Applying for a rental property

Set a budget before you start looking for a property to rent. Include all the set-up costs including:

• Bond
• First rent payment
• Moving expenses
• Putting the bills in your name, such as gas, electricity, phone and internet
• Furniture and household goods

Also set up a budget for ongoing costs like rent, bills, travel costs from your new home to work, school or university, and ideally home contents or renters’ contents insurance to make sure your belongings are protected. The landlord’s insurance will not cover your personal belongings if something happens at the property.

If possible, your rent should not be more than 25% of the total income.

Check if you are eligible for financial assistance, such as:

• Rent Assistance, a regular extra payment if you get certain payments from Centrelink and pay rent
• The Victorian Government’s Housing Establishment Fund, which assists eligible clients of the Transitional Housing Management and Homelessness Support program agencies for overnight or private rental accommodation, and for relocation and establishing housing
• RentAssist interest-free bond loans from the Victorian Government

Note that on this page sections in brackets, such as [section 30F], refer to sections in Victoria’s Residential Tenancies Act 1997. See the Resources section at the end of this page for links to the laws.

Rental auctions and bids banned

It is against the law and an offence for a landlord or agent to hold rental auctions or to encourage or invite renters to make bids (offers to pay more rent than the advertised amount) [section 30F]. This offence applies to properties for rent from 29 March 2021.

Landlords and agents cannot accept bids for a rental property. They also cannot ask, encourage or invite an offer to pay more than one month’s rent in advance [section 40], unless the rent for the property is more than $900 per week. It is also an offence for a landlord or agent to accept an unsolicited or uninvited offer to pay more than one month’s rent in advance.

If a landlord or agent is advertising or offering a property for rent, the rent must be a fixed amount. It cannot be a price range [section 30F].

We recommend you keep a copy of the rental property advertisement, including the rent amount, when you apply. This can be useful if the landlord or agent breaches this rule, or if the advertisement is republished to try to get around these rules.

False or misleading advertising banned

It is also an offence for a landlord or agent, to make false or misleading representations about the rent [section 30G].

You can report offences to Consumer Affairs Victoria, which can issue a fine on the landlord or agent if they failed to follow the law.

Minimum standards must be met

It is an offence for a landlord or agent to advertise or offer a property for rent if the minimum standards have not been met [section 65B].

Arranging an inspection

Most agents or landlords set times for when a rental property can be inspected. You may need to pre-book a time with them. This may even be required for ‘open inspections’, where you may be inspecting the property at the same time as others. We recommend you check to see if you need to pre-book a time before attending an inspection.

Be aware that the agent or landlord will be looking at the people who come through the door, so you should try to make a good impression in case you decide to apply for the property.

Inspecting a rental property

Check the property thoroughly, both inside and outside. Make sure that you are happy with the property before you put in an application or pay any money.

If you negotiate anything with the landlord or agent about the property at the time you inspect it – for example, that you will apply for the property if an air-conditioner is installed – make sure you get this in writing. Also make sure this is included in the additional terms of the lease (officially called the rental agreement), along with any other relevant details, such as when and where it will be installed and the energy efficiency rating.

Before you sign a lease or pay any money, see our pages Before you sign and Starting a tenancy.

Minimum standards

There are minimum standards that must be met for properties being offered for rent from 29 March 2021 [section 65A]. For a full list, see our page on minimum standards.

It is an offence for a landlord or agent to advertise or offer a property for rent if the minimum standards have not been met [section 65B].

You must be told whether or not the property meets these standards before you are asked to sign lease [section 30D]. See our page Before you sign.

It is also an offence for a property not to meet the minimum standards on or before the day you are due to move in. This applies to leases starting from 29 March 2021 [Section 65A].

You can report offences to Consumer Affairs Victoria, which can issue a fine to the landlord or agent if they failed to follow the law.

If you have concerns after visiting an inspection or seeing a property advertised online, you can report issues to Consumer Affairs Victoria using an anonymous online form that takes about 5 minutes to complete.

You can report issues relating to:

• Images or descriptions used to advertise a rental property that may be misleading
• A currently advertised property that does not meet the minimum standards

If you are already renting and want to raise an issue with the condition of the property, such as a repair, you need to use a different form – the Consumer Affairs Victoria General enquiry form.

After you have inspected the property, you may want to apply to rent it.

Things you cannot be asked

There are some things a landlord or their agent is not allowed to ask you when you apply for a rental property. These are:

• If you have previously been involved in legal action or a dispute with a landlord or agent, such as going to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)
• Questions about your bond history, including whether a claim has ever been made against your bond
• Credit card or bank statements that show your daily transactions
• Any information about you that could be discriminatory under section 6 of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010, unless you have been given written reason why the information is required [section 30C]

If you are asked any of these things, you can report the landlord or agent to Consumer Affairs Victoria, which can issue a fine on the landlord or agent if they have failed to follow the law.

How your information can be used

The landlord or agent can only use your personal information to assess your suitability as a renter or for a legitimate reason under the Residential Tenancies Act. They cannot use your personal information for any other reason. For example, they cannot sell your contact details or use your contact details to send you promotional material [section 30B].

If the landlord or agent uses your information for any other reason, you can report them to Consumer Affairs Victoria, which can issue a fine on the landlord or agent if they have failed to follow the law.

The landlord or agent must protect your personal information from being misused, lost or disclosed [section 505BB]. They cannot give it to anyone who is not authorised to use it. It is an offence to disclose your information without your consent.

They must also follow rules around how they use information you provide in your application or lease [section 505BC]. 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 in writing 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 another law, or a court or tribunal order, requires them to do so.

Even then, your personal information can only be disclosed:

• If you consent, or
• If disclosure is required or allowed by law, including 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.

A landlord or agent may also disclose personal information to a court or tribunal if it is needed to run or respond to a legal case [section 505BD]. Depending on the type of information, other exceptions may also apply [section 505BE].

To learn more about use of your personal information, see our page on privacy while renting.

Discrimination

It is illegal for a landlord or agent to discriminate against you on the grounds of certain ‘protected’ personal characteristics when you are applying for, occupying or leaving a property [section 30A].

These personal characteristics, which are listed in the Equal Opportunity Act 2010, include:

• Age
• Disability, including physical, sensory or intellectual disability or mental illness
• Employment activity or industrial activity, including union activity
• Profession, trade or occupation
• Legal sexual activity or sexual orientation or erased homosexual conviction
• Gender identity or sex or intersex status
• Marital status
• Being a parent or carer or being pregnant or breastfeeding
• Race
• Religious beliefs or political beliefs or activity
• Any relationship or connection with anyone with the above characteristics

From 29 March 2021, any application form for a rental property must include a statement about unlawful discrimination, including examples of the protected personal characteristics [section 29C]. You can read this statement on the Consumer Affairs Victoria website.

Children

It is illegal for a landlord or agent to discriminate against renters with children.

However, the Residential Tenancies Act allows a landlord or agent to refuse to allow children to live in a rental property if:

• The landlord lives in the same property
• The property is unsuitable for children
• The government has provided the property exclusively for single people or childless couples [section 30]

Getting help

If you think that you have been discriminated against, you can lodge a complaint with the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission or by calling 1300 292 153.

You may also be able to apply to VCAT for compensation. See our page Claiming compensation.

For more information contact us, your local Tenancy Assistance and Advocacy Program (TAAP) service, Tenancy Plus provider, community legal centre or Victoria Legal Aid.

Landlords or agents may want to check your credit history. The law does not allow them to check consumer credit information, but it does allow access to public records. If a landlord or agent insists on doing a credit reference check, contact us for advice.

Renter databases

Many landlords and agents search renter databases when assessing rental applications. If this is part of their usual process, they need to give you a written notice that includes the names and contact details for any databases they could use [sections 439B and 439C].

If a listing is found, the landlord or agent has 7 days to give you a written notice that states:

• The name of the database
• That the database has personal information about you
• The name of each person who listed the information (if available)
• How the listing can be removed or corrected [section 439D]

For more information, see our page on renter databases or ‘blacklists’.

Rental provider databases

Consumer Affairs Victoria has a rental provider database called the ‘Rental non-compliance register’. You can search this register to see if a landlord or agent has been:

• Given a compliance or compensation order by VCAT because they have breached a duty under the Residential Tenancies Act
• Convicted of an offence under the Residential Tenancies Act [section 439P]

For more information, see our page on the rental provider database.

Listings stay on the database for 3 years.

If the landlord or agent agrees to rent you the property, you may be offered a lease to sign. This is a legal contract – read it carefully and make sure that you are happy with it before you sign.

For more information on what should or should not be in a lease, see our pages Rental agreements (leases) and Before you sign.

Some real estate agents offer a utility connection service to have utilities, such as gas, electricity, water and telephone, connected in your name.

Be careful about signing any agreements about utilities. Check the terms and conditions and any additional fees that may apply. There is no obligation for you to use this service and you may end up with a better deal if you shop around and arrange for the utility connections yourself.

Landlords or agents cannot put a term in your lease that makes you use a third-party service provider, other than a provider of an embedded network, such as a joint supplier of energy to all the apartments in a development. This means they cannot put a term in the agreement that makes you use a utility connection service or a specific energy company [section 27B]. For more information, see our page Utility charges.

Before you sign
Minimum standards
Claiming compensation
Renter databases or ‘blacklists’
Rental provider database
Rental agreements (leases)