More languages...
| (03) 9269 0120Melbourne | 1800 677 402Rural areas |  Locate us |
Legal information
- Relationship breakdown
- Intervention orders
- Children and parenting
- Traffic
- Crime
- Victims of crime
- Youth issues
- Centrelink, work and debt
-
Housing and neighbourhood disputes
- Housing – frequently asked questions
- Renting
-
Rooming houses
- Rooming houses – frequently asked questions
- Caravan parks
- Homelessness
- Neighbourhood law
- Getting fair treatment
- Birth, life and death
- Legal system
- Making a complaint
- New law
Rooming houses – frequently asked questions
Can I be made to share a room?
Can the rooming house owner charge me for things other than rent?
Can the rooming house owner come into my room without my permission?
Can I be evicted if my rent is overdue?
Can I be forced to leave a rooming house without notice?
Can I be made to share a room?
Before you agree to become a resident, the rooming house owner must give you a notice saying whether your occupancy right is ‘exclusive’ (meaning only you or you and people you want to live with, like a domestic partner, will live in the room) or ‘shared’.
If it is shared, the notice must tell you:
- the maximum number of occupants there could be
- that the owner has the right to choose the other occupants
- the rent you will pay and also what the rent would have been if it was an ‘exclusive’ occupancy.
If a rooming house owner wants to increase the number of residents living in a room they must get the written consent of the existing resident/s. This written consent is made on a ‘Consent to Increase in Room Capacity’ form.
If there is an increase in the number of people in the room there should be a reduction in the rent each person pays. Before you sign a ‘Consent to Increase in Room Capacity’ form, make sure that the amount your rent is being reduced by is worth it.
Contact the Tenants Union of Victoria for more information.
Related websites
Can the rooming house owner charge me for things other than rent?
Sometimes residents are charged separately for services provided by the owner (such as cooking and cleaning). Owners must give residents a list of services before they move in.
If you agree to use and pay for extra services, the owner must give you an itemised account.
A rooming house owner can only charge separately for electricity and gas if the room has a separate meter and is an ‘exclusive’ occupancy, not a shared room. The charges can't be more than the owner is paying the gas or electricity supplier for them.
Contact the Tenants Union of Victoria for more information.
Related websites
Can the rooming house owner come into my room without my permission?
Generally, an owner must give a resident 24 hours’ notice in writing if they intend to go into their room. This includes:
- when they want to show a possible new resident through
- to make a general inspection once in any four-week period
- if the have a 'reasonable suspicion' that a resident has not met their duties.
A rooming house owner can only enter your room without prior notice:
- if you agree at the time
- to provide a service during the hours stated in the house rules
- in an emergency, to save life or valuable property.
Contact the Tenants Union of Victoria for more information.
Related websites
Can I be evicted if my rent is overdue?
Yes. The landlord can give you a 'notice to vacate' your room within two days if any of these situations apply:
- if your rent is seven days late
- if you have done something illegal in your room (like selling or growing drugs)
- if you do not follow an order from the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
You can try to get your landlord to agree to a payment plan, but you have to act quickly.
Do not ignore the notice to vacate. It is really important to lodge a 'notice of objection' to your rooming house owner and to VCAT. You only have two days to do this. If you do nothing, you will be evicted.
Contact the Tenants Union of Victoria for more information.
Related websites
Can I be forced to leave a rooming house without notice?
If a resident or a visitor is violent or puts anyone in the rooming house in danger, the owner can give them one of two official notices:
- a 'Notice to Leave' means you must leave the rooming house immediately and can't return for two working days.
If during those two days the owner applies to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to permanently evict you, you can't return until VCAT deals with the application. You must pay rent and any other charges for the days you are suspended, unless VCAT decides otherwise. - a 'Notice to Vacate' is given if you are being evicted because of a violent situation. It can take effect immediately or at a date in the future. If you don't leave by the given date you can't be forced to leave, but the owner may apply to VCAT for an order for your eviction.
You can challenge a Notice to Vacate if you think it was not given properly or you disagree with the reason it was given.
You can also ask for more time before you move out.
Contact the Tenants Union of Victoria for more information.