VEU eligibility for rentals: a checklist landlords can hand to their PM
Landlords ask us this every week. Here's a one-page checklist your property manager can use to confirm eligibility in 5 minutes.
Rental properties are absolutely eligible for VEU rebates. In fact, we do about a third of our heat pump installs on rentals. Here's the checklist landlords and property managers need to know.
The 5-second answer
VEU rebates (VEEC + STC + Australian Made) all apply to rentals with no reduction. The rental just doesn't qualify for the extra $1,000 Solar Homes hot water rebate, that one's owner-occupier only. So a rental gets up to $1,605 off ($576 + $629 + $400 for Australian-made) instead of the $2,605 an owner-occupier would get.
The 5-minute checklist
Property manager runs this in a phone call to the tenant:
- What's the existing hot water system, gas storage, electric storage, or heat pump? (Anything gas or electric qualifies; existing heat pump doesn't.)
- How old is it, under 3 years or over? (No age minimum for VEU on rentals.)
- Is there a power point within 50 cm of the current tank? (If yes, all-in-one heat pumps plug in straight. If no, add $450 for a sparky.)
- Can we access the tank for the swap? (Some townhouses have tanks in tight cupboards, worth checking.)
- Any solar PV on the roof? (Doesn't affect eligibility, but affects running cost sizing.)
What the landlord pays
For a Reclaim R290 300 L on a rental: $3,610 inc GST fully installed. That's $1,000 more than an owner-occupier install (missing Solar Homes rebate) but it still adds value to the property, cuts the tenant's power bill (bigger tenant appeal, longer stays), and future-proofs against Victoria's inevitable gas phase-out.
The Residential Tenancies Act now requires "Minimum Standards" including working hot water, replacing a failing gas tank with a heat pump satisfies the requirement AND banks a $1,000+ VEU rebate. Better to do it planned than in a 3 am emergency.
The paperwork side
We handle all the VEU paperwork ourselves. Landlord signs the standard consent form (takes 60 seconds), we invoice the landlord, we email the compliance certificate for insurance / regulatory records. Tenant gets hot water back, landlord gets rebate applied at quote.
Give us the property address and we'll come out for a free site check, usually within 48 hours.
Fixed-price, no obligation, VEU rebate applied at the quote.
We usually reply within 12 hours. Free 20-minute site check for bigger jobs.
