Claiming compensation

Your community housing provider must maintain your home in good condition and make sure any repairs are done by qualified people.

You must tell your community housing provider as soon as possible and in writing if anything is damaged or needs to be repaired, especially if not fixing the problem could cause more damage. If you apply to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) to claim compensation, but did not give written notice about the problem to your community housing provider, it could affect your claim. Find out more about reporting damage on our page about repairs and maintenance.

If your community housing provider delays or doesn’t do repairs after you have reported a problem, you can claim compensation for your losses. Keep evidence of the problem and your costs to include in your claim.

Examples include:

• The cost of a portable heater you had to buy because the heater was broken, or the property didn’t meet heating minimum standards. See more on our page about minimum standards
• The cost of showering at your local gym because the hot-water system was broken
• The cost of eating out or reasonable delivery costs when you couldn’t cook at home because the stove was broken
• The cost of repairing or replacing belongings damaged or destroyed by a leaking roof
• The cost of dry-cleaning clothes soiled by mould caused by a leaking pipe
• Not getting full value for your rent because you couldn’t use your entire home, or an entire room, due to extensive mould that made it unsafe or because tradespeople were working in it
• The cost of staying somewhere else if the issues were serious enough that everyone agreed it wasn’t safe to stay at home until repairs were done
• A bigger water bill because of a faulty hot-water system
• A bigger electricity bill due to repairs being done, such as running heaters or fans to dry out carpets after a roof leak, or tradespeople using a lot of power tools

You can apply to RDRV any time, but it can be a good idea to wait until the repairs have been done. If your dispute goes to a formal VCAT hearing, VCAT will not always decide cases where the compensation is still adding up.

For more on responsibilities for maintenance, damage and wear and tear, see our page about the Consumer Affairs Victoria guidelines. These are official guidelines that set out how renters and rental providers (such as community housing providers) must follow the rental laws.

Your community housing provider must take all reasonable steps to ensure you have ‘quiet enjoyment’ of your home. This means living there without interference or disturbance from your community housing provider, or from things that are within its control to prevent.

If your quiet enjoyment is disturbed, you can claim compensation for that loss. Keep evidence of the problem and your costs to include in your claim.

Examples include:

• Your community housing provider didn’t follow the rental laws about entering your home, such as entering your home without proper notice or a proper reason under the law, or sending a tradesperson to work at your home without giving you notice or getting your consent. For more on when and how your community housing provider can enter your home, see our page about your privacy while renting
• You couldn’t enjoy your entire home because of repair issues, such as a roof leak not fixed, rooms being unsafe because repairs aren’t done, or tradespeople working in your home
• You couldn’t enjoy all or part of your home because it wasn’t reasonably clean or wasn’t vacant on the day you moved in
• In limited circumstances, you may claim compensation if your community housing provider does not control a nuisance within its control, such as not addressing issues with a neighbour who is also renting from your community housing provider. Note that Tenants Victoria does not advise on neighbour disputes

Your community housing provider must make sure:

• All external doors (except screen doors) have a lock that is operated by a key from the outside and can be opened without a key from the inside, unless a legal exception requires a different type of lock
• If your community housing provider changes a lock, you get a key to the new lock as soon as possible
• If you change the locks because of family or personal violence, your community housing provider does not give a copy of the new keys to someone who is no longer on the lease (officially called a rental agreement) or not allowed to enter the property because of an intervention order
• All external windows that are capable of opening can be set in an opened or closed position, and can be latched shut with or without a key

If your community housing provider doesn’t follow these rules, you may be able to claim compensation. Keep evidence of the problem and your costs to include in your claim.

Examples include:

• You couldn’t get into your home because your community housing provider changed the locks but didn’t give you a new key
• Your home was broken into and your belongings were damaged or stolen because there weren’t locks on all external doors and latches on all external windows

Faulty locks

Faulty locks are considered an urgent repair under the law. Report this to your community housing provider immediately.

Even though your community housing provider is at fault for not providing working locks, it might affect your claim for compensation if you don’t act quickly to protect yourself and your belongings.

Find out how to report urgent repairs on our page about repairs and maintenance.

If an appliance that uses or supplies water, electricity or gas needs to be replaced, your community housing provider must replace it with one that meets the minimum standard for efficiency.

If your community housing provider replaces an appliance such as a dishwasher, shower, toilet, tap, air conditioner or heater with one that performs below the minimum standard, you may get an unusually high water, electricity or gas bill.

You can claim compensation for your entire water, electricity or gas bill – whichever utility the substandard appliance uses – while you had to use the appliance. Keep evidence of the problem and your costs to include in your claim.

See the Australian Government websites about water rating and energy rating.

We also have more information on our page about utility charges.

Your community housing provider must make sure your home is reasonably clean on the day you are due to move in. If it is not, you don’t have to move in until it is reasonably clean. Your community housing provider should credit you for rent you have paid until the property is reasonably clean or until you move in. We generally recommend that you don’t refuse to move in over minor issues, such as dusty curtains or a dead cockroach.

If the property is not reasonably clean, you should let your community housing provider know immediately and in writing. You could say that if it is not cleaned within a certain time, you will apply to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) to get the community housing provider to clean it and pay you compensation for the delay. Or that you will clean it yourself and then apply to RDRV for compensation for your time, cleaning products and inconvenience.

Take before-and-after photos of any cleaning, log your time and activities, and keep receipts for any cleaning products or services you needed to clean the property.

If you disagree with your community housing provider about what ‘reasonably clean’ means, see our page on the Consumer Affairs Victoria guidelines. These are official guidelines that set out how renters and rental providers (such as community housing providers) must follow the rental laws. They include guidance on what ‘reasonably clean’ means.

Your community housing provider must make sure your home is vacant on the day you are due to move in.

If someone else is still living there, or someone’s belongings have been left there, you can ask for the situation to be fixed and claim compensation. Keep evidence of the problem and your costs to include in your claim.

Examples include:

• Any rent you paid until the property was vacant and you could move in
• The reasonable cost of staying somewhere else until the property became vacant
• Any reduced use of your home because someone’s belongings were stored there. This is also loss of quiet enjoyment of your home – see more on this page about loss of quiet enjoyment

You can claim compensation from your community housing provider if it:

• Takes or wrongfully disposes of your belongings. See more on our page about goods left behind
• Does not do what it promised in the lease (officially called a rental agreement) or in a separate agreement with you, such as providing gardening services or a parking space, or installing a phone or internet connection or a heater or air conditioner
• Damages your belongings during a visit to your home. Or someone your community housing provider allows into your home damages your belongings
• Charges you an excessive or incorrect service fee. Find out more about service fees on our page on utility charges
• Reduces or takes away services, facilities or other items in your home, such as removing a washing machine that came with the property or closing a communal laundry. If this happens, you can also apply for a rent reduction. See more on this page about rent reductions
• Increases the rent unlawfully. Find out more on our page about rent increases
• Refuses to return overpaid rent. For how much rent you can be asked to pay in advance, see our page about starting a tenancy
• Discriminates against you. See more on our page about discrimination
• Does not give you keys or entry fobs for the property, or enough for all renters on the lease

This is not a full list and compensation decisions may vary depending on the exact situation. If you want advice on claiming compensation, this page says where you can get help.

Rent reductions

If your community housing provider refuses to drop your rent after reducing or removing services or facilities previously provided as part of your lease, such as removing a washing machine that came with the property, you can apply to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) for a rent reduction.

The first step is to ask Consumer Affairs Victoria to assess whether you should be given a rent reduction. Use the Consumer Affairs Victoria online form: Request for rental assessment.

If the Consumer Affairs Victoria rent assessment report says you should get a rent reduction, but your community housing provider still refuses, you can apply to RDRV for your rent to be reduced. You should apply to RDRV within 30 days of receiving the report from Consumer Affairs Victoria.

If you don’t think a rent reduction will fix the issue, you may prefer to seek compensation and a ‘restraining order’, which is an order from VCAT that tells someone they must do something, or stop doing something. VCAT may make a restraining order requiring your community housing provider to reinstate the services or facilities it has withdrawn. If you want to apply for a restraining order, Tenants Victoria and other organisations can help. See the information on this page about getting help.

In exceptional circumstances, and if you and your community housing provider cannot reach an agreement at Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV), VCAT may order your community housing provider to pay compensation for distress or disappointment, not just for inconvenience. This is different from personal injury and applies to issues relating to your home that affect your state of mind. For example, the distress caused by having a back door off its hinges for several weeks after you reported the issue.

If you want to find out if you can claim compensation for distress or disappointment, this page says where you can get help.

You can calculate your claim for the loss of quiet enjoyment using this equation.

A x B x C = amount of compensation for the loss of enjoyment or use of your home

Where:

A = the total number of days without the enjoyment or use of your home

B = your daily rent

C = percentage estimate of loss

Once you have calculated this amount, you can add amounts for any other losses and inconveniences, such as having to buy a portable heater because the heater at your home wasn’t fixed.

Daily rent

To work out your daily rent, multiply your monthly rent by 12 then divide that figure by 365 to get the daily amount. You can also work out your daily rent using the Consumer Affairs Victoria rent calculator.

If you pay ‘rebated rent’, which means your rent is based on your income and may change over the year, you will need to calculate how much rent you paid during the time you experienced the loss. Compensation claims are generally based on your actual loss.

You can make a written request to your community housing provider for your ‘rental ledger’, which is a record of the amount of rent you have paid and when you paid it.

Percentage estimate of loss

This can be the most difficult part of the claim to work out. You may need to explain why the percentage you have decided on is reasonable for the loss you have suffered.

For example, if you are renting a 2-bedroom home and couldn’t use one of the bedrooms because of a leaking roof, but all the other parts of the house were okay, claiming a loss of 85% of your daily rent for the time you were affected would be unreasonable as you didn’t lose the use of 85% of your home.

However, if you couldn’t use both bedrooms and had to move furniture from those rooms into other rooms and sleep in the lounge, claiming 85% may be reasonable.

If you are unsure, it is better to claim a higher amount. If the dispute goes to a formal VCAT hearing, VCAT can reduce your claim but will not increase it if it is too low. Always make sure your claim is reasonable, and that you can justify the amount you are seeking.

If you pay rebated rent, your compensation may be lower than if you pay ‘market rent’, which is the amount you would pay if you were renting from a private landlord. While compensation is generally based on your actual loss, in some cases you may wish to seek additional compensation to reflect the inconvenience you have experienced.

To show how you calculated your claim, it can help to put your losses and the actions you took into a table. You can download tables for the examples listed here.

Also collect evidence, such as receipts, photos and videos, as well as phone call records and any emails, letters, texts and notices sent to your community housing provider about the issue. Make copies of these and keep them safe as you will need them if you apply to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) to resolve the dispute.

Example: A broken heater

Your heater broke down in winter. You repeatedly asked your community housing provider to fix it, but that took 2 months. You had another heater, but it was expensive to run so you only used it to heat your living room, where you could close the doors to keep the heat in, and used electric blankets in the bedrooms.

By not fixing the heater for 2 months, your community housing provider has failed to keep your home in good repair and to ensure you have quiet enjoyment of your home. You can claim compensation for this.

Download the example table: Compensation claim for broken heater [Word].

Example: Claiming for multiple issues

If you suffered loss or inconvenience because of multiple issues, you can claim compensation for them all at the same time.

Download the example table: Compensation claim for multiple issues [Word].

Compensation claim template

You can use our table template to record the details of your compensation claim.

Download the table template: Calculating your compensation claim [Word].

If you are still living at the property and want compensation because your community housing provider breached its duty under the rental laws (for example, failed to repair something), you should give it an official notice of breach of duty.

You can download the notice from the Consumer Affairs Victoria website: Notice of breach of duty to rental provider of rented premises.

For more on your community housing provider’s duties, see our page about community housing.

If you are unsure whether your community housing provider has breached its duty, this page says where you can get help.

How to complete the notice of breach of duty

The notice of breach of duty outlines the compensation you want from your community housing provider and says it must not commit a similar breach again. It also tells your community housing provider that if it does not comply, you may go to VCAT.

When filling out the notice, you must include:

• The address of your rented home
• The names of all the renters on the lease (officially called a rental agreement)
• Your community housing provider’s contact details
• The reason for the notice
• How and when you will deliver the notice

The reason for the notice

In part 4 of the notice, you must include:

• Why you believe your community housing provider has breached its duty: The ‘Information for the renter’ section at the end of the form has a list of common reasons for giving the notice. If any of these apply to your situation, you can copy and paste them into section 4 and then add more detail, including dates. You can claim for multiple breaches on one form. If there isn’t enough space, write ‘see attached’ and provide the information in a separate document
• The loss or damage caused by the breach: Include details of the loss, damage and inconvenience you suffered because of your community housing provider’s breach of duty. Give as much detail as possible
• What you want your community housing provider to do: You can ask your community housing provider to fix the problem and/or pay you compensation. If you want it to fix the problem, say what you want it to do, such as fix a leaking roof. If you want compensation, say how much. Also select the timeframe for these things to be done – 7 days for breaches of quiet enjoyment or 14 days for all other breaches
• What evidence, if any, you will send with the notice: Mark the box to indicate whether or not you are attaching documents to the notice. If you are attaching documents, list what you are attaching

Download an example of the ‘Reason for notice’ section of a notice of breach of duty: Example of ‘reason for notice’ [PDF].

If you are still living at the property and want compensation from your community housing provider for something that is not a breach of its duty under the rental laws, you do not need to give a notice of breach of duty. For example, if your community housing provider doesn’t provide gardening, when it said it would in your lease (officially called a rental agreement), you do not need to give a breach of duty notice.

If you are claiming compensation after you have moved out, you do not need to give your community housing provider a notice of breach of duty, even if your claim is about it breaching its duty while you were living at the property.

In both cases, you should let the community housing provider know in a letter or email why you want compensation and the amount you want, and that you will apply to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) if it does not pay you within a timeframe you think is reasonable.

If you are unsure whether your community housing provider has breached its duty, this page says where you can get help.

As soon as possible, give a copy of your notice of breach of duty or letter and copies of any evidence you have to your community housing provider. In the law, this is called ‘service’.

You can give (serve) your community housing provider the notice or letter and evidence by:

• Delivering it in person. Be sure to keep a note of the date, time and name of the person you handed it to
• Sending it by post. We recommend registered post so you can prove your community housing provider received it. Keep your receipt and tracking number
• Emailing it to your community housing provider. We recommend calling the office and confirming the email has been received

Make sure you keep your own copies safe in case you need to show Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) or VCAT that you gave your community housing provider written notice of the issue.

As part of your community housing provider’s registration with the Victorian Housing Registrar, it should seek to resolve issues and pay reasonable compensation claims without you needing to go to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) or VCAT.

If your community housing provider pays the compensation you have asked for, you don’t need to take any further action.

If your community housing provider wants to negotiate, we recommend you apply to RDRV. This gives you the benefit of negotiating with an independent mediator present. You can also get your agreement formalised as a VCAT order so it is enforceable. For more about the process of going through RDRV and what to do if you reach an agreement, see our page about going to RDRV (Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria).

Community housing providers and settlement agreements

If your community housing provider offers you compensation, it may ask you to sign a ‘settlement agreement’ (sometimes called a ‘deed of release’). This means you agree that the issue is settled, and you cannot take any further legal action about it. The issue could just be related to your application for compensation, such as for delayed repairs, or it could be broader, including distress or injury.

Your community housing provider may also include a condition that you cannot talk to anyone about the issue or the amount of compensation you received. This is called a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

It is very important to get legal advice before signing any settlement agreement, especially if it includes:

• Things outside of your original compensation claim
• A condition that stops you from speaking about it (non-disclosure agreement)

For example, if you asked for damaged floorboards to be repaired, then later were injured because you fell through them, your community housing provider might offer you $7500 to settle your claim for compensation for not fixing the floorboards and your claim for compensation for the injury. Your community housing provider may also require you not to tell anyone about the incident or the payment, unless legally required.

If you want to accept the money but don’t want to be stopped from sharing your story, you should get legal advice from a lawyer before agreeing.

This page has information on how to get help.

If your community housing provider does not pay you within the timeframe in your notice or letter, you can apply to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) to resolve the dispute.

Find out more about what to do if your community housing provider does not agree to pay you compensation.

You can apply to RDRV online using myRDRV, or you can submit your application by email, by post or in person at an RDRV office.

Once you have applied, you should give your community housing provider a copy of your application and any documents or evidence you attached to it.

An RDRV resolution coordinator will review your application and contact you to discuss your options. They may also contact your community housing provider to understand its side of the dispute.

If the resolution coordinator decides the dispute should progress through RDRV, they will explain the next steps to you. They will also let you know if you need to provide further documents or evidence.

For more on applying to RDRV, see our page about going to RDRV (Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria).

It is important to organise your documents and evidence before discussions with your community housing provider at Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV).

You may have already attached some documentation to your application. Or you may have applied to RDRV with just your details and some basic information about what happened. The resolution coordinator will let you know if you need to provide further documents or evidence. Your community housing provider may also ask you to provide evidence during the RDRV session, and you can ask the community housing provider to do the same.

The more clearly organised your documents are, the easier and more efficient your negotiations will be, and the more likely the dispute will be resolved.

Your documents and evidence may include:

• Evidence of the problem – for example, if the claim relates to repairs, include photos or a video of what needed to be repaired as it might help to show how you were affected
• Details about contact you had with your community housing provider about the problem, such as emails, texts and phone calls
• Details about whether the problem was fixed and when it was fixed
• A copy of the notice of breach of duty you gave your community housing provider, or other correspondence you sent it asking for compensation
• Receipts for your expenses and quotes for future expenses
• The table you used to calculate your claim, if you used one. See the claim calculation examples and tables on this page
• Any other evidence you may have to support your claim

You can copy, scan or take photos, but make sure everything is clear enough to read.

For more on providing documents and evidence at RDRV, see our page about going to RDRV (Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria).

After the resolution coordinator has spoken separately with you and your community housing provider, they may organise a facilitated discussion through Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV), where you can both try to negotiate an agreement.

The facilitated discussion usually takes place by phone, videoconference or email. The resolution coordinator may bring you and your community housing provider together to talk, or they may act as a go-between, passing on claims, offers and options so you don’t need to speak to each other directly.

If the resolution coordinator believes a more structured, face-to-face meeting might be the best option to resolve the dispute, they may invite you both to a formal mediation session.

Because the resolution coordinator cannot give legal advice, it is important that you understand your legal rights before going into a discussion or mediation session at RDRV. You can also organise for a lawyer or advocate to represent you. Find out more on this page about getting help.

If you reach an agreement at RDRV

If you and your community housing provider reach an agreement at RDRV, you should put it in writing to make sure everyone follows through on their commitments.

You can ask for your written agreement to be formalised in a consent order issued by VCAT, which is a legal document to confirm an agreement between parties. Or you can write a private settlement agreement, which is a contract between yourselves.

For more on what to do if you reach an agreement, and tips for drafting agreements, see our page about going to RDRV (Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria).

If you do not reach an agreement at RDRV

You do not have to reach agreement at RDRV. If you and your community housing provider cannot resolve all the issues through RDRV, or if either side does not wish to continue with RDRV, you can ask the resolution coordinator to refer the dispute to VCAT for a formal hearing.

VCAT will let you know the time, date and location of the hearing. The hearing may take place in person, by phone (teleconference) or by videoconference.

Hearings about compensation claims are usually held within 4 weeks of you applying to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV).

If you need to change the date or format of the hearing

If you cannot attend the hearing, you may be able to change the date. Call VCAT on 1300 018 228 or use VCAT’s application form to change a hearing date.

If you want to request a different format for the hearing – for example, if the hearing is going to be by video but you would prefer to attend by phone – you can call VCAT on 1300 018 228 or email renting@courts.vic.gov.au.

You can also let the resolution coordinator know about any dates you are unavailable or your preferred format for the hearing, or you can note these in your RDRV application. However, it will always be up to VCAT to approve these requests.

If you and your community housing provider tried to resolve the dispute at Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) before going to VCAT, anything that was said or done at RDRV cannot be used as evidence at VCAT unless everyone agrees in writing. For example, if you admit during an RDRV discussion that the amount you are asking for may be too high, or if the community housing provider admits that it caused a problem, these statements cannot be used as evidence at VCAT.

If you submitted documents, photos or videos as part of your evidence for RDRV, you will not need to submit these again to VCAT. However, you may need to provide further documents or evidence for the hearing.

Before the hearing, you should make sure the community housing provider and VCAT have a copy of any documents or evidence you will use at the hearing. In some situations, the resolution coordinator may help to ensure your documents are ready for the hearing. See more on this page about the types of documents and evidence you might use to support your claim. The VCAT website also has tips on preparing evidence.

The community housing provider must also make sure you have a copy of any documents or evidence it will use at the hearing. If it presents evidence at the hearing that you have not seen, you can ask VCAT to reschedule (adjourn) the hearing so you have time to look at the new evidence. While it may not always be necessary to adjourn the hearing, it can be helpful in more complex disputes.

To prepare for the hearing, get all your evidence together and make a few brief notes outlining what you want to say. Being organised is the key to presenting a good case. For more information on getting ready, see our page about going to VCAT.

Protecting your personal information

In some circumstances, it may be necessary to share personal information relating to issues like trauma, family violence or your mental or physical health, or that of another household member. If this applies to you, you can raise this with VCAT and ask that the information be restricted under the Open Courts Act 2013. This usually means that your personal information will be anonymous and not made public. It will be up to VCAT to decide if this is appropriate.

If you have any concerns about providing personal information to VCAT after going through RDRV, raise them with the resolution coordinator.

At the hearing, you will need to show VCAT that you suffered loss, damage or significant inconvenience because your community housing provider broke the law or the terms in your lease (officially called a rental agreement).

VCAT will look at:

• The severity of the problem and your losses
• Who is responsible for the problem
• What you did to stop things from getting worse
• What you did to minimise your losses, such as how and when you reported that repairs were needed
• How soon you raised the problem with your community housing provider after it happened
• What your community housing provider did to fix things and how quickly it took action
• Whether the costs you are claiming are too high or unnecessary
• Whether any damaged or lost belongings you are claiming for were old or already worn out, meaning their value had decreased
• Whether you are claiming a reasonable amount for something that is difficult to put a dollar value on, like sentimental items or personal documents
• Whether your community housing provider has already given you money or any other form of compensation to resolve the issue
• Whether you refused any fair offers from your community housing provider to resolve the issue before the VCAT hearing
• The Consumer Affairs Victoria guidelines on maintenance, cleanliness, damage and fair wear and tear. These are official guidelines that set out how renters and rental providers (such as community housing providers) must follow the rental laws. See our page on the Consumer Affairs Victoria guidelines

This is not a full list. VCAT may consider different things depending on the situation.

VCAT usually makes a decision, called an order, on the day of the hearing. At VCAT the person who hears and decides on the case is called a member. The member will give the order verbally on the day and in writing either on the day or soon afterwards. If you don’t understand the order on the day, ask the member to explain it to you again.

If VCAT decides your community housing provider has broken the law or the terms in your lease (officially called a rental agreement) and should pay you compensation, the order will say the amount.

If VCAT decides your community housing provider has not broken the law or the terms in your lease, you will not receive compensation from your community housing provider, and VCAT will usually ‘dismiss’ the application.

From 29 March 2021, rental providers (such as your community housing provider) may be listed on a Consumer Affairs Victoria database called the ‘rental non-compliance register’ if they:

• Are ordered by VCAT to fix a breach, pay compensation or not commit a breach again, or
• Commit an offence under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997

View Consumer Affairs Victoria’s rental non-compliance register.

You can also find out more on our page about the rental provider database.

If you need support claiming compensation from your community housing provider, help is available.

There are step-by-step guides and other resources to assist you with claiming compensation.

The Residential Tenancies Act 1997 is Victoria’s main law for renting. It describes the rights and duties of renters and rental providers (such as community housing providers) in numbered sections.

The sections in this list relate to claiming compensation from your community housing provider. Click on a link to see the section in the Act.

• Section 26 – Rental agreements to be in standard form
• Section 30A – Discrimination
• Section 30E – Misleading and deceptive conduct inducing a person to enter a rental agreement
• Section 39 – Accrual of rent
• Section 44 – Rent increases
• Section 46 – Application to VCAT about excessive rent
• Section 49 – Renter’s goods cannot be taken for rent
• Section 50 – Applications and holding deposits
• Section 53 – Rental provider’s liability for utility charges
• Section 62 – Renter must notify rental provider of damage
• Section 65 – Vacant and clean
• Section 65A – Rental minimum standards
• Section 67 – Quiet enjoyment
• Section 68 – Repairs
• Section 68A – Safety-related repairs and maintenance
• Section 68B – Rental provider must keep and produce records of gas and electrical safety checks
• Section 69 – Replacement appliance must meet efficiency ratings
• Section 70 – Locks and keys
• Section 70A – Locks for a property the subject of an intervention order
• Section 70B – Locks for a property where a termination or creation order has been made
• Section 72 – Urgent repairs
• Section 72AA – Renter must report damage and breakdown of facilities to rental provider
• Section 90 – What if damage is caused during entry?
• Section 91P – Offence to obtain possession etc. of premises
• Section 208 – Breach of duty notice
• Section 209 – Application for compensation or compliance order for breach of duty
• Section 209AA – Application for compensation or compliance order for breach of prescribed standard form rental agreement
• Section 209AAB – Application for compensation for cost of urgent repairs
• Section 210 – Application to VCAT for compensation on other grounds
• Section 210AA – Application to VCAT for compensation order for discrimination
• Section 211 – Matters which may be considered by VCAT
• Section 212 – Order of VCAT
• Section 392 – Renter may request proceeds of sale of goods
• Section 396 – What if goods or documents are disposed of in contravention of the RTA?
• Section 397 – What if goods or documents are wrongfully retained?
• Section 398 – What if goods or documents are damaged or lost?
• Section 439P – Rental Non-compliance Register
• Section 447 – Limits of jurisdiction of VCAT
• Section 452 – General applications to VCAT
• Section 472 – General power of VCAT to make determinations

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

The Limitation of Actions Act 1958 also applies to claiming compensation in community housing: Section 5 – Contracts and torts.

Your community housing provider’s policies

Your community housing provider also has policies (rules) that set out its obligations to assess issues and communicate respectfully with you to try to resolve them. It must follow these policies.

Check your community housing provider’s website for its policies. You may want to search on its website for information about:

• Maintenance
• Service charters
• Appeals
• Complaints

If you cannot find the policy you want, make a written request to your community housing provider for a copy of it.

If you wish to make a complaint about your community housing provider, see more on this page about complaints.