Housing Statement

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Housing Statement

Overview

In September 2023, the Victorian Government released Victoria’s Housing Statement. It is an ambitious 10-year plan to build 800,000 new homes across Victoria to combat the current housing shortage. The REIV commends the government’s commitment to promoting housing provision, whilst improving affordability.

The REIV continues to advocate to government on legislation and regulations introduced through Housing Statement reforms.

Key reforms include:

Banning rental bidding, including from renters, and application fees.

Removing ‘no reason’ notices to vacate.

Extending notice periods for rent increases and notices to vacate.

Introducing prescribed rental application forms to standardise data collection and improve compliance.

Implementing new privacy and data-handling requirements for renter and applicant information.

Requiring minimum property standards before advertising a property for lease.

Enhancing registration and CPD education requirements for agents’ representatives, estate agents, and owners corporation managers.

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Essential Links

Victoria's Housing Statement

The Housing Statement outlines a ten-year vision of growth for Victoria’s housing system and identifies several initiatives that will be used to deliver on this vision

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REIV response to the Housing Statement

REIV welcomed, in principle, government efforts to ensure the long-term sustainability and growth of Victoria’s housing supply. The REIV applauded the focus on improving the availability and quality of social and affordable housing

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New Rental Reforms Information Sheet

Following member enquiries regarding the new standardised application from and other reforms, we have sought comment from CAV and provided guidance on some of the common queries.

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Plan for Victoria

The Plan for Victoria sets the state-wide vision for Victoria's growth through 2050. The REIV provided feedback as the Plan was in development.

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List of Reforms

2025

Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) has been established to handle simple rental disputes.

RDRV aims to provide a faster, fairer, and more affordable way to resolve rental disputes in Victoria, streamlining the process and alleviating the burden on VCAT.

Find out more

Implementation date: 23 June 2025

Status: Active

‘No reason’ notices to vacate have been repealed.

Rental providers and real estate professionals are prohibited from serving a notice to vacate after the first or initial fixed-term residential rental agreement, unless there is a valid reason.

Implementation Date: 25 November 2025

Status: Active

The notice period for rent increases has been extended to 90 days.

Rental providers and real estate professionals are required to provide 90 days' notice when serving a rent increase, increasing from 60 days.

Rental providers and real estate professionals are required to use the new notices prescribed under the new regulations.

Implementation Date: 25 November 2025

Status: Active

The notice to vacate period has been extended to 90 days.

Rental providers and real estate professionals are required to provide 90 days’ notice when serving a notice to vacate, increasing from 60 days.

Rental providers and real estate professionals are required to use the new notices prescribed under the new regulations.

Implementation Date: 25 November 2025

Status: Active

All types of rental bidding are banned.

Rental bidding has been banned for all parties, including rental applicants.

Further, rental providers and agents are banned from taking more than four weeks’ rent in advance.

Implementation Date: 25 November 2025

Status: Active

Rental providers must ensure that rental properties comply with minimum standards at the time of advertisement or when an offer is made.

Rental providers and property managers must ensure that rental properties are fit for occupation at the commencement of a rental agreement. Properties must be compliant with minimum standards as designated by Consumer Affairs Victoria.

Implementation Date: 25 November 2025

Status: Active

Smoke alarm safety requirements have been extended to all rental properties.

Rental providers and real estate professionals are required to ensure smoke alarm safety checks are undertaken for all rental agreements, whether they commenced before, on, or after 29 March 2021.

Implementation Date: 25 November 2025

Status: Active

Holders of renters’ personal information are required to take reasonable steps to protect that information.

This aligns with the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 and the Privacy Act 1988.

It aims to ensure that personal information provided by renters is appropriately stored, protected, and handled in accordance with established privacy principles.

Implementation Date: 25 November 2025

Status: Active

Holders of renters’ personal information must ensure its destruction and de-identification.

The destruction and de-identification of personal information are required when:

3 years where the renter is successful,
30 days where the renter is unsuccessful, and
6 months where the renter is unsuccessful, but provides written consent for the use of their information to apply for other premises.

Rental providers and real estate professionals are required to obtain written consent from renters before holding their information or using it for other rental properties.

Implementation Date: 25 November 2025

Status: Active

It is an offence to disclose a renter’s personal information without their consent, unless there is an exemption.

Rental providers and real estate professionals are required to obtain written consent from the prospective renter for the intended disclosure of personal information.

Limited exceptions will apply, including disclosure in accordance with a court or tribunal's order and where necessary to prevent a serious threat.

Implementation Date: 25 November 2025

Status: Active

All internal window coverings must have blind and curtain cord safety anchors.

All rental properties must have secured cords on internal window coverings to prevent them from forming loops.

Implementation Date: 1 December 2025

Status: Active

2026

The rent review framework has been enhanced.

The Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), including Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria, are able to consider additional factors when determining whether a proposed rent increase is excessive.

Additional matters may include:

the size or proportion of the rent increase from the existing rent, and

any other improvements made to the property since the last rent increase.

Implementation Date: 31 March 2026
Status: Active

A standardised rental application form has been prescribed.

Agents are required to use a prescribed standard rental application form that permits only specified information to be requested from applicants.

Implementation Date: 31 March 2026

Status: Active phase

Rental providers must follow clear rules for the type of information they can ask from renters.

The application form is limited to what’s necessary to assess an applicant’s suitability as a renter and to confirm their identity and capacity to pay the advertised rent.

This is limited to what’s necessary to assess an applicant’s suitability as a renter and to confirm their identity and capacity to pay the advertised rent.

Implementation Date: 31 March 2026

Status: Active phase

It is an offence to charge a fee as part of entering into a rental application or for payment of rent, including through rent tech or third-party rental platforms.

Rental providers and real estate professionals cannot charge renters a fee for submitting a rental application or for paying rent. This extends to RentTech platforms, which cannot pass fees on to renters.

Implementation Date: 31 March 2026

Status: Active phase

The Portable Rental Bond Scheme will allow renters to move bonds between tenancies.

The Portable Rental Bond Scheme will allow renters to transfer their bond directly from one rental property to another, so they don’t have to pay a second bond while waiting for the first to be refunded.

Implementation Date: June 2026

Status: Design phase

Strengthened bond claims

Rental providers must notify the renter in advance if they will be making a claim on the bond at the end of the rental agreement and must provide evidence to support the claim.