Tenants Victoria welcomes an end to debt-based discrimination for public housing applicants. Former tenants with outstanding debts for maintenance or other arrears are no longer ineligible for offers of public housing, according to the updated Public Housing Allocations Operational Guidelines. The DHHS are now required to review outstanding DHHS debt with prospective tenants and make sure the debt has been calculated correctly. DHHS officers have also been given greater discretion to waive outstanding debts.

Tenants Victoria welcomes greater transparency for community housing tenants, enabling them to better understand and manage their tenancies. Community housing providers must now publish their policies online, according to new guidelines set by The Housing Register, the state department which oversees social housing in Victoria. Community housing tenants will now be able to access policies on housing allocation, rent setting, modifications, inspections, repairs, complaints and more on their housing provider’s website. See Guidance note on

Tenants Victoria has welcomed the announcement by Victorian Labor that they will establish a program to facilitate access to solar power for Victorian renters. This program has the potential to deliver real savings on electricity costs for Victorian renters at a relatively modest fee. The fee for the renter should be more than offset by the savings. Whilst the take-up rate for solar power has been increasing in the owner occupied housing sector, the rental

It has been a busy few months at Tenants Victoria, with plenty of activity in both the private and public rental sectors. The biggest news in recent weeks has been the passage of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill 2018 by Victoria’s Parliament on 6 September 2018.  Make Renting Fair has published an outline of what this bill – now called the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2018 – will entail for renters. The next step for

Content provided by the Council to Homeless Persons.   Victoria’s homelessness peak, the Council to Homeless Persons, has released the Victorian Homelessness Election Platform, describing it as a ‘blueprint’ for ending homelessness in Victoria. CHP says that with the right measures in place, ending homelessness is achievable and is calling on local candidates to show they’re serious about ending homelessness by publicly committing to the 17 proposals in the Homelessness Election Platform. CHP produced a homelessness heat