REGISTER TO NAME 'NON-COMPLYING' AGENTS AND RENTAL PROVIDERS
REGISTER TO NAME 'NON-COMPLYING' AGENTS AND RENTAL PROVIDERS

Rental providers and their agent will be named on an online register if they fail to meet their obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act.



The Rental Provider Non-Compliance Register will be publicly available on the Consumer Affairs Victoria website, allowing renters to find out more about the professional conduct of agents.



KR Peters Property Manager Crystal Barneveld welcomed news of the register but said she and other property managers would take a keen interest in how VCAT handled referrals.



"On one hand, it's good to see that rental providers and even their agents will have a significant consequence for not doing the right thing," Ms Barneveld said.



"On the other hand, things aren't always black and white. It will be interesting to see if VCAT will assess situations on a case-by-case basis and differentiate between a rental provider doing the wrong thing or an agent doing the wrong thing and condemn them to the register accordingly. Or if an agent/rental provider is automatically condemned purely by association."



A rental provider and their agent will be listed on the register if VCAT has made a compliance or compensation order against them for a breach of duty under the Act, or if the rental provider or agent has been convicted of an offence under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997.



A listing will be removed after three years.



Information in a listing will include:




  • The rental provider’s name

  • Business name and address of the rental provider’s agent (if they have an agent)

  • Address of the rented premises

  • Date of the order made by VCAT and the section of the Act that the rental provider breached



VCAT may also decide that a listing would be unfair to the rental provider or their agent and thus order Consumer Affairs Victoria not to proceed.



Rooming house operators, caravan park owners, caravan owners and site owners, and their agents, can also be listed on the register.



The register will be available at consumer.vic.gov.au from 29 March.