The Law Handbook 2024

534 Section 6: Houses, communities and the road • A rental provider/rental provider’s representative must not obtain or attempt to obtain possession of a rented premises by entering them, whether the entry is peaceable or not, unless there are reasonable grounds to believe the renter has abandoned the premises (s 91P(2)). • A rental provider/rental provider’s representative who obtains possession of a rented premises in respect of which a Notice to Vacate that has been given under sections 91ZY–91ZZB of the RT Act, must not let the premises to a person for use primarily as a residence before the end of six months after the date on which the notice was given (s 91ZZH), with the exception of the named family member in a section 91ZZA notice. • A person to whom a determination of the tribunal under this Act applies must comply with that determination (s 480). • A property must meet the minimum standards and be reasonably clean and vacant on the move-in date (s 65, 65A). • A rental provider must lodge the renter’s bond with the RTBA (s 406). • A rental provider or agent must not ask a prospective renter for certain information when they are applying for a property (s 30C). • A rental provider must tell a renter certain things about the property before they rent it (s 30D). • A rental agreement must be in CAV’s form (s 26). • A rental agreement must not include prohibited terms (s 26A). • A rental provider or agent must advertise the premises for a fixed price and must not engage in rental bidding (s 30F). • A rental provider or agent must not make a false or misleading statement about the rent of the premises (s 30G). • A rental provider or agent must not engage in deceptive or misleading conduct to get a renter to enter into a rental agreement (s 30E). • A rental provider must not use the renter’s information for a reason other than assessing the rental application, or any other requirement of the RT Act (s 30B). • A rental provider must give notice to the database operator if they become aware that information is wrong, incomplete, ambiguous, out-of-date, or relates to family or personal violence (s 439G). • A database operator, when notified by a rental provider, must remove tenancy database listings that relate to family or personal violence, or are out-of-date, and must amend listings that are wrong, incomplete or ambiguous (s 439H). CAV also oversees licencing and regulation of the Estate Agents Act 1980 (Vic), and may elect to investigate and take action in relation to misconduct by a real estate agent. If parties are seeking to give CAV the best opportunity to ensure compliance with the RT Act, they should write an affidavit and exhibit any relevant documents. In the example of a non-lodgment of bond, an affidavit may include the lease, a copy of the receipt to evidence bond receipt, and an email from the RTBA to say they have no bond on record for the premises. Affidavits are not required, and complaints can be made by email or over the phone. CAV will not always prosecute, but in severe cases of non- compliance, CAV will take action. Specialist disability accommodation (SDA) SDA residents Specialist disability accommodation ( SDA ) residents must either be approved under the NDIS or be part of the Commonwealth Continuity of Support Program. Eligibility forNDIS participants is regulated by Part 3 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (Specialist Disability Accommodation) Rules 2020 (Cth). To be eligible for SDA, participants must show that, despite assistance technologies, equipment and home modifications, they require SDA. Participants must have either an extreme functional impairment ( EFI ) (r 12) or very high support needs ( VHSN ) (r 13) that require the participant to live in SDA (pt 4). Both EFI and VHSN have legal tests that are the subject of determination under the NDIS. Between 1 July 2018 and 1 January 2019, many dwellings that were previously covered by Part V of the Disability Act 2006 (Vic) transitioned to become SDA dwellings (sch 2 RT Act). All dwellings previously covered by Part V, automatically became subject to the RT Act on 1 January 2020. SDA residents who were not offered a SDA agreement and only provided a residential rental agreement during this transitional period should seek legal advice.