Victoria rental laws for landlords: minimum standards, entry rules and energy deadlines
Victoria has the country's longest minimum standards list and it applies before you even advertise. A landlord's guide to what the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 requires now, including the energy efficiency deadlines starting 2027.
Victoria runs the strictest minimum standards regime in the country, and unlike most states, it's front-loaded — you have to clear the bar before the property goes on the market, not after a tenant complains. Here's what the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 currently requires.
Fourteen minimum standards, checked before advertising
Victoria requires a rental to meet fourteen separate categories before it can be advertised for lease: things like structural soundness, natural light, ventilation, functioning cooking and food-preparation facilities, heating in the main living area, and window coverings for privacy. Compare that with NSW's seven items or Western Australia and Tasmania, which prescribe nothing at all. If you're buying an investment property sight-unseen interstate, don't assume it clears Victoria's bar just because it would clear someone else's.
No-grounds evictions: also abolished
Victoria was ahead of most of the country here. A landlord can't end a lease without stating a valid ground — sale, owner or family occupation, renovation, or one of the other reasons the Act sets out. NSW caught up in May 2025; Victoria, South Australia, the ACT and Queensland got there first.
Entry: once every six months, and nothing in the first three
This is where Victoria stands apart. Routine inspections are limited to once every six months, and none are allowed at all during the first three months of a new tenancy. Every other mainland state allows at least one inspection per quarter. If you're used to a NSW or Queensland cadence, Victoria's rules will feel restrictive by comparison, and they are.
Rent: uncapped, but "excessive" is a live question
Victoria doesn't cap the size of a rent increase. A tenant who thinks an increase is excessive can take it to VCAT, which will compare it against market rent. There's no bright-line percentage that guarantees a challenge or protects you from one.
Pets need a tribunal application to refuse
A tenant's written pet request gets 14 days of silence before consent is assumed. But Victoria goes further than most states on the refusal side: a written "no" from the landlord isn't enough on its own. You need to apply to VCAT for an order refusing consent, and only VCAT's decision is binding. Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory work the same way; NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia let a written refusal stand without a tribunal step.
Bonds
The standard bond is one month's rent, not four weeks — a subtle but real difference over a full year. Above $900 a week in rent, a landlord can ask for more than one month.
Energy efficiency has real dates attached
This is the one area where Victoria is ahead of the country on a hard deadline. Minimum energy efficiency requirements start rolling in from 1 March 2027, draughtproofing requirements from 1 July 2027, and cooling requirements from 1 July 2030. These are staged, not a single cutover date, so check which requirement applies to your property and when — this is worth planning for now rather than in early 2027.
General information, not legal advice, current to the best of our research as at 30 July 2026. Confirm anything you're relying on with Consumer Affairs Victoria or a solicitor before acting on it. See the state-by-state rental law comparison for how Victoria compares with the rest of the country.