Victoria rent crisis: Tenants not sold on new rental reforms when costs remain sky high

Victorians remain concerned about surging rental costs and homes that are “falling apart” as a new wave of reforms shake up the state’s housing industry.

Stressed tenants have lamented a lack of immediate solutions to helping fix the ongoing rent crisis. Photo: Christian Erfurt

Tenants have lauded a ban on profiteering landlords accepting rental bids, price-driven evictions and a new 90-day notice to vacate period as part of a wave of new reforms shaking up the housing industry.

But with many struggling to pay the lease on homes that are “falling apart”, they’ve lamented a lack of immediate solutions in the Victorian government’s biggest shake up to the state’s housing market has seen in decades.

RELATED: Young family rejected from 60 rentals become homeless

Who Vic landlords blame for rental crisis

Mould, cracked walls: State of rental homes revealed

Renee Feehan is one of nearly two million Victorian renters who wished she had the extra 30 days to find a home for her family back in August when they were given 60 days to vacate and were left functionally homeless.

“The amount of people made homeless because it was disgusting,” Ms Feehan said.

Despite applying for more than 60 rentals, the mum of two and her partner were left couch-surfing between the homes of their friends.

Another tenant, Erin, said other renters offering to pay more per week than what was advertised was one of the major challenges she had when she applied for more than 50 rentals in 2022.

“That was a big problem as a lot of people were getting (rentals) because they were offering like six months rent,” Erin said.

The 36-year-old said she was happy with the latest reform to ban rental bidding of any type, but believed more needed to be done to reduce prices and better enforce the minimum standards as she was now living in a home in Lilydale that was “falling apart”.

“(My partner and I) are both working and we can barely afford rent; that’s ridiculous,” she said.

“There needs to be cheaper rent or even certain houses that are cheaper. We were very close to being homeless. We looked into government housing and that was a three or four year wait.”

One tenant hopes high rental costs are addressed and decreased.

Similarly, Dorothy Waters said it brought her a stronger sense of security now that a rental had to be offered at the same price if the previous tenants were evicted on their first fixed-term lease.

“It’s just a hard, horrible situation for everyone in the rental market,” Ms Waters said.

She added that after her and her husband were asked to move on from their last rental, the agents increased the rent by $50 a week.

Jason who is renting in the Gippsland region said there was a “good cross-section” of rental issues addressed by the government’s reforms.

“Generally speaking, it’s quite a pleasant surprise that there’s going to be that sort of amount of support that the state government’s going to be able to provide,” Jason said.

“I think there’ll be a degree of change and I think it’ll be positive change.”

Tenants Victoria chief executive Jennifer Beveridge.

Tenants Victoria chief executive Jennifer Beveridge said the Andrews government had listened and responded with a constructive plan for change which would cement the state’s position as a national leader in rental reform.

“Housing is an essential service and a human right,” Ms Beveridge said.

“The goal to build 800,000 homes in a decade – including boosting much-needed affordable and social housing stock – is certainly bold and hopefully can be achieved on time.”

But the Real Estate Institute of Victoria’s (REIV) chief executive Quentin Kilian said the Housing Statement failed to articulate a plan for attracting and retaining existing real estate investors, with more flexibility for rental providers necessary.

Mr Kilian added that the certainty that would come for both tenants and property owners from restricting rent increases between successive fix-term leases needed to be balanced with the ability to for rental providers to cover growing costs.

---

Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.

MORE: Bec and Chris Judd’s ex-Prahran digs sells

Sky mansion has own pool, spa, ‘Rolls Royce fleet’ garage

Baz Luhrmann’s $28m townhouse for sale

[e-mail]

Originally published as Victoria rent crisis: Tenants not sold on new rental reforms when costs remain sky high