MORE than 2000 Victorian landlords, now known as “rental providers”, logged onto YouTube last night to watch Ray White’s property management specialists unpack the rental reforms in detail which come into effect soon.
Minimum standards for every facet of a rental property and agreement have now been set in stone by the Victorian state government for all residential rentals. The new laws come into effect on March 29 and cover everything from rent increases and evictions to the definition of urgent and non-urgent repairs.
If you want to watch our Victorian Rental Reforms Information Webinar, you can watch the recording here.
Renters - previously known as tenants - will also be allowed to make minor modifications to their homes without permission from their rental provider. Ray White has now upskilled and trained almost every single one of its 500 property managers across its network of 106 Victorian offices who manage 49,000 properties for their customers.
Ray White Property Management CEO Emily Sim said the leading agency takes its training seriously. “Almost all of our property managers have undertaken our in-house training program and we’ll be at 100 per cent by March 29. We’ve put our members and our owners in the best position ahead of these changes that come into effect soon. We are confident that our team of 500 highly skilled property managers around Victoria are ready to support all our customers, both renters and rental providers,” she said.
Ray White Victoria and Tasmania CEO Stephen Dullens said the current legislation, under which the state’s managed properties now operate, has served the industry well for the past 20 years. “The new legislation allows rental laws to keep up with the modern changes of our society. As our population grows, the need for rental properties also increases,” Mr Dullens said.
“We’ve known these new laws have been coming for the last two years and are ready to assist our customers as these changes come into effect.”
Ray White Victoria Property Management Executive Shaun Doyle said just one in 10 rental properties were expected to not meet the new minimum standards. The estimated average cost of rental properties that don’t currently meet minimum standards was $1,650 and some of those costs could even be reduced by accessing government rebates.
“So rental providers have a nine in 10 chance that your property already meets the minimum standards and you won’t need to upgrade anything,” he told the webinar.
“These prescribed rental minimum standards will be phased in and will only apply when a new residential rental agreement begins.”
Ms Sim said now was a good time for all rental providers to inspect their properties.
”If you haven’t inspected your investment property for more than a couple of years, before the next tenancy agreement would be a good time to chat to your property manager about the next available opportunity for you to join in on a routine inspection,” she said.
Also, under the new laws, renters who wish to make “permitted modifications” such as the installation of picture hooks on walls, hardware-mounted toddler gates, or building a vegetable garden among other things - can do so at their own cost.
Unless the modifications were classed as a repair or needed to meet a safety standard then the owner will naturally pay. “There’ll also be a requirement to reverse the modifications when they vacate, or cover the cost of doing so, unless they make an agreement with their rental provider,” Mr Doyle said.
Other changes include the ability for renters to apply directly to the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority to claim all or part of their bond, the definition of urgent repairs and rental providers needing to organise gas and electrical safety checks of properties every two years, plus yearly inspections of smoke alarms.
More information can be obtained from the Consumer Affairs Victoria or by contacting your local Ray White property manager.
