Landlords may cop as much as $57k in fines for unsafe properties in Victoria

“Each Victorian renter has the fitting to reside in a secure and safe dwelling,” stated Williams. “That’s why we launched the minimal requirements again in 2021 and it’s why we established the renting taskforce to crack down on rental legislation breaches.”

Below the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, it’s a felony offence to let a brand new renter transfer right into a rental property that doesn’t meet minimal requirements.

People can face most penalties of over $11,000, whereas firms face most fines of over $57,000.

Member for Albert Park, Nina Taylor, stated: “We’re ensuring rental suppliers do the fitting factor and renters know their rights, so each rental property may be referred to as a house.”

In 2023, poorly maintained leases have been within the prime 5 points that Client Affairs Victoria acquired complaints about.

The notice marketing campaign for minimal rental requirements is amongst a number of adjustments that the state authorities just lately instituted to guard renters’ rights, together with banning rental bidding and making a $4 million renting taskforce.

There are 14 classes of minimal requirements that landlords should adjust to in Victoria.

1. Bogs: All rental properties should have a washbasin, bathe or bathtub, a “affordable provide of cold and warm water”, and a three-star water-efficient bathe head.
2. Electrical security: Leases should have fashionable switchboards with circuit breakers and electrical security switches.
3. Heating: All properties should have a hard and fast heater in the principle dwelling space.
4. Kitchen: Each kitchen should have a range with two or extra burners, and a sink with cold and warm water.
5. Laundry: If there’s a laundry, it should have cold and warm water.
6. Lighting: All rooms, corridors and hallways should have entry to each pure and synthetic mild.
7. Locks: All exterior doorways have to be fitted with a purposeful impasse.
8. Mould and damp: All rooms have to be freed from mould and damp attributable to the constructing’s construction.
9. Structural soundness: The property have to be structurally sound and weatherproof.
10. Bathrooms: Bathrooms have to be in good working order, related to a sewage system, and situated in a separate room to foremost dwelling areas.
11. Air flow: All liveable rooms should have satisfactory air flow.
12. Vermin proof bins: Rental suppliers should provide a rat-proof garbage and recycling bin.
13. Window coverings: Bedrooms and dwelling rooms have to be fitted with light-blocking curtains and blinds.
14. Home windows: All exterior home windows should have a functioning latch to stop entry from the surface.

Exemptions and extra requirements apply for heritage listed properties, rooming homes and flats.