Your Guide to the New Rental Law Changes in Victoria

The end of March saw more than just a change in seasons in Victoria – renting laws have undergone some major changes too. With more than 132 new reforms implemented, there is a massive overhaul underway, affecting both tenants and landlords.

The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2018 was originally meant to come into play 1^st July 2020, but it was delayed due to the COVID19 pandemic. While a few of the changes have been actioned, the bulk of the reforms were implemented by 29^th March 2021.

It’s all about creating a safer community for Victorians. The new regulations are designed to create a fairer and more secure system for everyone – to provide increased protection for tenants while still allowing landlords to effectively manage their properties.

So, what are the changes and how will they affect the rental community in Melbourne’s northern suburbs? Read below to find out what some of the changes are and how they might affect you:

Changes to Terminology

Firstly, there’s some terminology changes: landlords will be referred to as rental providers and tenants will be referred to as renters. Not a big change, but it is important to get your head around it so that you understand the fine print.

Changes to Notices to Vacate

Rental providers will no longer be able to issue a 120-day order to vacate with ‘no specified reason’. Rental agreements can only be terminated with a valid reason such as:

Property sale
Demolition of the rental property
Rental provider moving back into the rental property

Rental providers can issue a vacation notice if the tenant or their visitor seriously threatened or endangers the safety of neighbours, the rental provider, the agent or an employee or contractor of the rental provider or agent. Rental providers can also issue a vacation notice if the tenant intentionally causes serious damage to the property, including any safety equipment on the property.

No More Rental Bidding

A rental property must be advertised with a fixed rental price and rental providers will no longer be permitted to invite rental bids. Rental providers (or their agents) are forbidden to encourage any person to enter into a rental agreement using false or misleading information about the property.

Inappropriate Questions to Tenants

To protect the prospective renter’s privacy, rental providers will be prohibited from asking certain discriminatory questions of the tenant or their previous agents. These questions include:

Nationality of the renter
Whether he/she has pets – rental providers cannot reasonably refuse rent based on the renter having a pet
Renters bond history

More Information Required

Rental providers will be required to supply renters with more information about the property than they’ve had to in the past. This includes:

If the property is for sale
If the rental provider doesn’t own the property
Information about embedded networks (such as power networks within apartment buildings)
If there has been a homicide on the property within the last 5 years
If the property has been used for the storage or manufacture of drugs

Changes to Minimum Standards

Rental minimum standards are undergoing some changes too. As a rental provider, you will be obliged to ensure that for any new rental agreements from 29^th March 2021, your property complies with the following:

The property must be structurally sound and free from mould and damp
The property must comply with current electrical and plumbing safety standards
Have fixed heating in the main living area
Have a kitchen facility with functioning stove, cooktop, and oven
Be connected to hot and cold water
Have locks fitted to all external doors (if they cannot be secured with a deadlock)
Have bathroom facilities including a wash basin, a functioning toilet and a bath and/or shower that is fully functional
Have laundry facilities that have a reasonable supply of both hot and cold water
The living room and bedrooms must have a secured blind or curtain for privacy
The property must have sufficient natural or artificial lighting
All external windows must have a latch that can be used to prevent external entry

These changes are designed to protect the renter’s health and safety and provide living conditions that meet basic standards.

Changes to Urgent Repairs and Maintenance Responsibilities

It’s the rental provider’s responsibility to ensure that the property is maintained in good repair and is suitable for occupation, regardless of the amount of rent paid or the age of the property.

Repairs are the responsibility of the rental provider, however, if the damage has been caused by the renter, the rental provider may ask them to pay for the repairs. It’s important to note that all communication regarding urgent repairs and maintenance must be done in writing. Copies must be kept for future reference. If a renter requests urgent repairs, the rental provider is obliged to respond immediately and action all urgent repairs within 48 hours.

Urgent repairs will now include repairs to:

Air-conditioning units
Safety devices
Pest/vermin infestations and damp or mould which are due to the building structure

Renters must continue to pay rent while waiting for urgent repairs to be carried out.

If a rental provider fails to act promptly on a request for urgent repairs and maintenance, the renter is permitted to action repairs or maintenance of up to $2500 (please note: this amount has increased from the previous amount of $1800).

For more information about the changes to the Residential Tenancy Act, feel free to reach out to the Property Management team at your local Love & Co office. We have also prepared a range of resources here to help you get up to speed with the changes on our website here.

With years of experience in the housing game, we understand the needs of both renters and rental providers, and we’re here to help you every step of the way!

The information in this article is for information purposes only and should not be taken as financial, legal or personal advice.

While care has been taken to ensure that information contained in this article is true and correct at the time of publishing, any changes after the time of publication may impact on the accuracy of this information.

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