Rent increases

A residency agreement that includes an end date is called a ‘fixed-term’ residency agreement. The term could be, for example, 6 or 12 months but may also be long-term (5 years or more).

If your residency agreement is for a fixed term, the rent and hiring charge cannot be increased at all during that term, unless the residency agreement includes a rent-increase clause, which says how or by how much the rent and hiring charge will be increased. In all cases, a notice of rent increase must still be given when any rent increase is to occur.

If your residency agreement includes a rent-increase clause

Even if your residency agreement does include a rent-increase clause, the rent and hiring charge still cannot be increased more often than the law allows, which is once every 12 months.

If you do not agree to a rent-increase clause before you sign

A valid residency agreement does not need to contain a rent increase clause. It is something that some caravan or park owners or agents may decide to include, so it is important to read the residency agreement carefully before you sign it.

Before you sign the residency agreement, if you do not agree to a rent increase clause being included, you can ask for it to be removed or crossed out. If you and the caravan or park owner agree to cross out a rent increase clause, you should all sign next to the change to show that everyone has agreed to this.

If the caravan or park owner or agent will not remove this clause, it is your decision whether to sign the residency agreement or find a different caravan to rent.

Residency agreements without an end date are called ‘periodic agreements’ (often known as month-to-month agreements). Since 29 March 2021, rent increases under these agreements cannot occur more often than once every 12 months, no matter when the agreement originally started.

The caravan or park owner or agent cannot include anything in your residency agreement that makes you responsible for paying an increased amount of rent if you break any of the rules of the residency agreement.

Any term that does this is prohibited (banned). It is an offence to include a prohibited term in a residency or site agreement. To learn more, see the page on this website about leases (rental agreements).

If your residency agreement includes a prohibited term

If you have a residency agreement that includes a prohibited term, the caravan or park owner cannot enforce it. If the caravan or park owner refuses to remove it from your agreement, you can apply to VCAT, which can order that the term does not apply. See our page on applying to VCAT.

You can also report an offence to Consumer Affairs Victoria, which can issue an infringement notice (fine) to the caravan or park owner or agent if they failed to follow the law.

If you are a caravan resident, the caravan or park owner must give you at least 90 days notice in writing of the rent or hiring charge increase.

If the caravan park owner is also the caravan owner or the agent of the caravan owner, the notice must specify the rent increase and hiring charge increase separately.

Only one increase can be listed in each rent increase notice.

The notice of rent increase to a caravan resident must use the Consumer Affairs Victoria form: Notice of rent/hiring charge increase to resident/s of caravan park [Word].

The notice of proposed rent increase can be given to you:

• In person (between 8 am and 6 pm)
• By mail, or
• Electronically, if you have given consent to receive notices this way

See our page about starting a tenancy for more information on consenting to have notices sent electronically.

The rent increase notice must include:

• The amount of the rent increase
• Details about your right to apply to Consumer Affairs Victoria to have the proposed increase assessed, if you think it is too high
• The date the increase applies from

If the park owner is also the caravan owner, the notice must separately detail the rent increase and hiring charge increase.

If the caravan or park owner or their agent does not follow these rules, you can challenge the validity of a rent increase notice at VCAT. See the information on this page about how to apply to VCAT if the rent increase is not valid or too high.

Note: Even if you want to challenge an increase at VCAT for not following the rules, you should pay the increase, or 110% of your current rent (whichever is less), if the date on the notice has arrived. If VCAT later finds that the rent increase is legally valid, you will have gone into rent arrears (fallen behind in your rent), which can lead to a ‘notice to vacate’ and possible eviction. See our pages on overdue rent and notices to vacate and eviction.

If you think the increase is too high, you should first apply to Consumer Affairs Victoria to assess it. This service is free.

You must apply in writing within 30 days of receiving the notice of an increase.

There are 2 ways to apply:

• Use the ‘Rent increase investigation’ section on the last page of the official notice of proposed rent increase that the caravan or park owner or agent gave you
• Use the Consumer Affairs Victoria online form: Request for rental assessment

What happens at the assessment

A Consumer Affairs Victoria inspector may contact you to arrange a visit to your home, or they may do a desktop review, which does not require a visit. They will consider the condition of the property, the facilities, and any services provided with the room, and compare the proposed rent increase with those of similar rooming houses in the same area.

During the inspection, or if an inspector contacts you for information, you should point out anything that supports your claim that the rent increase is excessive, such as:

• The state of repair of the caravan
• Problems with the location
• The amount of rent for similar caravans in your area Any facilities or services that you provide rather than the caravan or park owner
• Any change in the rent and condition of the caravan or facilities since the start of your residency agreement and since the last rent increase
• The number of rent increases (if any) in the last 24 months and the amount of each of those increases

You should also discuss whether any works or modifications you carried out with the caravan or park owner’s consent should be included or excluded when considering if the proposed rent increase is justified.

Rent assessment report

Once the inspector has carried out an investigation, you and the caravan or park owner will receive a written report.

If the inspector’s report says that the rent or hiring charge increase is too high, they may try to negotiate a fairer rent or hiring charge with the caravan or park owner. You can also do this yourself – see the information on this page about how to negotiate with the caravan or park owner.

Even if the inspector’s report says the increase is not too high, you can still negotiate directly with the caravan or park owner, and you can still apply to VCAT to argue that it is. However, it will be more difficult to succeed at VCAT if this report says the increase is not too high.

It is worth trying to negotiate with the caravan or park owner about the rent or hiring charge increase.

If you have a Consumer Affairs Victoria rent assessment report that says the increase is too high, or you have a report from a real estate agent about rents in the area, or have done your own research, you can also use this to try to negotiate. If you do come to an agreement, put it in writing, make sure you both sign it and keep a copy.

If the caravan or park owner will not agree to reduce the amount of the increase, you can apply to VCAT for an order that the increase not be allowed. You must attach a copy of your Consumer Affairs Victoria report, if you have one. See the information on this page about how to apply to VCAT if the rent increase is not valid or too high.

When deciding whether a rent increase notice is legally valid, VCAT will check:

• If the notice was in the correct form
• If it was given to you the right way
• If it gave you at least 90 days notice before the rent increase takes effect
• Whether the notice correctly states the amount of rent you currently pay and accurately states the increased amount

If you do not have a Consumer Affairs Victoria rent assessment report, or you did not request one on time, VCAT will first decide whether you had a reasonable excuse and whether it has the power to hear your application in the circumstances.

Since VCAT might not accept your reasons, or consider it has power to hear the application, this could mean your rent goes up under a legally valid notice. Therefore, we strongly recommended you request the report and do so on time – even if you are negotiating.

When looking at whether the rent increase is too high, VCAT will consider:

• If the proposed increase would make your rent more than it is for similar caravans in the area
• Comparable residential caravans with similar construction, size, rooms and facilities
• The state of repair of the caravan
• What costs and charges you pay and what the caravan or park owner pays for things such as electricity and other utilities
• Any facilities or services that you provide, rather than the caravan or park owner
• Any change in the rent and condition of the property or facilities since the start of your residency or site agreement and since the last rent increase
• The number of rent increases (if any) in the last 24 months and the amount of each of those increases
• Whether any works or modifications you carried out with the caravan or park owner’s consent should be included or excluded when considering if the proposed rent increase is justified

Even if the CAV report says that the increase is not excessive, you can still do your own research, including indicators such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and present this to VCAT to show the increase is excessive.

To apply to VCAT, fill out VCAT’s general application form.

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 heading ‘What orders do you want VCAT to make?’, write:

• Section 452 in the box if you are challenging the validity of the notice
• Section 154 in the box if you are challenging the amount of the rent increase
• Section 157 in the box if you are challenging the amount of extra rent for visitors
• Section 158 in the box if you are challenging the amount of extra hiring charge for visitors

For section 154 applications, you should attach a copy of the Consumer Affairs Victoria rent assessment report, if you have one. If you do not have a rent assessment report, you should list the reasons why you were unable to obtain a rent assessment report. See the information on this page about what happens at the assessment. It lists the sorts of factors that you can include on your application form or use as evidence at the hearing where VCAT determines whether the proposed rent increase is excessive.

For more information, see our page on applying to VCAT.

If you are challenging a notice of rent increase because you think it is excessive, you must pay the increase, or 110% of your current rent (whichever is less), if the start date of the proposed increase has arrived, even if you are going to challenge it. This is a requirement of Victoria’s rental laws.

Tenants Victoria recommends that if you want to challenge a rent increase because you think it is legally invalid (does not meet the rules), you pay the increase or 110% of your current rent (whichever is less), if the start date of the proposed increase has arrived.

If you do not pay the proposed increase, and VCAT later decides that the increase is valid and/or not too high, you may end up being overdue in your rent payments (in ‘rent arrears’), which can lead to a ‘notice to vacate’. See our pages on overdue rent and notices to vacate and eviction.

If you are thinking about ending your residency agreement because you cannot afford the increase, see our page on ending or breaking your lease. You can also consider Tenants Victoria’s free financial counselling service.

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. If you need advice or support, this page has information on how you can get help.

At the hearing:

• If VCAT finds the notice is invalid, it will order that the rent or hiring charge increase cannot go ahead, and the caravan or park owner will need to issue a new notice to restart the process
• If you have already paid extra rent or hiring charges under an invalid notice, VCAT may also order a refund of any overpaid amount
• If VCAT finds the notice is valid, and you are also challenging the increase as excessive, VCAT will then decide whether the amount of the increase is excessive or not
• If VCAT decides the rent increase is excessive and sets the rent to a lower amount or refuses to allow the increase, make sure you ask VCAT to order the caravan or park owner to refund any rent or hiring charge that you have overpaid
• If VCAT decides that the amount of the rent or hiring charge increase is fair, and you want to stay at the site or caravan, the amount of increased rent or hiring charge will continue to apply

If you need support to respond to a rent increase, help is available.

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

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 rent increases in caravan parks. Click on a link to see more about the section. Note: Depending on whether your residency agreement was signed before 2021 (or before 2019), certain sections may not apply.

• Section 144AA – Prohibited terms – general
• Section 152 – Required notice for rent or hiring charge increases
• Section 153 – Resident may complain to Director about excessive rent or hiring charge
• Section 154 – Application to Tribunal about excessive rent or hiring charge
• Section 155 – What can VCAT order?
• Section 156 – Payment of increased rent or hiring charge pending Tribunal decision
• Section 157 – Additional rent for visitors
• Section 158 – Additional hiring charges for visitors
• Section 183 – Statement of scale of certain charges, fees and commissions
• Section 452 – General applications to the Tribunal
• Section 555 – Certain penalties prohibited
• Section 506 – Service of documents

The Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021 provide more detail and definitions, and specify updates to the Residential Tenancies Act.