Overdue rent
- 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. While we update our website, see our overview on going to RDRV.
Summary
As a caravan park resident, you pay rent to the owner of the caravan park for use of the site, services and facilities, and a hiring charge to the owner of the caravan (if you are hiring one). Sometimes the same person owns both the park and the caravan, so you pay the rent and hiring charge to one person.
If you have 7 days or more of unpaid rent, this is known as being in ‘rent arrears’ (overdue with your rent). If you have 7 days or more of unpaid hiring charges, this is known as being in ‘hiring charge arrears’ (overdue with your hiring charge). At this point, the caravan or park owner can give you a 7-day ‘notice to vacate’, either for non-payment of your rent or for non-payment of your hiring charge. It cannot be a combination of overdue rent and overdue hiring charges that makes up the 7 days – it must be one or the other. The 7 days of unpaid rent or 7 days of unpaid hiring charges could be consecutive (days in a row), or they could have gradually added up to 7 days because you underpaid them over a longer period.
If the notice to vacate is not legally valid, then you can challenge it at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). The notice to vacate may be found to be legally invalid if it was not created or delivered to you according to the legal rules. Examples include if it wasn’t signed by the caravan or park owner, proper reasons weren’t given, certain documents weren’t provided with the notice to vacate, or if it was not sent to you correctly – for example, by ‘regular post’ instead of ‘registered post’.
Even if the notice to vacate is legally valid, it does not necessarily lead to eviction. Before you can be evicted, the caravan or park owner must first apply for a ‘possession order’ from VCAT. VCAT then decides what to do next. VCAT may adjourn (delay) the caravan or park owner’s application and put you on a payment plan, if you can pay the overdue rent or overdue hiring charges over a reasonable period of time. Or VCAT may end your residency agreement if it is ‘reasonable and proportionate’ to do so. If VCAT ends your residency agreement, it may also give you more time before you have to move out.
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 for dealing with overdue rent or hiring charges
There are steps that you can take before your rent or hiring charge becomes overdue. If you know that you are going to be late with a rent or hiring charge payment, or cannot pay the full amount, it can be a good idea to speak to your caravan or park owner, as early as possible, to discuss when you might be able to catch up on these payments. However, your caravan or park owner does not have to agree to this. If you do agree to anything, get it in writing.
If you do receive a notice to vacate for unpaid rent or a notice to vacate for unpaid hiring charges, and you don’t want to move out, there are steps you can take. These steps depend on various factors, including whether:
- The notice to vacate is legally valid
- VCAT thinks you may be suitable for a payment plan
Avoid being late with or underpaying your rent or hiring charge
There are steps you can take to help you avoid being late with or underpaying your rent or hiring charge.
Financial counsellors provide independent and non-judgemental information, advice, advocacy and support to people experiencing or at risk of financial difficulty. Government and other agencies also offer rent assistance and other financial programs that may help you.
If you need assistance with other matters that may be affecting your ability to pay rent or hiring charge, such as family or personal violence or gambling, there are services that can help.
To learn more, visit our page on financial hardship.
If you are on a low income or a pension, it may be easier to pay your rent and hiring charge on time by paying fortnightly instalments when you receive your income. While your residency agreement may require a monthly rent payment, you can ask whether your caravan or park owner or agent will agree to a fortnightly payment.
It is important to remember that if your residency agreement requires you to pay monthly, this is by calendar month, which is usually 2 or 3 days more than 2 fortnights (28 days). To avoid falling into rent arrears (getting behind in your rent), you need to pay enough rent to cover the extra days each month.
If you receive a pension or benefit from Centrelink, your rent and hiring charge can be deducted from it and paid directly to the caravan or park owner using Centrepay, which is a payment system administered by Centrelink (Services Australia). If you pay your rent via Centrepay, you must cancel the payments when you move out.
Visit the Services Australia website for more information on Centrepay.
Rent and hiring charge receipts should tell you what date the rent or hiring charge is paid up to. Ask for a receipt whenever you pay your rent and hiring charge. If you are not sure when you are paid up to, contact the caravan or park owner and ask for a copy of your rent or hiring charge payment record, which is often called a rent or hiring charge ledger.
Utility providers – such as for electricity, water and gas – are required to provide reasonable payment plans if you are struggling to pay your bills. Being on a payment plan may make it easier to pay your rent or hiring charge.
If you are on a payment plan with a utility provider, don’t switch providers until the debt is fully paid. If you change providers before fully paying the debt, you may have to pay it immediately.
If you receive Centrelink benefits, you may also be eligible for the Victorian Government’s Utility relief grant scheme.
Here’s what you can do next
- Talk to your caravan or park owner or their agent about your overdue rent or hiring charges. A conversation can sometimes help resolve an issue. If you agree to anything, get it in writing
- Visit the National Debt Helpline’s webpage about keeping on top of your rent
- Consider contacting Tenants Victoria’s free financial counselling service
- If you need advice or support, see the information on this page about how to get help
Check if the notice to vacate is valid
If you have 7 full days or more of unpaid rent or 7 full days or more of unpaid hiring charges, the caravan or park owner can give you a 7-day notice to vacate. The 7 days of unpaid rent or the 7 days of unpaid hiring charges could be consecutive (days in a row), or they could have gradually added up to 7 days if you have underpaid over a longer period. The 7 days must be either of unpaid rent or unpaid hiring charges, not a combination of both.
If you do receive a notice to vacate, it may not be legally valid if:
- It was not created and delivered to you in the right way
- You had not reached 7 full days of unpaid rent or 7 full days of unpaid hiring charges at the time the notice to vacate was given to you. To check your rent calculations, use Consumer Affairs Victoria’s rent calculator
- The notice to vacate did not give you a clear 7 days before the termination date (date you need to move out)
- The amount of unpaid rent or unpaid hiring charges listed on the notice to vacate is not accurate. Note that this could be because of a recent rent or hiring charge increase that is not legally valid. See the information on this page about what to do if you have also received a rent or hiring charge increase
If you receive a notice to vacate, but are unsure whether it is valid, or what to do next, seek legal advice. Tenants Victoria and other organisations can help. See the information on this page about how to get help.
This is the official notice to vacate form for caravan park residents from the Consumer Affairs Victoria website: Notice to vacate to resident/s of a caravan park [Word]
The official notice to vacate form must be delivered to you:
- In person
- Electronically (such as email), but only if you have agreed to receive notices this way, or
- By registered post
It cannot be sent by ordinary (regular) post or left in your letterbox or under your door or given to someone else.
To learn more, see our page on notices to vacate and eviction.
The notice to vacate must:
- Be in the correct form. This is the official form from the Consumer Affairs Victoria website: Notice to vacate to resident/s of a caravan park [Word]
- Be addressed to you
- Be signed and dated by your caravan or park owner or their agent
- Clearly say why you are being asked to leave, and the reason must be legally valid. In this case, the reason is that you have 7 full days or more of unpaid rent or 7 full days or more of unpaid hiring charges
- Say the date they want you to leave by (the termination date). This cannot be less than 7 days from the date of the notice to vacate
- List the amount of rent or hiring charge that is owing. See the Consumer Affairs Victoria website for information on what evidence must be provided with a notice to vacate
- Have any necessary supporting documents attached
To learn more, see our page on notices to vacate and eviction.
If you believe that you have received a notice to vacate for unpaid rent or hiring charges due to a recent rent or hiring charge increase, you should check whether the increase is legally valid. This includes whether the caravan or park owner told you about the increase in the right way (in writing and using the correct form) and that they were allowed to make the increase. Learn more on our page on rent increases.
If you believe that an invalid rent or hiring charge increase is why you have received a notice to vacate for unpaid rent or hiring charges, you should request that VCAT adjourn (delay) any hearing about your notice to vacate until you have had a chance to challenge your rent or hiring charge increase.
If the rent or hiring charge increase is found to be legally invalid and, as a result, the amount of unpaid rent or hiring charges listed in the notice to vacate is significantly incorrect, VCAT may decide that the notice to vacate is invalid and dismiss the caravan or park owner’s application to evict you.
If you are unsure about whether your rent or hiring charge increase is legally valid, Tenants Victoria and other organisations can help. See the information on this page about how to get help.
Challenge an invalid notice to vacate at VCAT
If you believe that the notice to vacate is not legally valid, you can contact your caravan or park owner or their agent to discuss it or send them a letter. If you agree to anything, get it in writing.
Tenants Victoria has a template letter with different points you may wish to raise, depending on your situation. These include informing your caravan or park owner or their agent that it has given you a notice to vacate that is not legally valid, asking it to stop harassing you to leave, and asking it to stop threatening to evict you illegally.
Download our template letter: Letter about an invalid notice to vacate [Word].
Sending this letter is optional, and it could result in the caravan or park owner sending a new notice to vacate. If you don’t send a letter, or if you send one and your caravan or park owner or their agent does not cooperate, you can challenge your notice to vacate at VCAT when the caravan or park owner applies for a hearing (known as a ‘possession order hearing’). The caravan or park owner can only apply to VCAT for a possession order once the termination date on the notice to vacate has passed.
At this hearing, VCAT may dismiss the caravan or park owner’s application for a possession order to evict you, or put you on a payment plan if:
- Your caravan or park owner does not follow the rules for preparing and sending you the notice to vacate, or
- Your caravan or park owner cannot prove the required facts about the overdue rent or the overdue hiring charges
When deciding whether a notice to vacate for unpaid rent is legally valid, VCAT will check:
- If the notice to vacate is in the correct form
- If the notice to vacate was served (given or delivered to you) in the right way
- If you were given at least 7 days notice of the termination date on the notice to vacate
- If you had 7 full days of unpaid rent or 7 full days of unpaid hiring charges at the time the notice to vacate was given to you
To learn more about challenging a notice to vacate, see our pages on notices to vacate and eviction challenging a notice to vacate at VCAT and going to VCAT.
If VCAT dismisses or ‘strikes out’ the caravan or park owner’s application because the notice to vacate is not valid, you can stay in your home.
If VCAT decides the notice to vacate is not valid (which means you can stay in your home), it can still make a separate order requiring you to pay back the unpaid rent or unpaid hiring charges, including putting you on a payment plan. This order must be followed. If not, you may be ordered to pay additional compensation. You could also receive a new 7-day notice to vacate from the caravan or park owner for not complying with the order.
If the notice to vacate is valid
If the notice to vacate you have received for non-payment of rent is valid (including if VCAT decides this) this does not necessarily mean that you will be evicted.
What happens next depends on whether:
- VCAT believes that you could follow a payment plan to pay back the overdue rent or overdue hiring charges
- If it is reasonable and proportionate for an eviction to occur. See the information on this page about what is reasonable and proportionate
If you need legal advice, Tenants Victoria and other organisations can help. See the information on this page about how to get help.
If the notice to vacate is legally valid, then the caravan or park owner can apply to VCAT for a possession order (the next stage of eviction).
The caravan or park owner cannot apply to VCAT for a possession order until after the termination date on the notice to vacate. To learn more, see our page on notices to vacate and eviction.
At a possession order hearing, you can ask VCAT for a payment plan. If VCAT thinks you could pay off the overdue rent or overdue hiring charges over time, while not getting behind in your current rent or hiring charges, it can adjourn (delay or put on hold) the possession order application and make an order for a payment plan.
Many renters are successful in this application if they have a plan to pay back the overdue rent or hiring charges over a reasonable period of time. If VCAT is not sure of your financial ability to follow a payment plan, it can put the application on hold and refer you to a financial counsellor who can help assess your financial situation. If VCAT refers you to a financial counsellor, it may ask the counsellor to write a report after their assessment. This can help VCAT decide if it should make an order for a payment instead of a possession order.
If you need legal advice, Tenants Victoria and other organisations can help. See the information on this page about how to get help.
Bring evidence to VCAT
Usually there is a reason people fall behind in their rent or hiring charges. Make sure you take as much evidence as you can to the VCAT possession order hearing to show how you got behind, such as unexpected car repair expenses or any hardship you are experiencing, and how you can pay off the overdue rent or hiring charges over time while also continuing to pay your usual rent and hiring charge. This shows VCAT that there will be no loss to the caravan or park owner if you stay at the property and that it does not need to make a possession order.
Evidence should include details about your income and expenses. Gather any documents that support this, such as pay slips, Centrelink payment statements, proof of rental payments or hiring charge payments, and bank statements. You can also ask anyone who can support your case to give evidence at the hearing or provide a statutory declaration if they are unable to attend.
If VCAT decides to make an order for a payment plan, it will put the application for a possession order on hold, usually for 3 to 6 months.
The payment plan order will set out how much you need to pay towards the overdue rent or hiring charges over time to get the rent up to date. You will also need to stay up-to-date with your current rent and hiring charge obligations.
If you follow the payment plan by paying back your overdue rent or hiring charges and staying up-to-date with your current rent and hiring charges, as required by the VCAT order, VCAT must dismiss the caravan or park owner’s application to evict you. If this happens, your residency agreement will continue as normal, and you can stay in your caravan. However, for this to happen, you will need to avoid developing additional overdue rent or hiring charges during the entire payment plan period (from the date of the caravan or park owner’s original VCAT application to the date of the next hearing at the end of the payment plan).
If you do not follow the VCAT order for a payment plan – for example, you do not make an ordered payment, or you end up with more overdue rent or hiring charges while the order is in place – the caravan or park owner can renew their application for a possession order.
If this happens, VCAT will send you a ‘notice of hearing’ telling you when the next hearing will be. You must go to this hearing to tell VCAT why you did not, or could not, follow the payment plan order or why you ended up with more overdue rent or hiring charges. If you do not attend, there is a chance VCAT will make the possession order, and you will be evicted.
If your financial situation has become worse, you can ask VCAT to make an order for a different payment plan that you can follow more easily.
As at the first hearing, if VCAT decides that you can afford to pay the overdue rent or hiring charges and not get further behind with your current rent or hiring charges, it may change your payment plan or order a new one with different payments and time periods.
If VCAT decides you cannot afford to pay the overdue rent or overdue hiring charges and your current rent or hiring charge without getting further behind, it will decide if it is reasonable and proportionate to make a possession order that the caravan or park owner can use to evict you. See the information on this page about what is reasonable and proportionate.
If VCAT decides not to put you on a payment plan or does not refer you to financial counselling, before it can make a possession order it must consider a range of factors and decide whether it is reasonable and proportionate for the caravan or park owner to evict you.
See the information on this page about how VCAT decides what is reasonable and proportionate.
The factors that VCAT will consider in deciding whether it is reasonable and proportionate to make a possession order (for eviction) include:
- The hardship you and your household may suffer if it makes a possession order
- The hardship other parties, such as the caravan or park owner, may suffer if it does not make a possession order
- The nature, frequency and duration of overdue rent that led to the notice to vacate
- Whether the total amount of overdue rent is small
- Any family violence or personal violence intervention orders or related matters
- Whether you or someone else who is not a renter caused the failure to pay rent
- Whether you have paid back the unpaid rent or are close to paying it back, or you have made attempts to pay it back
- Whether it can make any other orders, instead of ending your residency agreement
- The behaviour of the caravan or park owner
- Anything else it thinks is relevant
If VCAT decides to allow the eviction, it may allow you more time to move out. VCAT may also allow the caravan or park owner to deduct the unpaid rent or hiring charges from your bond and to be awarded compensation. To learn more, see our page on disputing bond and compensation claims.
It is important that you know your rights during the eviction process. These rights include that only the police can carry out an eviction, not the caravan or park owner personally. See our page on notices to vacate and eviction.
If you need legal advice, Tenants Victoria and other organisations can help. See the information on this page about how to get help.
Here’s what you can do next
- Watch our video on going to VCAT and view our Going to VCAT infographic [PDF]
- See VCAT’s advice on preparing for a hearing, which includes information about gathering evidence
- Consider contacting Tenants Victoria’s free financial counselling service
- If you need advice or support, see the information on this page about how to get help
Particular circumstances
Unpaid rent when a resident has died
If a caravan park resident is the only person named on the residency agreement, they are a sole resident. If others are named on the residency agreement, they are co-residents.
When a co-resident dies, the other residents are responsible for the rent.
When a sole resident dies, their next of kin or legal representative can deal with the caravan or park owner to end the residency agreement. This can involve:
- Sending a notice of intention to vacate, or
- Agreeing with the caravan or park owner on a date that the residency agreement will end, or
- Handing back the vacant property to the caravan or park owner (removing all belongings and giving back the keys)
Rent and hiring charges do not need to be paid after the property has been vacated or otherwise agreed with the caravan or park owner, even if it is before the end of a fixed-term residency agreement.
Learn more on our page about ending or breaking your lease.
Get help and other resources
If you need support to deal with overdue rent or a notice to vacate for unpaid rent, help is available.
Tenants Victoria services
-
Renter Support Line
For all Victorian renters.
-
Financial counselling
For all Victorian renters.
Other organisations
-
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.
-
Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG)
For Victorians aged 50 and older.
-
Community Connection Program
For Victorians who are homeless or live in low-cost accommodation.
-
Federation of Community Legal Centres
For all Victorians.
-
Victoria Legal Aid
For all Victorians.
-
Consumer Affairs Victoria
For all Victorians.
-
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)
For all Victorians.
There are resources to assist you with understanding more about overdue rent.
-
Letter about a notice to vacate that is not legally valid
This Tenants Victoria template letter includes points you may wish to raise with the park or caravan owner after receiving a notice to vacate that you think is not legally valid.
-
Dear Landlord self-help tool
Dear Landlord is a free online self-help tool by Justice Connect, which can help you understand your rights, guide you through your options, and help you take action, including if you are struggling with your rent.
-
Notices to vacate factsheet
Tenants Victoria has a handy factsheet summarising information about notices to vacate.
-
Consumer Affairs Victoria webpage
Consumer Affairs Victoria has an informative webpage about overdue rent.
-
Calculate your rent
Consumer Affairs Victoria has a calculator to help you work out the rent you pay daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, 6-monthly and yearly.
-
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.
-
Prepare for a VCAT hearing
VCAT has step-by-step information on how to prepare for a hearing.
The Residential Tenancies Act 1997 is Victoria’s main law for renting. It describes the rights and duties of caravan residents, and caravan and park owners, in numbered sections.
The sections in this list relate to overdue rent (rent arrears) and overdue hiring charges (hiring charge arrears) in caravan parks. Click on a link to see more about the section.
- Section 150A – Payment of rent or hiring charge
- Section 169 – Resident’s duty to pay rent and hiring charge
- Section 206AU – Notice to vacate for non-payment of rent
- Section 206AV – Notice to vacate for non-payment of hiring charge
- Section 213 – Compensation for unpaid rent
- Section 213A – Application for payment of rent arrears or hiring charge arrears from bond
- Section 330 – VCAT order for a possession order
- Sections 330A – What is reasonable and proportionate
- Section 331 – Application for possession may be dismissed or adjourned
- Section 352 – Postponement of the warrant of possession
- Section 353 – Immediate issue of warrant if failure to comply during postponement
- Section 452 – General applications to the Tribunal
- Section 506 – Service of documents
The Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021 provide more detail and definitions, and specify updates to the Residential Tenancies Act.
