Renters & Housing Union

Victoria continues to be a landlord’s market. According to Domain’s latest report on the rental market, median house and unit asking rents are now $600 a week – the highest on record.

The housing market is fundamentally broken. In the past five years, the rate of profitability in the residential construction, real estate services and property management sectors have either been stagnating or falling. Conversely, real home prices and private sector credit has been steadily growing year-on-year. This means that investors, landlords and financial institutions have become significantly wealthier through asset price inflation, but are passing on the pains of a dysfunctional housing market onto renters.

This most recent reporting marks the continued trend of rent prices outpacing wages over the past five years – across the country, rent prices have grown nearly three times more than wages.

Combined with record-breaking rent prices, research published in Cities: The International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning, found that compliance with legal minimum standards fell from 76% to 40% between 2021 and 2024, in Victoria. This means that 60% of rentals in the state of Victo¹ria do not meet a basic, minimum standard for adequate living.

The above analyses alongside the lived experiences of renters confirm the reality – the relationship between landlord and renter is, at its core, exploitative and inequitable. For the renter, their home is a human need – a shelter. For the landlord, their home is an asset which grows in value and generates income via rent payments. The landlord’s wealth provides them access to consultants, lawyers and services. Moreover, widespread housing unaffordability means the landlord can flexibly replace (and displace) individual tenants with relative impunity.

The Victorian government has legislated numerous reforms in an attempt to level the playing field. The Renters and Housing Union (RAHU) welcomes these reforms – such as the ban on no-fault evictions, the ban on rent bidding, limitations on ‘excessive’ rent increases, and the introduction of clearly defined minimum standards. 

However, changes in the law mean little if enforcement is limited. As put by the above mentioned research, “The effectiveness of Victoria’s regulatory framework is inherently limited by the power imbalance between landlords and tenants, which often silences those most in need of protection.” The rights of tenants can only be effectively enforced through hard caps on the abilities and behaviour of landlords.

“For my housemates and I, our rent is increasing by $72 per week from September. It is going up almost 10%.” “Our rent is far higher than the Victoria median, we’re already shelling out $750 a week.” – RAHU member Mathieu

Higher rents and worsening conditions were already affecting tenants, and those afraid of being evicted or blacklisted for reporting issues or flagging unfair increases aren’t helped.

Focusing on home ownership is missing out on a really big part of the problem. There’s no actual social safety net out there that’s actually helping renters.

For renters to actually be empowered, renters must join together in union and collectively exercise their leverage. Renters pay the money landlords use to service their mortgage. Collectively, renters have the bargaining power.

_{This article was written with contributions from RAHU members}