Duties and breaches (rooming houses)

If you or the rooming house operator breach any of your duties the other can give a ‘notice of breach of duty’ telling them to fix the problem, and/or pay compensation.

Rooming house operator’s duties under Victoria’s rental laws, the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, include those listed below.

Access

The rooming house operator must give you:

• 24-hour access to your room
• 24-hour access to the toilet and bathroom
• Access to other facilities during reasonable hours

Contact details

The rooming house operator must give you:

• Their full name and address or their agent’s full name and address
• An emergency contact number

House rules

If there are any house rules, the rooming house operator must:

• Make sure they are reasonable
• Make sure they are followed and interpreted fairly
• Give you a copy, and put a copy up in your room
• Give you 7 days’ written notice if they want to change the rules

Statement of your rights and duties

The rooming house operator must:

• Give you a written statement of your rights and duties
• Put a copy of this statement up in your room

Security

The rooming house operator must make sure your property in your room is secure.

Minimum standards

The rooming house operator must make sure the rooming house meets minimum standards under the law.

These include things like locks for resident’s rooms, 2 working and safe power outlets in residents’ rooms, privacy latches for shared bathrooms or toilets and access to cooking facilities.

A full list of the minimum standards is on the Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) website.

Repairs

The rooming house operator must:

• Keep the rooming house in good repair
• Keep any inconvenience during repairs to a minimum
• Provide alternative facilities during repairs, if needed
• Pay charges for excessive usage caused by faults

Privacy, peace and quiet

The rooming house operator must make sure your privacy or peace and quiet (called ‘quiet enjoyment’ in the law) are not unreasonably affected.

For example, they must not turn up to your room without giving you the correct notice

If the rooming house operator breaches any of their duties, you can give them a ‘notice of breach of duty’. This tells them they must:

• Fix the problem and not do the same, or something similar, again, and/or
• Pay you compensation if you have suffered a loss because of their breach

You must use the official form for notices of breach of duty to rooming house operators.

For information on how to give a notice of breach of duty, see the section headed ‘Giving a notice (‘service’)’ on our page Landlord breaches.

What happens next

If, within 3 days of the rooming house operator receiving your notice, they do not fix the problem, and/or pay the compensation, you can:

• Give them another notice of breach, and/or
• Apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) for an order that they must fix the breach, and/or pay compensation

For more information on how to apply see our page Applying to VCAT.

Your duties under Victoria’s rental laws include those listed below.

You also need to make sure your visitors do not breach any of these duties.

Your room

Only use your room to live in. Do not use it for anything illegal.

Keep your room reasonably clean.

Do not add fixtures, such as picture hooks, without written permission.

If you have changed or added a lock, give the rooming house operator a key.

Allowing access to your room

Allow the rooming house operator to come into your room if they have given you the correct written notice for a reason under the law.

Pets

Do not keep a pet without permission.

House rules

Follow the house rules.

Rent

Pay your rent on time.

Peace and quiet (‘quiet enjoyment’)

Do not disturb the peace or privacy of other residents.

Damage

Report damage or breakdowns of facilities that need to be fixed.

Report damage caused by you, other than fair wear and tear caused by everyday use, such as worn carpet.

Pay compensation if the damage is your fault. If you do not agree that you should pay compensation, we recommend you do not pay anything until the operator has applied to VCAT, where you can give your side of the story.

Safety devices

Do not interfere with safety devices, such as smoke alarms and fire hoses, unless it is necessary to do so.

If the rooming house operator thinks you have breached any of your duties they can give you a ‘notice of breach of duty’. This tells you that you must:

• Fix the problem and not do the same, or something similar, again, and/or
• Pay compensation if they have suffered a loss because of your breach

The notice must also include:

• The duty they said you have breached
• Details of their loss or damage because of the breach

The notice must also tell you that if you do not do what the notice says the rooming house operator may:

• Apply to VCAT for a compliance order and/or a compensation order
• Give you a notice to vacate if it is your third breach of the same duty, and you have been given breach notices for each previous breach

Notice must be given in the right way

A notice of breach of duty must be given in the right way.

It cannot be left pinned to your door, or slipped under it.

It can only be given to you in one of 3 ways:

• In person
• By post – including extra time for delivery
• Electronically, such as by email or text – but only if you have agreed to receive notices this way

Check your mail, emails, and messages

If you have agreed that the rooming house operator can send you notices electronically, make sure you check your emails and messages regularly.

Also check your post regularly, especially if you get a card from the post office telling you there is mail to collect.

Not getting a notice because you did not check your messages or collect your post will not stop the rooming house operator acting on it and taking it to VCAT

What happens next

The notice will tell you that you have 3 days to fix the breach. It may also ask you to pay compensation.

If the rooming house operator believes you have not fixed the breach, and/or paid the compensation they asked for, within 3 days of you getting the notice they can:

• Give you another notice of breach, and/or
• Apply to VCAT for an order that you must fix the breach, and/or pay compensation

If you think you have been unfairly given a notice of breach of duty, it’s a good idea to write to the operator explaining why you should not have received the notice. If the rooming house operator makes a VCAT application, you should also tell your side of the story at the VCAT hearing.

VCAT hearings

If the rooming house operator applies to VCAT they must send you a copy of their application.

VCAT will send you a hearing notice telling you the time, date, and place of the hearing.

At the hearing the rooming house operator will need to convince VCAT that you breached your duty.

You should go to the hearing so you can have your say and tell your side of the story.

For example, you may want to explain that you did not breach your duties and that the notice of breach should not have been given.

Take anything that can help you to the hearing.

For example, take photos or witnesses or witness statements that may help you defend against the rooming house operator’s claims.

You could be given a notice to vacate in 2 days in these situations:

• Successive breaches – if you have repeatedly breached your duties under the law and have already been given two breach notices for the same duty
• Failure to comply with a VCAT order – if VCAT has made a compliance order about you breaching your duties and you have not followed that order

For more information on notices to vacate see our page Notices to vacate (rooming houses).

For more information or help contact us, your local Tenancy Assistance and Advocacy Program (TAAP) service or Tenancy Plus provider for people in public and community housing.

See the list below for links to the laws on duties and breaches for operators and residents in rooming houses.

Applying to VCAT
Compensation for renters
Living in a rooming house
Moving out (rooming houses)
Notices to vacate (rooming houses)
Evictions (rooming houses)