Victorian tenants have lodged a record 5,400 challenges against rent rises in the past 12 months, the state’s consumer watchdog has revealed, in a 120% increase on the previous year’s figures.
As median rents rise sharply, Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) was swamped with 5,448 requests for rent assessments in the 2022-23 financial year – compared with 2,452 in 2021-22 – prompting the organisation to redirect staff to handle the additional claims.
It comes after Melbourne’s median weekly rent reached its highest historical level last month, hitting $500 for houses and $495 for units according to PropTrack figures. The figure is a rise from $460 for houses and $420 for units 12 months ago.
In the foreword to the watchdog’s annual report, released on Wednesday, CAV’s director, Nicole Rich, said they had redirected extra staff to manage the rise in requests to review rent increases, prioritising “critical” reviews over routine inspections.
“Victorians grappled with limited rental supply and rising rental costs,” Rich said. “CAV provided important support in key areas, undertaking a record number of excessive rent reviews in cases where renters felt that rental increases were unreasonable.
Consumer Affairs Victoria undertakes rent increase assessments at the request of tenants who feel the increase is excessive. If CAV finds that it is, the organisation can help facilitate a fairer agreement between the landlord and tenant.
Some tenants have reported large increases forcing them to move out, such as a Victorian couple with accessibility needs who told Guardian Australia they could not afford the $140 increase imposed in their new rental agreement – which rose from $450 to $590 a week.
Data obtained by Guardian Australia shows despite the large increase in rent assessments through CAV, only a small amount of tenants fought the increase at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
Between January and September this year, VCAT received 119 applications for rental disputes – which covers rent increases – up from 33 applications between January and December 2022.
The city’s 1.15% vacancy rate is also a record low, while the number of inquiries for each Melbourne rental listing rose by more than a third compared with September 2022.
The Greens renters’ rights spokesperson, Gabrielle de Vietri, said these numbers showed “the system was cooked” and called for an end to “unlimited rent increases”.
“There’s a huge power imbalance between tenants and landlords,” de Vietri said. “Many renters facing exorbitant rent hikes don’t even take their landlord to VCAT for fear of eviction, or just can’t afford the time or money to fight an uphill battle.
“Clearly, landlords can’t be trusted to keep rents reasonable just because tenants are struggling – we need stronger rules that prevent out-of-control rent hikes in the first place.
A Victorian government spokesperson said the state had “some of the strongest protections for renters in the country”.
“As part of our housing statement, we’re delivering even stronger reforms by closing loopholes that drive up the cost of living for renters, giving tenants more certainty over their leases and living standards and resolving disputes faster to keep them out of VCAT,” the spokesperson said.
“Renters can already ask Consumer Affairs Victoria to investigate and provide a report to support an application to VCAT if they believe a rent increase is excessive.”
