Taskforce targeting 'dodgy' rentals just what's needed after worrying study

The Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) ran a recent undercover operation to assess properties for rent in Bendigo, as well as Wyndham Vale in Melbourne, which found that while new minimum standards are largely being met, a worrying minority of properties on the market were unsafe and unliveable.

As a raft of organisations and reports sound the alarm on the severity of the housing crisis in regional areas, the organisation's CEO, Erin Turner, said she was "personally very excited" about the renting taskforce officially launched this month.

"It's exactly what we need to make sure the new laws are enforced," Ms Turner said.

Under changes to legislation introduced in 2021 as part of the state government's ambitious Housing Statement, tenants of all kinds of properties, including caravans, are now entitled to basic minimum safety and quality standards.

Individuals and companies who let people move into accommodation that fails to meet these commit a criminal offence and face fines of more than $11,000 and $57,000 respectively.

Consumer Affairs Victoria, which is running the taskforce, told the Advertiser it would target rental providers and estate agents over offences like false advertising and failure to lodge bonds as well as renting out properties that don't meet minimum standards.

Its taskforce, due to scale up throughout 2024, would launch a state-wide education campaign across multiple platforms in coming months, a CAV spokesperson said.

Earlier this year the CPRC released the findings of its Is It Livable? study, which saw the organisation team up with Tenants Victoria to enlist 100 people for "a mystery shop" of 100 private rental properties in Bendigo and Wyndham Vale.

These were assessed against the new minimum standards - which include an energy efficient heater installed in the main living area - and other obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act.

Although a clear majority of Bendigo properties met the standards - and local agents actually performed better than their city counterparts in providing information - there was "a worrying group [of properties] that failed on some very key aspects," according to Ms Turner.

"What we saw in Bendigo was similar to what we saw in Melbourne," she said. "There were a portion of homes that didn't have a heater that met the required standard, didn't have window coverings or had visible mould.

These would have been unsafe or uncomfortable to live in.

"In particular, we saw issues in Bendigo with heating that really worries me going into winter."

It was important to note that what was being measured was in any case "a very low bar," Ms Turner said.

"The minimum standards cover things like having locks on windows that work, the house being free from structural mould, having an oven in the kitchen - all the absolute basics you'd expect for a home."

And the problems the study found were likely to be "the tip of the iceberg" if rentals offered through Facebook or other informal means were considered as well as those managed by real estate agents.

In terms of maintenance, 36 per cent of the Bendigo properties and 50 per cent of those costing less than $480 a week failed to pass muster.

This compared to 35 per cent of low-cost rentals in Wyndham Vale that were inadequately maintained.

Issues in the two locations ranged from badly peeling paint and cracked concrete to a broken internal glass door, which "would have been very unsafe".

On cleanliness, 19 properties overall and 5 of the 25 Bendigo rentals were found to fail basic standards, with "a lot of cases where there was an ironing board left in the backyard, for example, so large pieces of waste... and significant problems that should have been fixed," Ms Turner said.

According to Ms Turner, CAV has a good record on regulating the real estate industry, with its taskforce set up in 2022 to tackle underquoting and other unfair property sales practices having had real tangible outcomes.

Consumer Affairs Victoria had started recruiting for the renting taskforce, which has been funded to the tune of $4 million, but it was probably still some months away from having "boots on the ground", Ms Turner said.

Once it was up and running, its capacity to issue guidance about minimum standards and other laws "should make it easier for everyone involved," she said.

"I also think it means, particularly for people who rent, you don't have to shoulder the burden alone when something isn't working.

"Right now, if you have a problem, if your heater isn't up to scratch, or your oven stops working, it's up to you to raise that with your agent and landlord, and some landlords will deal with it very appropriately and quickly, but others don't.

"Then it's on you to make the complaint, it's on you to weigh the costs and the time of getting that fixed.

"Having a resourced regulator able to go out in the market and make sure that these really reasonable laws are complied with, it just means more people will have safe and healthy homes."

For more information on renters' rights, visit vic.gov.au/protecting-renters-rights.