Chermside today, and how it got here
From post-war houses to apartments
Chermside's population jumped with post-war housing, and the tram reached the suburb in March 1947. The line closed in December 1968. Today 21.4% of homes are separate houses and 19.8% townhouses.
Electric light as a selling point
A 1925 auction map for Rainey's Hill Top Park advertised the estate as close to tram, motor bus, water and electric light. Wiring has come a long way since.
Small homes, many renters
The average Chermside home had 2.3 bedrooms in 2021. Westfield Chermside, the second largest Westfield in Australia, anchors the centre.
Network
Energex supplies Chermside. A building-wide or street-wide outage goes to 13 62 62.
If you rent: what you can do and what to report
You can
- Test and clean your smoke alarms at least once a year, and change flat batteries if they take them.
- Reset a tripped safety switch once, after unplugging what was running.
- Change a light bulb or plug in an appliance.
- Report anything else to the agent in writing, with a photo.
Leave to a licensed electrician
- A power point, switch or light that's dead, warm or sparking.
- A safety switch that won't stay on.
- Hardwired smoke alarms that need replacing.
- Anything inside the switchboard or the building's switchroom.
If you own a Chermside unit you rent out
You can't hand smoke alarm duties to your tenant. Before each new or renewed lease, the alarms must be interconnected and photoelectric, and you test and clean them within 30 days before the tenancy starts. If there's no approved safety switch on the power points, you have 90 days from the start of the tenancy to have one installed.
In a strata building, find out first whether the fault is inside your lot or on common property. The body corporate looks after shared areas and usually the main switchroom, so a quick call can save a wasted visit.
What we'd do as a Chermside landlord
We'd keep a one-page record for each unit: the date the smoke alarms were made, which circuits the safety switch protects, and the last certificate of testing and compliance. When a tenant reports something, you'll know straight away what you're dealing with.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.