Overdue rent
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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 rooming house resident, you pay rent to the rooming house operator. Your rooming house agreement must outline how much rent to pay, and how and when to pay it. It is important to note that any service charge for services or facilities that are made available to you as a rooming house resident – such as water, central heating or laundry – is separate to your rent and must not form part of your rent amount.
If you have 7 days or more of unpaid rent, this is known as being in ‘rent arrears’ (overdue with your rent). At this point, the rooming house operator can give you a 2-day ‘notice to vacate’ for non-payment of your rent. The 7 days of unpaid rent 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. The amount of rent used to calculate the 7 days is the amount of rent you pay, less any rental rebate you may receive, such as Commonwealth Rent Assistance.
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 rooming house operator, 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 ‘ordinary 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 rooming house operator must first apply for a ‘possession order’ from VCAT. VCAT then decides what to do next. VCAT may adjourn (delay) the rooming house operator’s application and put you on a payment plan, if you can pay the overdue rent over a reasonable period of time. Or VCAT may end your rooming house agreement if it is ‘reasonable and proportionate’ to do so. If VCAT ends your rooming house agreement, it may also give you more time before you have to move out.
What is a rooming house?
A rooming house is a building with rooms for rent where 4 or more people can live. The rooming house operator decides who lives at the property and usually has individual agreements with each resident for paying rent. Find out more on our page about rooming houses.
Steps for dealing with overdue rent
There are steps that you can take before your rent becomes overdue. If you know that you are going to be late with a rent payment, or cannot pay the full amount, it can be a good idea to speak to your rooming house operator, as early as possible, to discuss when you might be able to catch up on your rent payments. However, your rooming house operator 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, 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
- You have the capacity to pay the unpaid rent
- VCAT thinks you may be suitable for a payment plan
Avoid being late with or underpaying your rent
There are steps you can take to help you avoid being late with or underpaying your rent.
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, 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 on time by paying fortnightly instalments when you receive your income. While your rooming house agreement may require a monthly rent payment, you can ask whether your rooming house operator will agree to a fortnightly payment.
It is important to remember that if your rooming house 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 can be deducted from it and paid directly to the rooming house operator 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 receipts should tell you what date the rent is paid up to. Ask for a rent receipt whenever you pay your rent. If you are not sure when you are paid up to, contact the rooming house operator and ask for a copy of your rent payment record, which is often called a rent 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.
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 rooming house operator about your overdue rent. 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 days or more of unpaid rent, the rooming house operator can give you a 2-day notice to vacate. The 7 days of unpaid rent could be consecutive (days in a row), or they could have gradually added up to 7 days if you have underpaid your rent over a longer period.
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 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 2 days before the termination date (date you need to move out)
- The amount of unpaid rent listed on the notice to vacate is not accurate. Note that this could be because of a recent rent increase that is not legally valid. See the information on this page about what to do if you have also received a rent 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 rooming house residents from the Consumer Affairs Victoria website: Notice to vacate to resident/s of a rooming house [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, left in your letterbox or under your door or given to another person to give to you.
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 notice to vacate form for rooming house residents from the Consumer Affairs Victoria website: Notice to vacate to resident/s of a rooming house [Word]
- Be addressed to you
- Be signed and dated by your rooming house operator 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 days or more of unpaid rent
- Say the date they want you to leave by (the termination date). This cannot be less than 2 days from the date of the notice to vacate
- List the amount of unpaid rent
- Have any necessary supporting documents attached. See the Consumer Affairs Victoria website for information on what evidence must be provided with a notice to vacate
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 due to a recent rent increase, you should check whether the rent increase is legally valid. This includes whether the rooming house operator told you about the rent 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 increase is why you have received a notice to vacate for unpaid rent, you should request that VCAT adjourn (delay) any hearing about your notice to vacate until you have had a chance to challenge your rent increase. Learn more on our page on rent increases.
If the rent increase is found to be legally invalid and, as a result, the amount of unpaid rent listed in the notice to vacate is significantly incorrect, VCAT may decide that the notice to vacate is invalid and dismiss the rooming house operator’s application to evict you.
If you are unsure about whether your rent increase is legally valid, Tenants Victoria and other organisations can help. See the information on this page about how to get help.
If you believe that the notice to vacate is not legally valid, you can contact your rooming house operator 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 rooming house operator 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 may result in a new notice to vacate being issued. If you don’t send a letter, or if you send one and your rooming house operator or their agent does not cooperate, you can challenge your notice to vacate at VCAT when the rooming house operator applies for a hearing (known as a ‘possession order hearing’). The rooming house operator 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 rooming house operator’s application for a possession order to evict you if:
- Your rooming house operator does not follow the rules for preparing and sending you the notice to vacate, or
- Your rooming house operator cannot prove the required facts about overdue rent
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 2 days notice of the termination date on the notice to vacate
- If you had 7 full days of unpaid rent 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 the rooming house operator’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, 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 fresh 7-day notice to vacate from the rooming house operator 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 several factors, including whether:
- VCAT believes that you could follow a payment plan to pay back the overdue rent
- 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, and the calculation of your unpaid rent is correct, and you cannot or have not paid the overdue rent before the termination date on the notice to vacate, then the rooming house operator can apply to VCAT for a possession order (the next stage of eviction).
The rooming house operator 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 over time, while not getting behind in your current rent, 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 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 allow you to see 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. 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 over time while also continuing to pay your usual rent. This shows VCAT that there will be no loss to the rooming house operator 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 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 over time to get the rent up to date. You will also need to stay up to date with your current rent obligations.
If you follow the payment plan by paying back your overdue rent and staying up to date with your current rent, as required by the VCAT order, VCAT will most likely dismiss the rooming house operator’s application to evict you. If this happens, your rooming house agreement will continue as normal, and you can stay in your home. An example of when VCAT might not dismiss the rooming house operator’s application is if you developed more overdue rent during the payment plan period.
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 while the order is in place – the rooming house operator 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. 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 and not get further behind with your current rent, 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 and your current rent without getting further behind, it will decide if it is reasonable and proportionate to make a possession order that the rooming house operator 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 adjourn (delay) the hearing for you to attend 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 rooming house operator 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 rooming house operator, 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 rooming house agreement
- The behaviour of the rooming house operator
- Anything else it thinks is relevant
If VCAT makes a possession order, which allows the eviction, it may allow you more time to move out.
VCAT may also allow the rooming house operator to deduct the unpaid rent from your bond. 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 rooming house operator 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 rooming house resident is the only person named on the rooming house agreement, they are a sole resident. If others are named on the rooming house 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 rooming house operator to end the rooming house agreement. This can involve:
- Sending a notice of intention to vacate, or
- Agreeing with the rooming house operator on a date that the rooming house agreement will end, or
- Handing back the vacant property to the rooming house operator (removing all belongings and giving back the keys)
Rent does not need to be paid after the property has been vacated or otherwise agreed with the rooming house operator, even if it is before the end of a fixed-term rooming house 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
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Social Housing and Rooming House Priority Line
For Victorian renters in public housing, community housing and rooming houses.
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Financial counselling
For all Victorian renters.
Other organisations
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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.
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Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG)
For Victorians aged 50 and older.
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Federation of Community Legal Centres
For all Victorians.
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Victoria Legal Aid
For all Victorians.
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Consumer Affairs Victoria
For all Victorians.
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Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)
For all Victorians.
There are resources to assist you with understanding more about overdue rent.
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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 rooming house operator after receiving a notice to vacate that you think is not legally valid
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Notices to vacate factsheet
Tenants Victoria has a handy factsheet summarising information about notices to vacate.
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Consumer Affairs Victoria webpage
Consumer Affairs Victoria has an informative webpage about overdue rent.
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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.
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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.
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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 rooming house residents and rooming house operators, in numbered sections.
The sections in this list relate to overdue rent (rent arrears) in rooming houses. Click on a link to see more about the section.
- Section 99A – Payment of rent
- Section 109A – Homes Victoria or registered housing agency may impose a service charge
- Section 112 – Resident’s duty to pay rent
- Section 142ZF – Notice to vacate for non-payment of rent
- Section 213A – Payment of rent 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.
