Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) has unveiled its new regulations for residential tenancies revealing a number of changes to come into effect from 29 March.
CAV said the Department of Justice and Community Safety received more than 700 written submissions on the draft regulations which were open for comment and suggestion from the Victorian community.
“After reviewing and considering all submissions, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Melissa Horne has decided to incorporate a number of changes into the regulations,” CAV said.
It said the changes included compensation for sales inspections, with a minimum of $30 to be paid per inspection.
It also said prohibitions on requesting a passport from applicants, or about nationality status had been removed, and a prohibition had been added to stop people asking about protected attributes under the Equal Opportunity Act 2010.
“Information that a rental provider must disclose – additional requirements for disclosure have been included at the request of renters,” it said.
“The meaning of a ‘gas safety check’ and ‘electrical safety check’ has been defined to ensure that rental providers understand their safety maintenance obligations.”
CAV said a new minimum standard for ventilation had been developed and the energy efficiency (two star) heating rental minimum standard had been extended to Class Two rental properties (apartments).
The full list of new regulations for rental properties can be accessed on the Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021 which can be found at this PS News link.