Breach notices to rental provider
If the rental provider fails to carry out their duties under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 you can give them a ‘notice for breach of duty’. This tells them they must:
- Fix the problem and not commit the same, or similar, breach again, and/or
- Pay you compensation for any loss you have suffered because of their breach
Notice of breach of duty to rental provider of rented premises
You can use Consumer Affair Victoria’s (CAV) form, Notice of breach of duty to rental provider of rented premises, if the rental provider has failed to carry out their duties under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997. Rental providers’ duties include:
- Repairs are not done – the home is not kept in good repair, repairs are inadequate, or not completed on time [section 68]
- Safety-related repairs and maintenance are not completed [section 68A]
- ‘Quiet enjoyment’ is disturbed – the rental provider or agent does not let you enjoy your home in peace, for example they arrive without enough warning, a written notice, or a proper reason [section 67]
- Unclean – the home is not reasonably clean on the day you move in [section 65]
- Not vacant – there are other people, or their possessions, present on the day you move in [section 65]
- The home does not meet the minimum standards for rentals [section 65A]
- Gas and electrical safety check records are not kept and produced on request [section 68B]
- No locks – working deadlocks are missing from external doors or locks are missing from windows where required to be installed by the Act [section 70]
- No keys – the rental provider changes a lock but does not provide the new key [section 70]
- Keys and locks where there is personal or family violence – if the locks have been changed by a renter experiencing family or personal violence, the rental provider or agent cannot give a copy of these keys to a person excluded from the property under an intervention order [section 70A] or no longer on the rental agreement [section 70B]
- Replacement appliances, fixtures and fittings for water, electricity and gas are below standard. If one of these needs to be replaced the rental provider must ensure the replacement meets a certain minimum standard for efficiency. For information about water and energy ratings see the Australian Government’s Water Rating and Energy Rating websites [section 69]
This notice tells the rental provider they must:
- Fix the problem and not commit the same, or similar, breach, and/or
- Pay you compensation for any loss you have suffered because of their breach
Note that all the sections in brackets on this page, such as [section 70B], refer to the Residential Tenancies Act 1997.
Consumer Affairs Victoria guidelines
Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) has produced guidelines for some of the duties of rental providers and renters. These include guidelines on maintenance, cleanliness, damage and fair wear and tear, and urgent repairs. If you end up making an application to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) about the rental provider breaching their duties, VCAT will need to consider the guidelines when making decisions about compensation claims or compliance applications [section 211B].
If there are guidelines relevant to your circumstances then reading them first may help you decide whether the rental provider has breached their duties under the law, or whether there may not have been a breach, but you want to formally notify them about something, such as the need for repairs. The process for this is different – see the next section.
For more information see our page Consumer Affairs Victoria’s guidelines. You can also view the full guidelines on Consumer Affairs Victoria’s website.