Kat THEOPHANOUS (Northcote) (17:25):
I rise in support of this bill and its important purpose to increase protections for renters and deliver greater security and certainty in our housing system.
Our Labor government is committed to making renting easier, fairer and cheaper, and that is why I am also honoured that this is my first speech as the Parliamentary Secretary for Renters.
The very existence of this role reflects the seriousness with which our government takes housing security for renters. It is a topic I have raised many times as the member for Northcote, and I am looking forward to working closely with the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Department of Government Services and our many important stakeholders to deliver tangible outcomes for renters and continue the Victorian Labor government’s legacy of landmark reforms.
Renting is a critical part of our housing mix.
In 2025 a third of Victorians are renters, a record number that is expected to grow. In my electorate of Northgate that rises to around 40 per cent of constituents, and I know that other parts of Melbourne share those high numbers.
In sought-after suburbs like Northcote or Thornbury there can be lines out the door during inspections. I cannot count the number of conversations I have had with people in my community who are in real distress about their housing circumstances.
People go from viewing to viewing and make application after application but are unable to find homes.
People are living in awful circumstances and conditions, such as mould-ridden properties or homes without proper heating and cooling.
Parents have to uproot their lives and their children’s lives because their landlord has calculated that they can impose a big rental increase or simply evict them for no reason.
People have to go through drawn-out VCAT processes just because a rental provider wants to roll the dice on claiming their bond, and there is no real consequence for doing so.
Most of all I hear about the disempowerment and genuine fear people feel in a system that for far too long has not given them the dignity and security that they deserve.
Our home should be a sanctuary, a place of comfort and peace, whether we are renting or not, and the fact is that renting is not just a transition into property ownership.
For many people it will be their long-term or lifelong housing. That is why this bill is so critical and why over time our Labor government has put in place rental protections and reforms that are now considered the strongest in the country.
It is why we are addressing the serious issue of housing supply with an enormous pipeline of social and affordable housing and why through our housing statement we are making bold decisions to streamline the planning system to get it moving faster and more effectively and incentivising the private market to contribute to increasing housing stock.
Victoria continues to approve and build more homes than any other jurisdiction in Australia.
That is not by accident; it is because our government is firmly focused on giving Victorians every chance to have safe, stable, secure homes. That is what everyone deserves and that is the foundation for opportunity, aspiration and hope.
Yet there are those opposite who are so out of touch that they cannot fathom the idea that it is good policy to increase housing in suburbs close to public transport and close to employment, schools and services, and there are those in the Greens political party with the exact same sentiments who will actively block homes from being built even while they try to make us all swallow this narrative that they care about people in housing stress.
The contortion is quite something to witness. No doubt if one of them graces us with a showing on this bill, we will witness the mental acrobatics that it takes to reconcile blocking critical housing reform and critical housing projects with the slick slogans that they put on their campaign material.
Our Labor government has made housing a priority and has progressed a huge suite of substantive reforms to give more Victorians the support, security and safety they deserve.
This bill represents the latest tranche of reform, with key measures like repealing the remaining no-reason notice to vacate and banning no-fault evictions. That means tenants will not be able to be asked to leave without a valid reason and certainly not just because someone wants to hike up the rent.
Of course usual reasons, like property damage or not paying the rent, or repairs or if the owner wants to move back into the property, will still apply.
The bill will also ban all types of rental bidding, a harmful practice that unnaturally drives up the cost of housing and undermines fairness and integrity.
We already made it illegal for real estate agents and landlords to solicit or encourage higher offers, but now we are also making it unlawful to accept an unsolicited higher rental bid or accept more than a month’s rent in advance.
This evens the playing field for renters, and there will be tough penalties for agents and landlords who break the law.
In a tight rental market, a notice to vacate or an unaffordable rent increase can be incredibly stressful, and 60 days is often not enough time to find affordable and secure housing or prepare for an increase in rent. That is why this bill increases the notice period from 60 to 90 days in these cases, a practical way to give both landlords and renters more lead time.
Regarding rental increases, the bill importantly makes amendments to enhance the rent increase review framework. At the moment there are pretty strict limitations on what the director of Consumer Affairs Victoria or VCAT can consider when rent increases are reviewed. We want to expand those considerations so that, for example, things like the size or proportion of the rent increase can be assessed, not just whether it is commensurate with the neighbouring properties.
Such a change would make a big difference for renters facing staggering rent increases. I have heard some really distressing instances where rents have been increased upwards of 200 per cent in some cases.
Of course things do not always go to plan – they do not pan out as we plan – and sometimes disagreements arise. Sometimes these disputes can be hard to resolve independently, and this can be incredibly stressful, draining and time consuming.
This bill supports the establishment of Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria – RDRV – offering a quick and free service that empowers landlords and tenants to resolve their disputes outside of VCAT, because frankly VCAT should be the last resort and not the first point of call.
The quick resolution of a dispute can make a huge difference to the material circumstances but also the wellbeing of both the tenant and the landlord, and we are looking forward to getting that service up and running by the middle of this year.
This bill also makes a very important change, which I have spoken to advocates about at length. It makes it an offence for a rental provider or their agent to advertise or offer to let a home that does not meet the minimum standards at the time of advertisement or offer to let.
Prior to this, compliance with minimum standards has only come into effect after a rental agreement has been signed. That has meant that dodgy rentals have entered the market and left renters seeking urgent repairs after they have moved in, which risks then that retaliatory action by rental providers. They are on the back foot from the beginning.
With this change, rentals cannot be advertised unless they meet the minimum standards first. It makes for a much fairer, much more robust rental system.
We are also making rental applications easier with standardised forms to better protect renters’ information. Given the volatile digital landscape we are all in, I think it is really important that we limit requests for unnecessary information and personal data, and when that data is shared that it is protected and stored appropriately and when it is not needed anymore it is destroyed.
A key reform of course that the member for Wendouree so emotively outlined is extending smoke alarm safety requirements. It comes about after that tragedy, with a life taken in Ballarat – Simon Scarff, who died during that fire. His rental property did not have a smoke alarm installed. That was a preventable tragedy, and we need to amend our legislation to adapt.
Housing insecurity is a real and lived experience in my own community.
Right now around 5 per cent of Victorian households are facing serious rental stress, driven by housing supply issues and cost-of-living pressure.
It is why at every opportunity I will always stand up for and back policies and projects that deliver more homes, more amenities and more services in my community.
We have had many, many homes built in my community, including 99 new social housing homes that have opened just recently in Preston. We are doing that work to build more homes, and we are making renting fairer.
I commend this bill to the house.
