Victoria's new renter rules start today: what landlords must do

New Victorian rental rules take effect today, 13 October 2026. For landlords, agents and build-to-rent (BTR) operators the changes are mostly about evidence, paperwork and maintenance scheduling rather than a new line item on the rent roll.

Why it matters

Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) lists seven changes from today. Four carry real operating consequences for anyone holding rental stock.

First, bond claims. A provider who intends to claim a bond at the end of a tenancy must notify the renter in advance and supply evidence. The CAV page does not say how many days’ notice is required, so operators should treat the process, not a number, as the compliance test. Condition reports and dated photos become the working record.

Second, fees. Providers and agents may no longer charge renters a fee for a rental application or for rent payments. That builds on the ban on third-party businesses, such as online rental platforms, charging those fees from 31 March 2026. Operators who recovered screening costs from applicants now carry them.

Third, safety checks. Gas and electrical checks by a qualified tradesperson are required every two years for all rentals. CAV says this has applied to agreements entered since March 2021 and now extends to every rental, including older leases. Gas checks apply only where a property has gas appliances, fixtures or fittings. If no check was done in the two years before a renter moves in, the provider must arrange one as soon as possible. A renter on a pre-2021 lease can ask in writing for the date of the last check.

Fourth, records. Providers or their agents must keep records showing a property met the minimum rental standards before it was advertised, offered or occupied, and hand them to CAV on request. Rooming house operators carry a matching duty for rooming house standards.

The numbers

• Safety check cycle: every two years, per property, for gas (where present) and electrical.
• Draughtproofing: a licensed or registered gasfitter must complete a gas safety check within 6 months before work starts, where the property has gas.
• Fines to date: the Premier’s release says the Renting Taskforce, now permanent, has issued more than $900,000 in fines to landlords and agents. That is a government figure.
• Penalties for the new rules: neither the Premier’s release nor the CAV page states amounts.

The cost effect depends on portfolio shape. A dispersed investor with older leases faces a one-off catch-up of checks across units that may never have been inspected on a two-year cycle. A BTR operator running new buildings with a single maintenance contractor can bundle electrical checks by floor and absorb the cycle into planned maintenance, though gas checks will matter only in buildings with gas supply. That comparison is our reading of the rules, not a CAV finding.

Minister for Renters Tim Richardson framed the package as “no surprise bond grabs, no fee to apply and a home that’s safe to live in.”

What’s next

CAV says new minimum energy efficiency standards for heating, cooling, hot water, showerheads, ceiling insulation and draughtproofing begin phasing in from 1 March 2027, each with different triggers. For operators with older stock, that is the larger capital question, and the CAV page does not give a per-property cost.

Further changes follow on 1 June 2027. Refusing a renter who elects to pay their bond directly to the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority becomes an offence, a cap on lease break fees is introduced, and rules on additional keys and fobs apply.

The practical to-do list this week: confirm the date of the last gas and electrical check on every unit, set up a bond-claim evidence file, remove any application or payment fees from agent agreements, and ask agents how they are keeping minimum-standards records. See more on the state’s market in Melbourne.