Review of rental property laws underway

Whether you've bought Brunswick real estate as an investment or are living there as a tenant, rental legislation shapes the process. The Residential Tenancies Act 1997 is the main document that contracts must adhere to, from dictating the lease period through to who is responsible for cleaning.

And under a new announcement, this law might be set to change.

Reading up on the review

As the Real Estate Institute of Victoria noted in an 11 April release, the state government is currently looking at tenancy laws and how to make them better. This is part of the Plan for Fairer, Safer Housing, which seeks to ensure ongoing affordability and quality in Victorian rental real estate.

To better establish its own point of view, the REIV is taking on the opinions of stakeholders and affiliates through a series of interviews and surveys. It allows people to give input on important parts of the rental review, including legislation on pets, the length of leases, bond limits, how often rent can be reviewed and more.

Consumer Affairs Victoria is also taking feedback on the process. Whether you're a landlord or tenant, this legislative review will likely affect you.

The story so far

The REIV reports that the current median weekly rent in metropolitan Melbourne is $400, and we have a vacancy rate of 3.1 per cent. Across 500,000 rental homes statewide, that's not too bad a figure. It remains to be seen if the legislative review will directly impact rental rates (and thus yields), but it's certainly an important update to remain aware of.

In the meantime for any queries regarding Brunswick real estate, be it buying, selling, renting or investing, make sure to get in touch with the team here at Ray White.