Why Perth Landlords Are Choosing One-Trade Teams Over Managing Multiple Contractors

Ask any Perth landlord who has been managing an investment property for more than a couple of years what the most frustrating part of the job is. The answer is rarely the tenants. It's almost always the trades.

Finding a reliable plumber. Finding a reliable electrician. Finding a handyman who shows up when they say they will. Finding a carpenter who does tidy work at a fair price. Getting all of them to coordinate around each other when a job needs more than one trade. Chasing people who don't respond. Rescheduling when someone cancels.

Explaining the same property and the same problem to a different person every single time.

This is the part of property investment that nobody talks about when they're describing the strategy. And it's the part that consumes a disproportionate amount of time and mental energy for landlords who haven't found a better way to manage it.

The problem with managing multiple separate contractors

The traditional approach to investment property maintenance involves building a separate relationship with each trade. One plumber. One electrician. One handyman. One carpenter. Each one found separately, vetted separately, managed separately and paid separately.

This works reasonably well when the trades are all reliable, responsive and easy to coordinate. In practice, that combination is harder to find than it sounds.

The specific pain points landlords consistently describe:

Response time varies wildly across trades. A landlord might have a plumber who responds within the hour and a handyman who takes three days to return a call. When a tenant raises a maintenance issue that involves both, the slower trade sets the timeline for everything.

Coordination between trades falls to the landlord. When a job needs a plumber and a carpenter — a bathroom repair that involves both plumbing and cabinetry, for example — the landlord is responsible for making sure they're both booked, that they have access, that they know what the other is doing and that the sequence is right. This is project management work that most landlords didn't sign up for.

Starting from scratch with every new contractor. When a trade moves on, retires or stops being reliable, the search starts again. Finding someone trustworthy takes time, and every new contractor needs to learn the property, understand the standard expected and prove themselves before they can be relied upon.

Quality varies and accountability is unclear. When multiple trades have been involved in a property over time, attributing responsibility for a problem that involves the work of more than one of them becomes complicated. The plumber says it's a carpentry issue. The carpenter says it's a plumbing issue. The landlord is caught in the middle.

The mental load accumulates. Managing even one investment property well requires tracking what's been done, what's pending, who is responsible for what and what the costs are. Doing this across a roster of separate contractors for multiple properties is a significant ongoing cognitive load that most landlords underestimate until they're in the middle of it.

What a single trades team changes

Working with a team that handles multiple trade areas under one roof doesn't eliminate maintenance — properties still need work. What it changes is how that maintenance is managed and experienced.

One point of contact. A single call or message covers the full scope of the issue regardless of what trades are involved. The team assesses what's needed, dispatches the right people and manages the coordination internally. The landlord's involvement is reporting the issue and approving the work, not managing the logistics of multiple separate bookings.

Consistent communication. When the same team handles all the maintenance for a property, the landlord develops a relationship with people who know the property, know the standard expected and communicate in a way the landlord is already familiar with. There's no starting from scratch when something needs doing.

Sequencing handled internally. When a job involves multiple trades, the team manages the sequence without the landlord needing to coordinate it. The plumber and the carpenter work as part of the same process rather than as separate engagements that need to be manually lined up.

Clearer accountability. When one team handles the work, accountability for the outcome sits with that team rather than being distributed across multiple separate businesses. If something isn't right, there's one conversation to have rather than several.

Better knowledge of the property over time. A team that maintains a property consistently over time accumulates knowledge about it. They know where the shutoff valve is, what the hot water system is, what the previous repair history looks like and what the property's specific quirks are. This makes each subsequent job faster, more accurate and less likely to result in surprises.

What to look for in a trades team for your investment property

Not every business that describes itself as a one-stop trades team actually functions as one. A few things worth looking for before committing:

Genuine breadth of licensed trade coverage. The team should be able to handle plumbing, gas fitting and electrical work through licensed professionals, alongside general carpentry and handyman work. A business that handles everything except licensed trade work still leaves the landlord managing those relationships separately.

Clear licensing and insurance. All plumbing work must be carried out by a licensed plumber registered with Building and Energy under the Plumbers Licensing Act 1995 (WA). Gas work requires a licensed gas fitter under the Gas Standards Act 1972 (WA). Electrical work requires a licensed electrician registered with EnergySafety WA. A team doing all of this correctly will have no hesitation confirming their licences. One that's vague about it is worth looking at more carefully.

Responsive communication. Response time to maintenance requests matters for landlord stress levels and for compliance with the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 (WA), which requires urgent repairs to be addressed promptly. A trades team that takes days to respond to a message is not solving the problem.

Transparent pricing. Fixed-price quotes for defined work, clear communication about variations and invoices that match what was agreed are the baseline. A team that prices clearly and consistently is significantly easier to manage than one where every invoice requires a conversation.

References from other landlords. Ask specifically for references from landlords managing investment properties rather than homeowners. The requirements are different and the experience of working with the team on a regular, ongoing basis is more relevant than a single one-off project.

The compounding benefit over time

The value of a single reliable trades team for an investment property compounds over time in a way that's easy to underestimate at the start.

In the first year, the main benefit is reduced time spent finding and managing contractors. In the second and third year, the team's knowledge of the property means jobs are done faster and more accurately. In the fifth year and beyond, the maintenance history is understood, the property's systems are familiar and the relationship has developed to a point where the landlord's active involvement in day-to-day maintenance is genuinely minimal.

For landlords managing multiple properties, this effect multiplies. A single team across a portfolio of properties means one relationship to manage rather than many, consistent standards across all properties and a practical ability to scale the portfolio without proportionally scaling the management overhead.

Investment property maintenance and the law

Whatever approach a landlord takes to managing their trades, the legal obligations remain constant. The Residential Tenancies Act 1987 (WA) requires landlords to maintain premises in a reasonable state of repair throughout the tenancy. The Consumer Protection division of DMIRS provides clear guidance on what this means in practice, including the specific obligations around urgent repairs.

Tenants who feel maintenance is not being addressed have access to the Commissioner for Consumer Protection and, where that doesn't resolve the matter, the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT). The most effective way to avoid this path is to respond to maintenance issues promptly and to keep the property in good condition consistently rather than reactively.

A reliable trades team is one of the most practical tools a landlord has for meeting these obligations without the management burden becoming a problem in itself.

This & That provides property maintenance, plumbing, carpentry and renovation work across Perth for landlords and homeowners. One team, one point of contact, one less thing to manage. Visit thisandthat.com.au to find out more, request a quote here or call 0487 606 491 to talk through your investment property needs.