Tenancy

The Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic) (‘RT Act’) sets out the rights and duties of:

• residential renters (renters) and rental providers (landlords);
• caravan park residents and caravan park owners;
• rooming house residents and rooming house owners;
• site tenants and site owners; and
• specialist disability accommodation residents and specialist disability accommodation providers. This chapter focuses on the law relating to renters and rental providers. There is also information about the rights and obligations of site tenants, and of residents of rooming houses, caravan parks and specialist disability accommodation – these are quite different from those of renters.

Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2018 The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2018 (Vic) (‘RTA Act’) commenced on 29 March 2021. The RTA Act brought into effect nearly 130 amendments to the RT Act. Some terminology also changed:

• landlords are now called rental providers;
• tenants are now called renters; and
• tenancy agreements are now called rental agreements. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) publishes important decisions and provides simple explanations. These may be useful for more complex matters and for issues that require clarification in the new laws (see www.vcat.vic.gov. au/sites/default/files/2020-07/Useful-Supreme- Court-and-VCAT-decisions-about-renting.pdf). ANTICIPATED CHANGES TIPS FOR PROTECTING YOUR RIGHTS