The Allan Labor Government is making renting fairer – with Victoria’s renting taskforce partnering with major real estate websites to block unlawful rental bidding at the source.
Minister for Consumer Affairs Nick Staikos today announced that Realestate.com.au and Domain.com.au have upgraded their platforms to ensure only a single, fixed price is included on rental listings.
This change is a significant win for renters – guaranteeing transparent pricing on rental properties, while also helping rental providers and agents stay on the right side of Victoria’s rental bidding laws.
Victorian residential rental properties must be advertised with a single fixed price, to protect against rental bidding – part of the more than 150 rental law reforms introduced by the Labor Government.
Advertising without a price, using a price range or phrase such as ‘contact agent’, is considered a form of rental bidding because it creates confusion and encourages renters to offer higher prices to secure the rental property.
Consumer Affairs Victoria’s renting taskforce worked closely with REA Group and Domain to ensure non-compliant listings are blocked from publication and cannot be advertised in the first place. It also enables the taskforce to better allocate resources, help agencies avoid potentially costly errors and enforce other banned practices.
This change at the point of publication also ensures the taskforce can better allocate resources and operate more efficiently to get the best result for Victorians and help estate agencies avoid making potentially costly errors.
Since its inception, Consumer Affairs Victoria’s renting taskforce has issued over 90 fines totaling more than $750,000 for key rental offences since it was established in 2024.
Alongside this initiative, new reforms coming into force next month will outlaw all remaining types of rental bidding by banning rental providers and real estate agents from not only soliciting offers of increased rent from potential renters, but also from accepting any unsolicited offers from applicants.
Other reforms slated to go live on 25 November include increasing the notice period for notices-of-rent-increase and notices-to-vacate from 60 days to 90 days, removing no fault and no cause evictions and banning third-party businesses and apps from charging extra fees to pay rent or apply for a rental property.