Privacy while renting

These are the reasons for entry by a landlord (officially called the rental provider) 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 vacate date listed in the notice is in less than 21 days away, and they want to show the property to a potential renter, including having open for inspections
• The property is being sold, or needs to be used as security for a loan, and they want to show the property to a potential buyer or lender, including open for inspections
• To take photos or videos for advertising the property for rent or sale
• To get the property valued
• To carry out a legal duty under rental laws, other laws or a requirement listed in your lease (officially called a rental agreement). For example, to undertake repairs or to check the smoke detector is working. A list of the landlord’s legal duties is on our page about private rentals
• To carry out a routine inspection, once you have lived at the property for at least 3 months and then with a minimum of 6 months between routine inspections. At this inspection, your landlord or their agent can check all the property. If you are not keeping the property in good condition, or following the rules of your lease, they can give you a notice of breach of duty. For more information, see our page on renter breaches
• To inspect the property, where there is a VCAT application to end a lease or make a new lease because of family or personal violence. For more information, see our pages on ending or breaking your lease and family violence
• There are reasonable grounds to believe you have not followed your duties under the law or a requirement of your lease. For example, you have caused damage to the property. Learn more about renter duties on our page about private rentals

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

Under rental laws, a landlord (officially called a rental provider) cannot enter the property, or attempt to enter, to try to force you to leave your home, either permanently by carrying out an eviction or temporarily by asking you to leave during an inspection of your home. You have the right to stay in your home.

The only way you can be forced to leave your home is if VCAT has made a ‘possession order’ and you do not leave by the date that VCAT says. Then, only the police can come to evict you, not your landlord or their agent. Learn more on our page about notices to vacate and eviction.

It is an offence for the landlord or their agent to try to force you to leave, and you can apply to VCAT for a restraining order to stop them going through with or repeating this behaviour. You can also report the landlord or agent to Consumer Affairs Victoria. See the information on this page about when the landlord 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 in advance. The amount of warning you must be given depends on the reason for entry.

At least 24 hours notice in writing:

• To carry out a duty under the law or from your lease (officially called the rental agreement), for example to undertake repairs or to check the smoke detector is working
• To inspect the property if there is a VCAT application to end a lease, or to make a new lease due to circumstances of family or personal violence. This is usually done to check whether the person using violence has done any damage to the property
• There are reasonable grounds to believe you have not followed your duties under the law or your lease: for example, you cause damage to the property

At least 48 hours notice in writing:

• The landlord (officially called the rental provider) has given a notice to vacate or you have given a notice of intention to vacate that will expire in less than 21 days, and the property is to be shown to a prospective renter, including via an open for inspection
• The landlord is selling the property or needs to use it as security for a loan, and the property is to be shown to a prospective buyer or lender, including via an open for inspection. Note: Before they send a notice of entry on this basis, the landlord or agent must have already sent you a ‘notice of intention to sell’ at least 14 days prior. See the information on this page about sales inspections and lender inspections

At least 7 days notice in writing:

• To take photos or videos for advertising the property for rent or sale
• To get the property valued. To learn more, including an explanation of the overlap between this type of entry and an entry to show a lender in order to use the property as security for a loan, see the information on this page about valuations
• To carry out a routine inspection, once you have lived at the property for at least 3 months and not more often than every 6 months

Even if the landlord (officially called the rental provider) is not doing the wrong thing, you may still be able to apply to VCAT to limit the times when entry to your home can occur. For example, if you work night shift or have certain health requirements that mean it is not appropriate for entry to occur early in the morning.

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

If the reason for the entry is to take photos or videos for advertising the property for rent or sale, the landlord (officially called the rental provider) or agent must make a reasonable attempt to agree with you on a time for entry.

See the information on this page about your right to object to photos or videos, and protections for those experiencing, or at risk of, family or personal violence.

If the reason for the entry is for a sales inspection, your landlord (officially called the rental provider) or their agent can only enter if they have made reasonable attempts to agree with you about the days and times that the property is to be available for inspection. This is the case whether it is an open for inspection or an individual sales inspection.

The landlord or their agent must also give you a notice of intention to sell at least 14 days before requesting to enter your home for a sales inspection. To learn more, see our page on your rental home is being sold.

Open for inspections cannot happen more than twice a week and cannot last for more than an hour. This is the case whether the property is being rented or being sold. See also the information on this page about extra protections for those experiencing, or at risk of, family or personal violence.

If you receive a notice of intention to sell

If you do receive a legally valid notice of intention to sell, you have the right to end your lease (officially called the rental agreement) with 14 days notice, as long as you follow the rules. To learn more, see our page on ending or breaking your lease.

Note: You cannot do this if you entered an initial fixed-term lease and were told at the time that the landlord intended to sell the property.

Compensation

The landlord must pay you compensation each time there is a sales inspection – regardless of whether it is an open inspection or individual sales inspection. For every inspection, they must pay you $30 or half a day’s rent, whichever amount is higher. This does not apply to open inspections for renting the property to someone else.

For more information, see our page about claiming compensation.

There is some overlap in the Residential Tenancies Act concerning entry to your home to show a prospective lender and have the property valued.

One section says that before the landlord (officially called the rental provider) or their agent can request entry to show a prospective lender the property for the purpose of using the property as security for a loan, they must give you a notice of intention to sell at least 14 days before sending you a notice of entry. Another section allows entry to your home for ‘valuation purposes’, as long as a notice of entry is given at least 7 days beforehand. There is no requirement for a notice of intention to sell, in this case.

What this means, in practice, is that bringing a prospective lender to inspect the property is usually just treated as a type of valuation. It is enough to give you a legally valid notice of entry at least 7 days beforehand, as long as it clearly states that the purpose of the entry is a property valuation. See the information on this page about the rules for receiving a notice of entry.

If you receive a notice of intention to sell

If you do receive a legally valid notice of intention to sell, you have the right to end your lease with 14 days notice, as long as you follow the rules. To learn more, see our page on ending or breaking your lease.

Note: You cannot do this if you entered an initial fixed-term lease and were told at the time that the landlord intended to sell the property.

Open for inspections cannot happen more than twice a week and cannot last for more than an hour. This is the case whether the property is being rented to someone else or being sold.

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

Compensation

The landlord (officially called the rental provider) must pay you compensation each time there is an open for inspection, except if the inspection is to rent out the property to someone else (rather than to sell the property). For every inspection, they must pay you $30 or half a day’s rent, whichever amount is higher.

For more information, see our page about claiming compensation.

Victoria’s rental laws only mention that your landlord (officially called a rental provider) or their agent is permitted to take photos or videos of your home for advertising purposes – for example, if the property is being sold or to advertise for a new renter.

As well as giving you proper notice of any photo or video shoots in your rental home and working with you to find a suitable time for entry, the landlord or agent must not take certain photos or videos of your home if you have asked them not to in writing.

Under rental laws, you can object to (protest about) photos or videos being taken of your rental home for use in advertising if these would:

• Directly identify you or someone else living with you, including your children
• Reveal sensitive information about you or someone else living with you
• Show something that is valuable that would increase the risk of theft at your home, and it would be unreasonable to expect you to remove or hide such an item
• Identify anyone living there who is at risk of family or personal violence. For more information see the information on this page about family or personal violence

If you do give a written objection for any of these reasons, the landlord must not take or produce pictures or videos.

You can also ask to review any photos or videos before they are published. If they show identifiable or valuable possessions that may put your home at risk of theft, the landlord or agent can only publish them if you give your consent in writing. The agent or landlord must not take or use images if you have given a written objection.

If photos or videos are more than 12 months old, or were originally taken for another purpose, the landlord or agent can only republish them if you give your written consent.

Except for advertising purposes, Victoria’s rental laws do not clearly allow or prohibit the landlord (officially called the rental provider) or their agent from taking photos or videos inside your home.

However, it is generally accepted that the landlord 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 lease (officially called the rental agreement) or rental laws. In these cases, photos should only be taken as required for that purpose.

If the landlord or their agent is entering for another reason, they may still take photos only if they have reasonable grounds to believe there is a breach of your lease or the law.

The landlord or their agent does not have a general right to photograph your home or belongings without a legitimate reason. If a real estate agent takes photos without a clear purpose, this may breach the Privacy Act 1988.

If you are a ‘protected person’ under an intervention order, the law allows you to require that any house inspection is by appointment only, and not by an open for inspection.

An intervention order is a court order to protect a person, their children and their property from another person’s behaviour. If you experience violence from a family member, partner or ex-partner, you can apply to the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria for a family violence intervention order or contact your local community legal centre.

If you do not have an intervention order but are concerned about open inspections, you can still make a request in writing and raise your concerns. If the landlord (officially called the rental provider) or agent insists on open inspections and you are concerned for your safety, seek advice as soon as practicable. Tenants Victoria and other organisations can help. See the information on this page about how to get help.

You can object to photos or videos intended for advertising being taken if they might identify someone living at the property who is at risk of family or personal violence. You do not need an intervention order to make the objection, but it must be in writing and given to the landlord (officially called the rental provider) or their agent.

Once you have given this written notice, the landlord or agent must not take any photos or videos that you object to. If photos or videos are taken, you can ask to review them before they are used to advertise the property. If you have asked to review any photos or video, the landlord or agent must not use them before they have been reviewed. They would need your written consent to use them.

If it has been more than 12 months since photos or videos were taken for advertising purposes, the landlord or the agent must get your written consent again before they can be used.

If you are a protected person under an intervention order (made by a court) or safety notice (made by the police, including international police), and the person who has committed violence is excluded from your home, you have the right to change the locks on external doors and windows, including a lock in a master key system. To do this you do not need to have your name on the lease (officially called a rental agreement), but you do need to live at the property.

You also have the right to change the locks on external doors and windows, including a lock in a master key system, if VCAT has made an order terminating your current lease and creating a new lease that does not include the name of the person who committed the violence. It is important you get a new lease before your intervention order expires, otherwise the excluded person will still be on the lease and may try to regain access to the property as a co-renter.

If you change the locks, you must give a key to any other renters living in the property, except for the person who committed the violence. You must also give a key for the new lock to the landlord (officially called the rental provider) or agent, as well as a copy of the intervention order or safety notice.

The landlord or agent is not permitted to give the new key to the person who committed the violence for as long as the order or notice is current. If they do, they have not complied with the rental laws, and you should apply for a restraining order from VCAT. The restraining order is to stop the landlord or agent from doing this again, to order them to pay for a new lock and change of key, and to hold them accountable for breaking the law. See the information on this page about how to apply to VCAT.

Financial assistance

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. For more information, call the Financial Assistance Scheme helpline on 1800 161 136.

See the Tenants Victoria Family Violence Protection Tenancy Kit [PDF] for information on other safety measures you can take such as security lights, alarm systems and CCTV.

The Privacy Act covers organisations that earn more than $3 million a year, which may include your landlord’s real estate agent. 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, which they should also have on their website. That 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.

Privacy laws outline 2 main types of information:

• Personal information is information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information or opinion is true or not, and whether it is recorded or not
• Sensitive information is a type of personal information that includes details about an individual, such as race, ethnicity, political or religious beliefs, sexual orientation, criminal record, health, and genetics and biometric data used for identification purposes

A real estate 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 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 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 about the handling of your information under the Privacy Act on the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner website.

If you are worried about how a real estate agent is using your personal information under the Privacy Act, you can make a complaint to the Australian Information Commissioner or Consumer Affairs Victoria. See the information on this page about how to make a complaint about the use of your personal information.

If specific privacy laws do not apply to a real estate agent, they must still follow privacy protection rules under the Residential Tenancies Act, as must the landlord (officially called the rental provider). There are extra protections for those experiencing, or at risk of, family or personal violence. See the information on this page about family or personal violence.

If the landlord or agent fails to follow these rules, you can report them to Consumer Affairs Victoria. See the information on this page about how to make a complaint about the use of your personal information.

Applying for a property

Certain questions cannot be asked when you apply for a property, 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 landlord or agent can only use your personal information to decide if you are suitable for the property, or for another legitimate reason, such as complying with 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.

Keeping your information

Landlords and agents must also follow rules around how long they keep the information you provide in your application or lease. This includes destroying – or making sure you can never be identified in – your information:

• Within 3 years after you move out and your lease has ended
• Within 30 days of a property being rented to someone else
• Within 6 months of a property that you unsuccessfully applied for being rented to someone else, if you agree to let the landlord or agent use your information to apply for another property

In some situations, a landlord or agent may keep your personal information for longer if required by another law, or a court or tribunal order. Even in these situations, they can only disclose your personal information:

• If you consent, or
• If the law allows or requires the disclosure, including via a court or tribunal order

This may include disclosure to help prevent or reduce a serious threat to a person’s life, safety or welfare, or to public health, safety or welfare.

Disclosing your information

The landlord or agent must protect your personal information from being misused, lost or disclosed (released or shared). They cannot give your information to anyone who is not authorised to use it. It is an offence to disclose your information without your consent. See the information on this page about how to report an offence to Consumer Affairs Victoria.

A landlord or agent may disclose your personal information to a court or tribunal if it is needed to run or respond to a legal case. This may include situations where the landlord or agent reasonably believes it is necessary to disclose your information, and that it must be disclosed to a law enforcement agency to:

• Prevent, detect, investigate or prosecute a criminal offence
• Enforce a breach of law that has a penalty
• Enforce a court or tribunal order

Depending on the type of information, other exceptions may also apply.

Restraining order

You can apply to VCAT for a restraining order against the landlord (officially called the rental provider) or agent to either stop something that breaches Victoria’s rental laws or your lease (officially called the rental agreement), or to force the landlord to take action that is required under rental laws or your lease.

Examples of when a restraining order may be appropriate against the landlord, including their agents or contractors, 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 property, when these are against the law
• To stop harassing visits to your home 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 property (or trying to) in order to force, or attempt to force, you to leave

A restraining order can also restrict the landlord or agent from entering the premises or contacting you.

If your landlord 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 landlord 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 landlord 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 home, and has failed to fix the problem after being issued with a notice for 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 home that is otherwise valid under the law, 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 landlord or their agent gives you proper notice to enter your home 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 home 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 landlord or their agent goes through your drawers and starts to take photographs of what is inside.

You can also apply for this order if there are reasons why entry should be made at a particular time (or to avoid a particular time) because of issues such as medical treatment.

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 home. However, you must be able to show that the landlord or their agent caused, allowed or contributed to the loss in some way. For example, a tradesperson hired by the landlord or their agent spreading plaster dust through the home or damaging your television.

For more information, see our page on claiming compensation.

Order to change locks without landlord consent

If you believe that the landlord or their agent is being unreasonable in not letting you change the locks, you can apply to VCAT for an order allowing you to do so without their consent.

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 89 – if you require an order limiting or detailing how entry should be made to the home
• Section 90 – 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 71 – if you need to change locks without the consent of the landlord (officially called the rental provider)
• 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.

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

There are step-by-step guides, self-help tools and other resources to assist you with bonds.

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 home by the landlord or agent in private rentals. Click on a link to see more about the section.

• Section 30B – Restrictions on use of personal information
• Section 30C – Must not request prescribed information from applicants
• Section 67 – Quiet enjoyment
• Section 70 – Locks
• Section 70A – Locks for properties subject to intervention orders/notices
• Section 70B – Locks for properties where VCAT has created a new lease
• Section 71 – Applying to VCAT to change locks without consent
• Section 85 – Entry of rented premises
• Section 86 – Grounds for entry
• Section 87 – Manner of entry
• Section 88 – What must be in notice of entry?
• Section 89 – Duty to allow entry if requirements met
• Section 89A – Entry to produce advertising images and videos
• Section 90 – Applying to VCAT for compensation if damage is caused during entry
• Section 91 – Applying to VCAT for a restraining order
• Section 91A – Offence to enter premises without meeting requirements
• Section 91P – Offence to attempt possession
• Section 209 – Compliance and compensation order for breach of duty
• Section 472 – General power of Tribunal to make determinations

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