated fabric |
| Access to measure and install while tenanted | Landlord or agent must give proper notice | NSW: 2 days written notice for repairs, 7 days for a routine inspection, maximum 4 routine inspections in 12 months | Included in the quote. Measure about 30 minutes, install 1 to 3 hours |
| Blinds damaged beyond fair wear and tear at vacate | Tenant, usually settled from the bond if it is not paid directly | Claim lodged at end of tenancy, with the ingoing condition report as evidence | $120 to $280 per window, and the claim needs quotes and photos |
General information for NSW and Victorian tenancies, current for 2026. It is not legal advice, and NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria and the relevant tribunal are the authorities on any dispute.
What the NSW rules actually say
Two things drive every blinds question in a NSW rental. The first is the landlord obligation to provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair, taking into account the age of the property, the rent and how long it has been there. That obligation attaches to whatever was supplied with the tenancy. If the house came with roller blinds on every window, those blinds are part of the premises and they have to keep working. If it never had blinds, the landlord has not failed anything by not installing them.
The second is the set of minimum standards that make a property fit to live in. In NSW those cover things like being structurally sound, having adequate natural light and ventilation, electricity and sockets, plumbing and drainage, a water supply for drinking and washing, and bathroom facilities that allow privacy. Window coverings are not on that list. That surprises a lot of owners and more than a few property managers, and it is worth knowing because it changes how the conversation with a tenant goes: an uncovered window in Albury is a service and marketing question, not a compliance one.
Urgent versus non-urgent, and why it matters so much
The urgent repairs list in NSW is specific and mostly plumbing, electrical, gas and structural. Blinds appear only through the catch-all: a fault or damage that makes the premises unsafe or insecure. That does genuine work in three cases. A window that cannot be closed or locked after the blind mechanism failed and jammed the sash is insecure. Broken glass behind a blind is unsafe. A cord hanging in a loop where a small child sleeps is unsafe, and we would treat it that way whatever the paperwork says.
The practical consequence is money. Where a repair is urgent and the landlord or agent cannot be contacted, a NSW tenant can arrange the work themselves and be reimbursed up to $1,000 within 14 days of giving written notice, provided the work was necessary and done by an appropriately qualified person. Where it is not urgent, the tenant has to give written notice and wait a reasonable time, and the remedy for delay is an application to the Tribunal rather than a self-arranged invoice. For a landlord, that means an urgent job you ignore comes back at retail rates with somebody else choosing the product.
Wodonga is a different country, legally
Plenty of Albury investors own one or two properties across the river, and the rules there are materially tighter. Victorian rental minimum standards include window coverings: in every bedroom and living area, windows that can be looked into from a shared or public area must have a covering that provides privacy. A bare window in a Wodonga bedroom is a compliance issue at the start of a tenancy, not a nice-to-have.
Victoria also puts hard clocks on repairs. Non-urgent repairs must be completed within 14 days of written notice. Urgent repairs must be arranged immediately, and a renter who cannot reach the rental provider can spend up to $2,500 and be reimbursed within 7 days. If you own on both sides of the Murray, do not run one process across both portfolios. The Victorian one is stricter, so if you standardise, standardise on that.
Cord safety is not optional in either state
Corded internal window coverings are covered by a mandatory safety standard under Australian Consumer Law, which is national and applies regardless of which state the property is in. In practice it means loose cords and chains must be secured so a young child cannot reach a loop, which is done with a cleat or a tension device fixed to the wall or the frame, and the product must carry the required warning labelling. Tension devices come loose, get painted over and get pulled off by tenants, and the cheapest fix in this whole page is checking them at every routine inspection. A replacement device fitted is $25 to $60. Converting a nursery blind to cordless or motorised is $150 to $350 and removes the issue permanently. Our blind cord safety page shows what compliant looks like.
Managing a portfolio? Get one price list you can quote from
Per-window fixed pricing for repairs and replacements across Albury, Lavington, Thurgoona and Wodonga, invoiced to the agency with the property address on it, so owner approval takes one email.
Notice, access and getting the job actually done
Most rental blind jobs fail on access, not on price. Two visits are usually needed: a measure of about half an hour, then an install of one to three hours once the product is made, which is 2 to 3 weeks later for roller and roman blinds, 3 to 5 weeks for curtains and 6 to 10 weeks for shutters. In NSW that means two lots of notice, at least 2 days in writing each time for repairs and maintenance. A routine inspection needs 7 days notice and there is a cap of four in any twelve month period, so do not burn one on a measure.
What works: the agent emails us the tenant name and mobile with permission to contact them directly, and we book both visits with the tenant while confirming the notice back to the agent in writing. What does not work: three-way phone tag, or an installer turning up on a day the tenant did not agree to. A tenant can refuse entry that has not been properly noticed, and the wasted trip is usually charged.
The vacate inspection: fair wear and tear versus damage
At the end of a tenancy the ingoing condition report decides everything. Photograph every blind at the start of a tenancy, close enough to see the fabric condition and the cleat, and file it with the report. Without that, an argument about a chain that was already frayed is unwinnable.
Fair wear and tear, which the tenant does not pay for: fade, especially on a west-facing window in Albury where a blockout fabric visibly ages in 6 to 10 years; slight fraying at the edges; a clutch that has worn out after a decade of daily use; a curtain hem that has dropped. Damage, which the tenant does pay for: a snapped chain from yanking, cords cut off, holes, pet damage, a bottom rail bent by being pulled sideways, a blind pulled off the wall with plaster attached, and mould from drying washing in a closed room. The honest middle case is a blind that failed at nine years while the tenant was operating it normally. That is the landlord cost, and pushing it onto the bond usually loses at the Tribunal and costs more in vacancy than the $150 it saves.
Repair or capital improvement, in tax terms
This distinction is worth real money and it is the one owners get wrong most often. Repairing damage that occurred while the property was earning rent, such as replacing a broken chain or a failed mechanism, is generally deductible in the year you pay for it. Replacing an entire blind, fitting curtains where there were none, or putting plantation shutters through the house is not a repair. Blinds, curtains and shutters are usually treated as depreciating assets and written off over their effective life, and work that improves the property beyond its original condition is capital.
Two traps. First, initial repairs are capital: if you buy an Albury investment property with three broken blinds and fix them in the first month, that cost is generally not an immediate deduction even though it feels like a repair, because the defect existed when you bought it. Second, since 1 July 2017 investors generally cannot claim decline in value on second-hand depreciating assets that came with a residential rental property they acquired after that date. New blinds you buy and install yourself are a different matter. This is general information only and not tax advice, and your accountant decides how any of it applies to your property.
The honest advice: what not to spend money on
You do not need to replace every blind between tenancies. Faded fabric does not lose you a tenant in Albury, and it does not lose you rent. A blind that will not hold position, a bedroom with no covering at all, and a cord hazard all do lose you tenants, or cost you at the Tribunal. Fix mechanisms, fix safety, fit the missing ones, and leave tired-but-working fabric until the whole house is due.
Two more calls we will make against our own invoice. Motorisation in a rental is rarely worth it: $150 to $350 per blind that no tenant will pay extra rent for, and one more thing to break and be argued about. Full plantation shutters in a standard rental are the same story at $350 to $650 per square metre, though they can make sense in a long-hold property because they last 20 years and survive tenants better than fabric. Cheap flat-pack blinds cut down on site are the false economy at the other end: they cost $60 to $90 per window, they hang crooked, and they fail inside three years, so you buy them twice and pay two lots of install labour. Mid-range made-to-measure roller blinds at $140 to $220 fitted are the right buy for almost every rental in this region. Product comparisons are on our blinds versus shutters page and the full range sits under roller blinds. If you are also selling, the pre-sale page covers what is worth doing before a campaign, and if something has broken today, start with the emergency triage page. For Victorian properties, our Wodonga service page has the local detail.
Landlord and property manager questions
Does a NSW landlord have to provide blinds?
Is a broken blind an urgent repair in NSW?
How fast does a Victorian rental provider have to fix a blind in Wodonga?
How much notice is needed to measure and install in a tenanted property?
Can a landlord claim new blinds on tax?
Who pays when a tenant breaks a blind?
Fixed per-window pricing for your rental
Send the address and the window count and you get a fixed written quote within 2 business days, itemised per room so an owner can approve it by reply.
One property or twenty, the process is the same
Notice handled in writing, tenant booked directly, fixed price per window, invoice to the agency or the owner. Albury, Lavington, Thurgoona, East and West Albury and Wodonga.