The Law Handbook 2024

Chapter 6.1: Tenancy 489 or failure to renew a licence (s 38 RHO Act; ss 91O, 142Q RT Act). However, see sections 91ZZL, 91ZZM, 142ZQ and 142 ZR of the RT Act, which provide that a 120-day Notice to Vacate may be given in certain circumstances. The operator (or manager as applicable) must report if they cease to be a fit and proper person within 14 days of becoming aware they are no longer a fit and proper person (s 21 RHO Act), or if there are any changes to the operator’s or manager’s details (s 22). In most circumstances, it is an offence to allow a disqualified or unfit person to continue to be an officer or manager of a rooming house (s 27). As a result of the RHO Act, any prescribed forms (e.g. Breach of Duty Notices or Notices to Vacate) should contain information about the identity of a rooming house’s managers and appointed officers. If a manger or operator is not licensed, this information should be provided to CAV so it can bring a prosecution (ss 7, 8 RHO Act). Rooming house minimum standards Rooming houses are prescribed accommodation under the Public Health and Wellbeing Prescribed Accommodation Regulations 2020 (Vic), which provide minimum standards (regs 11–23) regarding the: • number of people who can be accommodated in one room; • minimum room size; • maintenance and cleanliness of the rooms and common areas; • supply and quality of hot, cold and drinking water; • discharge of sewage and wastewater; • provision of vermin-proof refuse receptacles; • number of toilets and bathrooms per person; • register of occupants; and • advertisement or sign that the premises is registered or approved. A rooming house must be registered with its local council. It is an offence to not register a rooming house, and to not comply with any of the minimum standards. Local government authorities, normally Environment Health Officers, can investigate breaches. A rooming house owner must also ensure that rooms, services and common areas comply with the minimum standards set out in the Residential Tenancies (Rooming House Standards) Regulations 2023 (Vic) (s 120A RT Act). Note, the regulations also set out additional standards from 26 February 2024. The standards outline detailed minimum standards for amenity in rooming houses relating to privacy, security and safety. According to these standards a room must have: • a door that is operated by a key from the outside and able to be unlocked from the inside without a key (reg 7); • at least two working electrical power outlets (reg 8); • window coverings on all windows that can be opened and closed by the resident and give the resident privacy (reg 9); • a shared bathroom or toilet fitted with a privacy latch that can be securely latched from inside without use of a key (reg 11); • a number of chairs equal to the maximum number of residents, and a table that can comfortably fit those chairs (reg 13); • a communal laundry trough with a continuous and adequate supply of hot and cold water, with a space next to the trough for a washing machine, and outlets for hot and cold water, and a clothes lines or other drying facilities (reg 14) (note, from 26 February 2024 the operator must provide the above facilities and a working washing machine for every 12 residents or fewer based on the maximum number of residents that the rooming house can accommodate; • adequate ventilation for rooms, bathrooms, showers, toilets and a laundry (reg 18); and • adequate lighting for rooms, hallways and corridors that is appropriate for those areas (reg 19). • In addition, any external windows of the rooming house that can be opened must be able to be securely fixed in a closed or open position without a key (reg 24). A rooming house must provide in either the residents’ rooms or a common area: • a food preparation area (reg 12(a)); • a sink (reg 12(b)); • one oven that is in good working order in each room or in a common area for every 12 residents or the maximum capacity of residents in the rooming house, whichever is less (reg 12(c)); • a cooktop that is in good working order in each room, or a cooktop with at least four burners that is in good working order in a common area, for every 12 residents or the maximum capacity of