Victoria Landlord's Obligations

The landlord has a number of obligations they must meet during at the beginning of and during the tenancy. These include providing the premises in a clean condition and maintaining it in good repair.

This guide covers landlords (or head-tenants) and tenants (or sub-tenants) in a Residential Tenancy. This applies to the majority of share accommodation and residential property rental situations. To confirm it covers your situation visit What is my share accommodation situation?

What are the landlord’s obligations?

Give tenant official summary of rights and obligations
Before the tenant moves in, the landlord must give the tenant a copy of Renting a Home: A Guide for Tenants. This ensures that the tenant is aware of their rights and obligations during the tenancy.

Give information to tenant
If the landlord is renting the premises directly to the tenant (i.e. there is no agent), then they must provide the tenant with the following details at the beginning of the tenancy:

landlord’s full name
landlord’s address for service of document
landlord’s telephone number for urgent repairs

The tenant is renting through an agent, then the agent must provide the following details at the beginning of the tenancy:

full name of agent
address for service of documents
agent’s telephone number
whether the agent can authorise urgent repairs
if the agent can authorise urgent repairs, the maximum amount they can authorise
agent’s telephone or fax number for urgent repairs

Ensure water ratings compliance for new water fixtures
If the landlord replaces or adds any new water fixture, e.g. a shower head, it must comply with water efficiency requirements.

Back to Victoria Rights and Obligations during Tenancy

These legal guides provide a brief summary and introduction of the laws and regulations affecting share accommodation. They do not cover all cases in all legal jurisdictions and might not apply in your specific share accommodation situation. It is important that you use this information as a guide only and seek independent Legal Advice or consult the Relevant Acts. We do not accept any liability that may arise from the use of this information.