Rent fair? Changes are coming to the Residential Tenancies Act in Victoria
Rent fair? Changes are coming to the Residential Tenancies Act in Victoria. Parliament voted through these changes late on the 6th of September, 2018.
So tenants, landlords and property managers get ready for 130 changes that will affect your relationships going forward. At the latest, this will be introduced in July, 2020 but I expect VCAT will be influenced by proposed changes in their judgments prior to that.
The REIV tells us
“The Residential Tenancies Bill passed the Parliament on 6 September 2018. The commencement date of the Bill has yet to be proclaimed. There will be a period of consultation around the regulations which will sit alongside the legislation and that could take up to 18 months.
The REIV will continue to advocate on behalf of our members and their clients to ensure the regulations are workable. The current Residential Tenancies Act 1997 remains in place for the foreseeable future.
The REIV campaigned strongly against elements of the legislation which swing the pendulum of rights overwhelmingly over to renters.
Our main areas of concern are:
Proposed in RTA Bill |
REIV Position |
|---|---|
| Pets:
A tenant can bring a pet to your property without your consent. You have 14 days to take the tenants to VCAT. Could take six (6) months for the pet to be removed. Pet could damage your property. |
The Landlord must give consent. And where the parties have agreed to a pet, there should be a pet bond. |
| Modifications:Tenant can make modifications to property without landlord’s consent. These are defined in the legislation, nonetheless, one unintended consequence relates to warranties. | No modifications or urgent repairs are to occur without the landlord’s prior consent. |
| Appliance upgrades to meet environmental standards:Landlords to upgrade all appliances (white goods, fixures and fittings, heating and cooling) to meet energy efficiency standards. While the standard has not been defined, the landlord is required to comply immediately. Failure to do so means the landlord will be liable for the tenant’s excess charges. |
This must be incremental with the landlord given time to make the upgrades. The Government needs to look at ways of incentivising this with rebate schemes and the like. Failure to do so will drive up rents. |
| Rental arrears:
Currently a tenant can be taken to VCAT on three sequential occasions. The Bill proposes five opportunities for a tenant to bring arrears up to date. Under this proposal a landlord could not receive agreed rental payment 42 per cent of the year. |
Simplify the number of times a tenant can be taken to the Tribunal. Rental arrears causes significant mortgage stress on landowners. If the system becomes more complex, it is likely that landlords will re-purpose their rental property for other forms income streams such as Airbnb. |
| 120 Day “No reason” Notice to vacate
Removal of 120 day “No reason” Notice to vacate |
Reinstatement of the 120 Day ‘No Reason’ Notice to Vacate.
This is a reasonable position considering a tenant can leave the property with only 28 day’s notice to the landlord. Landlords typically use this provision if they require possession of their rental property for a reason that is not specified in the Act. |
The REIV acknowledges that the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 requires an update and there are many aspects of the Bill that we support including:
- Protection for agents and landlords against threats and intimidation of tenants
- Outlawing rental bidding
- Proposals around family violence and protected persons
- Reforms around minimum standards for safety
- Protections against any type of criminal activity”
I also believe that limiting bonds to 4 weeks is a problem. Currently at Buyer Solutions, we charge 6 weeks rent as bond and very few tenants complain about this. Limiting bonds to 4 weeks rent and allowing pets with no additional pet bond may mean landlords choose tenants without pets over ones with pets. This would be an unintended consequence of the legislation. Most reasonable landlords are happy to rent to tenants with pets that have good references and when their owners are willing to pay a small additional pet bond, over and above their standard bond.
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