Skip to main content

Privacy while renting

  • Published:

This information is a guide and should not be used as a substitute for professional legal advice. 

Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) now handles some rental disputes instead of VCAT. See our overview on going to RDRV 

We are currently updating our website to include RDRV and changes to rental laws that started on 25 November 2025. See our overview of these changes.

Summary

The park owner and caravan owner have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to make sure you can enjoy your caravan, site and communal facilities without serious disturbance and that you have peace, comfort and privacy. This is called your right to ‘quiet enjoyment’.

To protect your quiet enjoyment, there are rules about entry to your caravan and site that the park and caravan owner, their agent and other authorised people (such as people carrying out repairs) must follow. They have some rights to enter your caravan and site, but they must follow the rules for why, when and how. They cannot harass you, and there are other laws to protect your privacy and security, including how your personal information is used. There are also extra protections for those who are experiencing, or are at risk of, personal or family violence.

What does ‘caravan park resident’ mean?

If a caravan in a caravan park has been your main home for at least 60 days in a row or you have signed a residency agreement with the park or caravan owner, you are likely a resident and have legal rights that don’t apply to holidaymakers. Find out more on our page about caravan parks.

The information on this page is not for people who live in a caravan park in their own cabin or movable home that cannot be registered with VicRoads. These are called Part 4A dwellings and are covered by Part 4A of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997. If you live in this type of dwelling, you may have a site agreement with the park owner, rather than a residency agreement. The Consumer Affairs Victoria website has more about site agreements in residential parks and villages. If you are unsure what laws apply to you, seek advice. This page has information about ​getting help​.

Steps required for a caravan or park owner to enter

Victoria’s rental laws, the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, set out the limited reasons for when the park or caravan owner, their agent or other authorised people can enter your caravan. The law also sets out what they must tell you before they enter, when they can enter and how much advanced warning they must give you. If they do not follow all the rules, they may be committing an offence, and you do not have to let them in.

If the caravan or park owner or their agent does follow the rules, you have a legal duty to permit the entry to your caravan.

Even when people are allowed to enter, there are still rules about how they do so, how long they can stay and what they can do while they are there. If those entering do the wrong thing, you can send a ‘notice of breach of duty’ to the caravan or park owner and ask them to follow the rules. You can also apply to VCAT, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, for a restraining order and other types of orders. You can also report the caravan or park owner to Consumer Affairs Victoria. What to do depends on your circumstances. See the information on this page about when the caravan or park owner does not follow the rules.

There must be a legally valid reason for entry

A caravan park owner can request entry to either the site or the caravan, but only for specific permitted reasons. A caravan owner can only request entry to the caravan itself, not the site.

The reasons that a park or caravan owner or their agent can use to enter your site and caravan are listed in the Residential Tenancies Act.

If they want to enter for any other reason, they must get your consent in writing within 7 days of wanting to enter your caravan or site.

Entry by the park or caravan owner or their agent, other than permitted by the law, may be an offence unless they have a ‘reasonable excuse’. Although the law does not clearly define it, a reasonable excuse can include:

  • VCAT has made an ‘abandonment’ order – an order that says you have given up your right to live in the caravan
  • An emergency, when it is necessary to enter to save a life or valuable property

These are the reasons for entry by a caravan or park owner or their agent that do not require your consent:

  • A ‘notice to vacate’ or a ‘notice of intention to vacate’ has been given, and the caravan owner wants to show the caravan to a potential resident
  • To carry out a legal duty under rental laws, other laws or a requirement listed in your residency agreement. For example, to undertake repairs or to check the smoke detector is working. See the list of caravan and park owner duties on our page about caravan parks
  • To show a buyer or prospective lender, if the caravan is being sold or used as security for a loan
  • To carry out a routine inspection, with a minimum of 6 months between inspections. At this inspection, the park or caravan owner or their agent can inspect the caravan, and the park owner or their agent can check all the site. If you are not keeping these in good condition, or following the rules of your residency agreement, they can give you a notice of breach of duty. For more information, see our page on renter breaches. Note: If you own the caravan, the park owner or their agent is not entitled to carry out a general inspection of it
  • There are reasonable grounds to believe you have not followed your duties under the law. For example, you have caused damage to the site or caravan. For more information, see our page on caravan parks

Even if the park or caravan owner or their agent has legal permission to enter your caravan or site, they must still follow the rules about how and when entry can occur, as well as when and how you must be told.

Under rental laws, the caravan or park owner or their agent cannot enter the caravan, or attempt to enter, to try to force you to leave, either permanently by carrying out an eviction or temporarily by asking you to leave during an inspection, for example.

The only way you can be evicted from your caravan is when a ‘possession order’ is made by VCAT and you do not leave by the date in the order. In this case, only the police can evict you. They will usually contact you to let you know when they are coming. To learn more, see our page on notices to vacate and eviction.

It is an offence for the caravan or park owner or their agent try to force you to leave, such as restricting access to services on the site or otherwise causing you to ‘abandon’ the site or caravan (leave it permanently without proper notice). You can apply to VCAT for a restraining order to stop them. You can also report them to Consumer Affairs Victoria. See the information on this page about when the caravan or park owner or their agent does not follow the rules.

You must receive proper notice

Even if the caravan or park owner or their agent has a legally valid reason to enter your caravan or site, they must send you the proper notice – a written ‘notice of entry’ – setting out the reason and required information, and given to you at least 24 hours beforehand.

See the information on this page about when the caravan or park owner or agent does not follow the rules.

The notice of entry must:

  • Be in writing – a phone call telling you about it is not enough
  • State the legal reason for the entry
  • Be given to you in advance, to ensure you are given the minimum notice period. See the information on this page about how much advanced warning is required

You must receive a notice of entry in one of these ways:

  • In-person between 8 am and 6 pm
  • By mail
  • By electronic communication, such as email (if you have given written consent to receive notices this way)

For more information on consenting to have notices sent electronically, see our page on starting a tenancy.

You must receive the notice of entry at least 24 hours in advance. There are also rules for the manner, time and length of entry.

If you have been given the correct notice of entry for a legally valid reason, you have a legal duty to allow entry by the caravan or park owner or their agent, or other people authorised to carry out the purpose of the visit, such as repairs. This is the case, even if the time does not suit you or you will not be home.

The caravan or park owner or their agent is allowed to enter your caravan, and the park owner or their agent is allowed to enter the site, between 8 am and 6 pm, but not on public holidays.

Those authorised to enter must enter in a reasonable manner and can only stay for the time needed to achieve the purpose of the entry. Entering in a reasonable manner may include showing respect for your privacy, such as not looking through wardrobes during a routine inspection. It also includes not damaging any of your belongings during the visit.

If those entering do the wrong thing, depending on what has happened you can apply to VCAT for a restraining order to stop them, an order restricting entry, or compensation.

See the information on this page about when the caravan or park owner or agent does not follow the rules.

Even if the caravan or park owner or their agent is not doing the wrong thing, you may still be able to apply to VCAT to limit the times when entry to your caravan can occur. For example, you may have health requirements that mean entry is not appropriate early in the morning.

To learn more, see the information on this page about applying to VCAT and what orders VCAT can make.

Your legal duty to permit entry

If a proper notice of entry has been given by your caravan or park owner or their agent, you must permit the entry – it is a legal obligation (duty).

If you refuse the entry, the caravan or park owner may give you a breach of duty notice, which you generally have 7 days to comply with. You only have 3 days to comply if the caravan or park owner tries to enter because they have reasonable grounds that you are not complying with Victoria’s rental laws or the terms of your residency agreement, or because they want to show the caravan to a prospective buyer or lender.

After this time, the caravan or park owner may apply to VCAT for a compliance order. You will be given notice of a VCAT hearing about the compliance order, where you can explain your circumstances. If VCAT makes a compliance order, and you do not follow it, the caravan or park owner may give you a notice to vacate, which can lead to eviction. For more information, see our page on notices to vacate and eviction.

Make a plan for your pets

Make sure any pets are safely secured to prevent them from escaping or injuring visitors or themselves.

Particular circumstances

There are rules about certain activities relating to your privacy and security, such as changing the locks, or if the caravan or park owner or their agent collect and use your personal information. There are extra protections if you are experiencing, or at risk of, family or personal violence, or you are being harassed by your caravan or park owner or their agent.

Changing the locks

Common reasons for changing locks include safety concerns, such as family or personal violence, the risk of violence, or a recent break-in.

The law does not specifically deal with locks on a caravan. However, the following general principles apply:

  • If you own your caravan, you may change the locks whenever you need to
  • If you do not own the caravan and you change the locks, you should give the caravan owner a copy of the new key as soon as possible. Make it clear that you are providing the key because you have changed the locks, not because you intend to leave the caravan

You cannot change the locks to exclude other residents listed on the agreement unless you have a lawful reason, such as an intervention order or an immediate risk to your safety. For more information, see our page on renter breaches.

Family violence is violence from a partner, former partner, relative or someone who is like family. Personal violence is violence from someone who is not a family member. Violence can include financial abuse, emotional abuse, threats, and other forms of coercive control.

If family or personal violence is the reason you are changing the locks, give the caravan park owner a copy of any safety notice or intervention order that excludes the person from the caravan, the site or the park. It may also be appropriate in some circumstances to ask the park owner to deactivate electronic access, such as an entry fob or password, to prevent the excluded person from entering. If you are not satisfied with their response, you can make an urgent application to VCAT. See our page on going to VCAT.

The caravan or park owner or their agent should not give the new key to the caravan to the person who committed the violence for as long as an intervention order or safety notice is current. If they do, you should apply for a restraining order from VCAT. See the information on this page about how to apply to VCAT.

If you need help to pay for the locks to be changed, you may be able to apply for immediate financial assistance to the Victorian Government’s Victims of Crime Financial Assistance Scheme. To learn more, call the Financial Assistance Scheme helpline on 1800 161 136.

See the additional information on this page about family or personal violence.

If you are in immediate danger or need urgent protection, contact Victoria Police on Triple Zero (000)

Taking photos or videos

Victoria’s rental laws do not clearly allow or prohibit the caravan or park owner or their agent from taking photos or videos inside your caravan.

It is generally accepted that the caravan or park owner or their agent can take photos during an entry if there is a specific and legitimate reason, such as assessing repairs or investigating a possible breach of your residency agreement or rental laws. In these cases, photos should only be taken for that purpose. If the caravan or park owner or their agent is entering for another reason, they may still take photos if they have reasonable grounds to believe there is a breach of your residency agreement or the law.

The caravan or park owner or their agent does not have a general right to photograph the inside of the caravan. If a caravan or park owner or their agent is taking photos without a clear purpose, they may be breaching the Privacy Act 1988.

Family or personal violence

Family violence is committed by a relative, partner or former partner, or someone who is like family. Personal violence is committed by someone who is not family. Violence may also include financial, emotional and other types of coercive control.

The law does not clearly explain how risks of family violence or personal safety should be managed when someone needs to enter a caravan. If you have any safety concerns, speak with the caravan park owner and agree on how access will be handled. This includes access for inspections by prospective residents, lenders or anyone else who may visit or move into the park.

Victorian rental laws do have protections for people experiencing family or personal violence, including ways to end a residency, transfer a residency agreement to a person affected by the violence, or exclude the person using violence. To learn more, see our pages on family violence and ending or breaking your lease. See also the information on this page about changing the locks on your caravan and other security measures.

If the caravan or park owner is putting your safety at risk by not following the law, you can apply to VCAT for a restraining order to stop them carrying out or repeating the behaviour. See the information on this page about orders that VCAT can make.

An intervention order is a court order to protect a person, their children and their home from another person’s behaviour. If you experience violence from a family member, partner or ex-partner, you can apply to the Magistrates’ Court for a family violence intervention order or personal safety intervention order, or contact your local community legal centre. If the person who has committed the violence breaches an intervention order, contact Victoria Police immediately on Triple Zero (000).

It is important to change your residency agreement to exclude a person who you have an intervention order against and to do this before the order expires. Otherwise, that person may seek to regain access to the caravan as a co-renter. You can do this through an application to VCAT. See our pages on family violence and going to VCAT.

If you are in immediate danger or need urgent protection, contact Victoria Police on Triple Zero (000).

Harassment by the caravan or park owner or their agent

Your caravan or park owner or their agent (including contractors) cannot harass you. They have a legal duty to ensure you experience quiet enjoyment of your caravan. This might include harassing phone calls, emails or letters, sending a tradesperson to your caravan without proper notice, or a tradesperson making inappropriate comments during an entry to your home. If this occurs, you should document it immediately.

Even if you cannot prove exactly what happened with a tradesperson or agent, your feedback to the caravan or park owner or their agent is still important. It helps them to identify broader or ongoing problems with the contractors and agencies they use.

If the caravan or park owner or their agent continues to harass you, you can apply to VCAT for a restraining order to stop them. See the information on this page about orders that VCAT can make.

Use of your personal information

There are rules on how your caravan or park owner or their agent must collect and handle your personal information. These rules are in the Privacy Act and Victoria’s rental laws, the Residential Tenancies Act.

The Privacy Act covers organisations that earn more than $3 million a year, which may include some caravan parks or real estate agents. The Privacy Act also covers any organisation that runs a residential tenancy database, regardless of how much money it makes a year.

A real estate agent must tell you if they are covered by the Privacy Act. If they are, they must have a privacy policy that they can give you. This policy should also be on their website. This policy covers what information they need to collect, what happens if you don’t provide it, who they usually disclose the information to, and that you can access your information or complain about its use.

An agent covered by the Privacy Act can only collect personal information from you that is reasonably necessary for them to carry out their role as an agent. They usually cannot collect sensitive information without your consent. This includes things like your race, religion, sexual orientation and criminal record.

If a caravan park owner or real estate agent collects a document that contains your tax file number, there are strict rules that apply, including that they must usually blank out the number if showing the document to anyone else.

A caravan park owner or real estate agent may supply information about you to a residential tenancies database, which contains information about renter breaches, such as failing to pay rent or causing damage. Learn more on our page about tenancy databases.

If you are worried about how an agent is using your personal or confidential information, make a complaint to the Australian Information Commissioner or Consumer Affairs Victoria.

Learn more about the handling of your information under the Privacy Act on the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner website.

If specific privacy laws don’t apply to an agent, they must still follow privacy protection rules under the Residential Tenancies Act, as must the caravan or park owner.

Certain questions cannot be asked when you apply to rent a caravan, such as about your bond history, bank statements that contain daily transactions, or information that might be discriminatory, such as your race, religion or sexual orientation – unless you are given a written reason for why this is needed.

The caravan or park owner or their agent can only use your personal information to assess whether you will be the right tenant for the caravan, or for another genuine reason, such as a court order. For example, they cannot sell your contact details or use your contact details to send you promotional material. Learn more on our page on applying for a rental property.

If the caravan or park owner or their agent fails to follow these rules, you can report them to Consumer Affairs Victoria. See the information on this page about when the caravan or park owner or their agent does not follow the rules.

There are extra protections for those experiencing, or at risk of, family or personal violence. See information on this page about family or personal violence.

When the caravan or park owner or their agent does not follow the rules

There are actions you can take, when the caravan or park owner or their agent does not follow the rules about privacy and entry or access to your caravan. What action to take depends on which rules were broken and your situation.

Send the caravan or park owner a notice for breach of duty

You can send your caravan or park owner a notice of breach of duty if they have not followed a duty under Victoria’s rental laws, the Residential Tenancies Act.

Duties are sections of that Act called ‘duty provisions’, and there are special consequences if they are not followed, including the possibility of compensation and fines.

Caravan or park owner duties include failing to respect your quiet enjoyment of your caravan (section 177), such as not giving you enough advanced warning when entering your caravan or staying too long during an inspection.

You can use the Consumer Affairs Victoria official form: Notice for breach of duty to owner of caravan or caravan park (Word, 791 KB)

A notice for breach of duty can tell the caravan or park owner to:

  • Fix the problem
  • Not repeat the same or similar breach
  • Pay you compensation for any loss you have suffered because of their breach of duty

For more information, see our pages on caravan parks and landlord breaches and other notices.

If you send a breach of duty notice to your caravan or park owner for failing to ensure your quiet enjoyment, they have 7 days to respond. Only after this period can you apply to VCAT for a compliance order requiring them to act or to stop certain conduct.

However, if the issue is serious and urgent, such as the caravan or park owner failing to take action or wrongfully giving keys to a person that poses a threat to you or your family, you do not need to wait. In these cases, we recommend that you apply immediately to VCAT for a restraining order or other urgent action. See the information on this page about how to apply to VCAT.

You can also apply to the Magistrates’ Court for an intervention order.

If you are in immediate danger or need urgent protection, contact Victoria Police on Triple Zero (000).

Apply to VCAT

When there is a disagreement between you and your caravan or park owner or their agent, VCAT can make a final decision on how to fix it. VCAT is not a court, but its decision has to be followed.

If you decide to go to VCAT, the order you ask it to make will depend on several factors, including which rules the caravan or park owner or their agent broke and how serious the threat is to your privacy and safety.

Restraining order

You can apply to VCAT for a restraining order against the caravan or park owner or their agent to either stop something that breaches Victoria’s rental laws or your residency agreement, or to force them to take action that is required under rental laws or your residency agreement.

Examples of when a restraining order may be appropriate against the caravan or park owner or their agent include:

  • To ensure certain contractors who may pose a threat or behaved improperly during a previous visit are not used
  • To stop, schedule or limit the number of inspections of a caravan, when these are against the law
  • To stop harassing visits to your caravan or other harassing contact such as excessive phone calls, emails or letters. It is not considered harassment if there is a legitimate reason for the visits or contact, such as dealing with a serious safety concern
  • For failing to follow the rules around protections for those experiencing personal or family violence, such as preventing you from changing locks, or giving a new key to a person committing violence
  • To stop entering your caravan (or trying to) in order to force, or attempt to force you to leave

A restraining order can also limit or restrict the caravan or park owner or their agent from entering the premises or contacting you.

If the caravan or park owner or their agent does not follow a restraining order, you should write down what happened and keep any evidence. You can apply to VCAT for further orders, including compensation. You can also report the behaviour to Consumer Affairs Victoria, which will investigate and may issue a fine against the caravan or park owner or their agent. See the information on this page about how to apply to VCAT, how to report an offence to Consumer Affairs Victoria and how to get help.

Compliance and compensation order

If your caravan or park owner or their agent has not followed a duty under Victoria’s rental law, the Residential Tenancies Act, such as not allowing you quiet enjoyment of your caravan, and has failed to fix the problem after being issued with a notice of breach of duty, you can apply for a compliance order that forces them to do so. You can also ask for compensation for any loss, such as a rent refund for the time your quiet enjoyment was affected. For information on how to calculate a loss of quiet enjoyment, see our page on claiming compensation.

These types of orders are best for matters that do not involve immediate or serious safety issues. They could include failing to give enough notice for an entry to your caravan or the site, failing to negotiate a suitable time for entry, or staying longer than required to complete the purpose of the visit.

Order limiting or specifying entry

If your caravan or park owner or their agent gives you proper notice to enter your caravan but does something wrong during the visit or because of it, you can ask VCAT to make an order that limits how they can enter your caravan in the future. These orders usually only last for a set time, not the whole tenancy.

An example may be that during an inspection the caravan or park owner or their agent goes through your drawers and starts to take photographs of what is inside.

Compensation order for damage or loss during entry

You can apply to VCAT for compensation if your belongings were damaged or stolen during an entry to your caravan. However, you must be able to show that the caravan or park owner or their agent caused, allowed or contributed to the loss in some way. For example, a tradesperson hired by the caravan or park owner or their agent spreading sawdust through the caravan or damaging your television.

For more information, see our page on claiming compensation.

To apply, fill out VCAT’s general application form. If the dispute relates to family violence, use VCAT’s form for family violence applications.

You can complete the form online or download a PDF and fill it in electronically or print it and complete it by hand. If you want a hard copy form posted to you, call VCAT on 1300 018 228.

When you get to the section ‘What orders do you want VCAT to make?’, write:

  • Section 472 – if you require a restraining order
  • Section 205 – if you require compensation for damage to or loss of your belongings during entry
  • Section 209 – for a compensation or compliance order relating to a breach of duty
  • Section 452 – general application – for anything else

For more information, see our page on going to VCAT.

VCAT will let you know the time, date and place of the hearing.

At VCAT, the people who hear and decide cases are called members. A VCAT member listens to each side, reviews any evidence and resolves the dispute based on the law, either at the end of the hearing or in writing later.

It is best that you go to the hearing to tell your side of the story. If you don’t go, you run the risk of not having your side heard, or your application may be dismissed. While you may feel stressed about the hearing, VCAT is less formal than a court and Tenants Victoria and other organisations can help. See the information on this page on how you can get help.

Report an offence to Consumer Affairs Victoria

It is an offence under rental laws for a caravan or park owner to enter or access your caravan in a way that doesn’t meet the rules, to try to force you to leave the caravan, or to ignore the rules about your privacy.

You can report an offence to Consumer Affairs Victoria, which can issue an infringement notice and make the caravan or park owner or their agent pay a fine. For serious offences, Consumer Affairs Victoria can start a case against the caravan or park owner in the Magistrates’ Court, which could result in a larger fine or even a criminal conviction.  

Consumer Affairs Victoria has an online Make a complaint form, or you can call them on 1300 558 181.

For more information, see our page on complaints about landlords and agents.

Make a complaint about personal information

If you are worried about how your personal or confidential information is being handled by the caravan or park owner’s real estate agent, make a complaint to the Australian Information Commissioner or Consumer Affairs Victoria.

Entry by other authorities

Other laws, apart from Victoria’s rental laws, may allow certain authorities, such as the police or local council, to enter your caravan without following the entry requirements outlined on this page.

For example, police may enter with a court-issued search warrant relating to alleged criminal activity, or building inspectors from the local council may enter to ensure the caravan is safe.

Whether or not you receive notice of the entry depends on who is seeking to enter and the reason for the entry. In most situations, unless there is an immediate risk to life or property, other laws will generally require the relevant authority to apply to a court for permission before entering without notice. If someone claims they have legal permission to enter your home, you should always ask to see their official identification and contact the relevant agency to confirm they are genuine. Always check the person’s identity if you are unsure.

Get help and other resources

If you need support in understanding your privacy while renting, help is available.

Tenants Victoria services

  • Renter Support Line

    For all Victorian renters.

Other organisations

  • Victoria Legal Aid

    For all Victorians.

  • Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG)

    For Victorians aged 50 and older.

  • Federation of Community Legal Centres

    For all Victorians.

  • Tenancy Assistance and Advocacy Program (TAAP)

    For Victorian renters in private rentals, rooming houses and caravan parks who are in financial hardship or affected by family violence.

  • Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)

    For all Victorians.

  • Consumer Affairs Victoria

    For all Victorians.

There are step-by-step guides, self-help tools and other resources to assist you with understanding when a caravan or park owner or their agent can enter your caravan, going to VCAT, and the protections and support available for those experiencing personal or family violence.

  • Consumer Affairs Victoria webpage

    Consumer Affairs Victoria has an informative webpage about when and how your landlord can enter your rental property.

  • Step-by-step video on going to VCAT

    This Tenants Victoria video walks you through the entire VCAT process – from gathering the necessary documents to understanding what happens during a hearing.

  • Video on compensation

    Tenants Victoria has prepared a one-minute animated video about compensation.

  • Family Violence Protection Tenancy Kit

    Tenants Victoria’s informative Family Violence Protection Tenancy Kit contains detailed information about protections in renting laws for people affected by family violence.

  • The Orange Door website

    The Victorian Government’s The Orange Door service can also connect you to legal and financial support.

  • Victims of Crime website

    The Victorian Government’s Victims of Crime service offers free support and information for those affected by crime, including a phone hotline.

The Residential Tenancies Act 1997 is Victoria’s main law for renting. It describes the rights and duties of renters and landlords in numbered sections.

The sections in this list relate to privacy and entry to your caravan. Click on a link to see more about the section.

The Privacy Act 1988 may also apply to the handling of your personal information as a renter.