Checking up on the state of the rental market this Good Friday, and the news isn’t necessarily good for Victoria’s property investors or tenants.
Since Victoria’s rental property taskforce was established in March last year, online complaints to the taskforce have exceeded 500. Consumer Affairs have issued orders to un-compliant Melbourne landlords to remedy breaches of the 130 reforms the state government implemented with the intention of protecting the rights of tenants.
In the second half of last year, the taskforce issued 70 fines totaling $620,000. While it sounds like a lot, Real Estate Institute of Victoria chief executive Kelly Ryan said the number of fines related to 0.01 per cent of all rentals in the state, showing that many landlords were actually doing the right thing.
The idea that the 130 reforms would make conditions better for tenants seems to be flawed. While the properties that are available may be held to higher standards as a consequence, the latest rental bonds data showed the number of active leases in Victoria have dropped by 24,000 in the past year.
Many Victorian tenants have been evicted as landlords have sold up and left the market, while those that have stayed have faced escalating costs, inevitably passed on to tenants through rent increases. Recent PropTrak reports indicate Victorian renters are facing the toughest conditions in 15 years, with approximately half the advertised rentals in the second half of 2024 unaffordable to the typical Victorian household.
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