Commercial property plumbing Melbourne runs on the lease lifecycle, not the calendar year. Pre-lease compliance pack for the incoming tenant's solicitor, tenant-fitout backflow and gas coordination with the shopfitter, trading-hour testing that doesn't drag the property manager into a tenant complaint, and Section 32 plumbing disclosure when the building goes on the market. Prime Plumbing & Gasfitting works to the property manager's lease and sale calendar, with one consolidated annual contract across single buildings or whole portfolios. BPC #103414, Type A gasfitter, written quotes and job documentation.
Quick answer: For commercial property the plumbing questions follow the lease: who pays (landlord or tenant), make-good at exit, and compliance testing during the term. Prime Plumbing & Gasfitting works for landlords, agents and tenants across Melbourne, covering repairs, fit-out plumbing, backflow and TMV testing, with invoices and reports split the way the lease requires. BPC licence #103414, fixed written quotes.When a new commercial tenant signs a lease, their solicitor reads through the makegood clauses, the permitted-use schedule, and the existing-compliance representations. If the property manager can't produce a current backflow test report, a current gas Compliance Certificate for the tenancy, and a fitness-for-purpose plumbing condition statement for the tenancy services, the lease execution stalls. Prime's annual contract delivers the pack: current backflow lodgement receipt, BPC Compliance Certificate for any gas work in the tenancy, photographic condition record of base-building and tenancy plumbing services, and a fitness-for-purpose statement signed by Alister. Drops straight into the tenant solicitor's checklist without the property manager chasing three contractors for three documents.
Coordinate the fit-out scope before handover. Confirm the backflow, gas connection, hot-water service and waste connections with the shopfitter, property manager and incoming tenant before work starts.
Check the actual site requirements. Assess containment and individual backflow protection against the site's cross-connection hazards, applicable minimum requirements and the water authority's classification. Select and test devices to suit the assessed hazard. Confirm the plumbing scope against the drawings, lease responsibilities and relevant authority requirements before accepting a written quote.
Agree the programme and records. Confirm access, the proposed handover date and the required reports and Compliance Certificates. Appointment and completion timing depend on the agreed scope, access and parts availability.
What Section 32 requires for commercial property. Vendor disclosure under the Sale of Land Act covers known defects, existing notices and current compliance status. For plumbing, that means backflow lodgement records, gas Compliance Certificates, any council or water-authority notices, and any known plumbing defect the vendor is aware of. Most property managers compile this in the week before the campaign launches, too late to remediate anything that turns up.
The pre-sale plumbing audit. Six to eight weeks before a building is scheduled to go on the market, we run a Section 32-focused audit: backflow status, gas safety status, riser-stack and base-building condition, any open notices. Findings sit in two buckets, disclose-as-is (factor into the asking price) or remediate-before-listing (small spend that lifts the disclosure cleanliness).
The auction-day call. Where a buyer's building inspector flags a plumbing item on inspection day, the vendor's agent often rings us for a same-day cost-to-remediate so the price negotiation has a real number, not an estimate.
For agencies and corporate property teams running 5+ buildings, we quote the portfolio as a single contract with per-building line items the PM can recover through the recovery clause on each lease. One annual renewal cycle, one invoice schedule, one document pack per building stored in the agency's file system.
Documentation is stored against the building, not the individual PM. When the PM role changes hands (and it does, frequently in commercial agency), the new PM inherits a clean compliance trail without needing to re-build it from scratch.
Agree the contact and escalation arrangements for each building when quoting. Availability and response timing depend on the fault, location and existing bookings. Confirm the building manager's isolation procedures before work starts.
Office buildings can lose end-of-trip facility access for an hour at 6am without a tenant complaint; retail can't lose the customer toilets between 9am and 5pm. We schedule backflow and TMV testing to fit the trading-hour pattern of the actual tenant mix, not a default 8-4 trade calendar.
Modern A-grade and B-grade buildings have a BMS that monitors backflow isolation events. We coordinate the test isolation window with the BM so the BMS alarm panel doesn't fire mid-test and pull the BM out of bed at midnight.
Agree the access window, water interruptions and tenant notifications before work starts. The property manager can then plan communication with affected occupants.
Confirm the relevant water authority, lodgement deadline and reporting responsibilities when booking. Ask for a copy of the test report and any required lodgement receipt for the property records.
Record the next test due date and agree who will arrange the next visit. Any reminder service and the nominated contact should be confirmed when the work is booked.
For single-property or portfolio work, send site details and current reports so the scope, access requirements and proposed first visit can be confirmed.
Lettable area drives the device count baseline; current reports become the year-zero baseline. PM contact details and BM access calendar go on the contract face sheet.
For portfolio enquiries, include each building's address, current reports and site contact. Confirm which buildings need an initial inspection and agree the scope and per-building pricing before work is booked.
Confirm walk-through availability, the information required for quoting and when a written quote can be supplied. Timing depends on building access and the work involved.
Agree the tests, site access, report format and recipient before booking. Any property-management portal upload or integration needs to be confirmed in advance.
Confirm the documents required for your tenancy with the relevant parties before booking. Existing backflow reports, compliance certificates, condition records and any open notices can help define the plumbing scope.
Read the lease carefully, most commercial leases assign "plumbing within the tenancy" to the tenant and "plumbing servicing common areas and the building main" to the property manager. The boundary is usually the tenancy's isolation valve. Backflow devices INSIDE the tenancy (food-prep sink, cleaner's sink, dishwasher) are tenant; the building's main RPZD is base-building. We can issue a written scope opinion on a specific tenancy if the lease language is ambiguous.
Discuss possible pre-opening, after-trading or other isolation windows with the building manager. Appointment availability, tenant notifications and any building-management-system procedures need to be agreed before testing.
Send the proposed sale dates and existing plumbing records with the enquiry so an inspection scope, availability and written quote can be discussed. Confirm vendor disclosure obligations and the documents needed with the conveyancer or solicitor.
Send the property list, existing reports and per-site contacts with the enquiry. Scope, pricing, invoicing and documentation arrangements must be agreed in writing for the buildings included.
Tenant-fit-out work should be scoped and quoted separately unless expressly included in the written contract. Send drawings and the desired handover date so availability, scope and documentation can be confirmed.
Please send the agency's document requirements with the work request. Confirm the report format, property reference, job number and recipient before booking; any portal upload or integration needs to be agreed in advance.
After-hours attendance or next-day repair is not guaranteed. Follow the building's emergency procedures and contact emergency services or the gas distributor immediately if there is a strong gas smell or immediate danger. Confirm the repair booking once the property is safe.
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