RentingOnRecord

All topics

Is this rent increase allowed?

41 quoted answers, each with its source

The short answer

Consumer Affairs Victoria states that a rental provider cannot increase rent during a fixed term agreement unless the rental agreement has an additional clause allowing an increase; rent cannot be increased more than once every 12 months for agreements that started on or after 19 June 2019, and for agreements that started before 19 June 2019 the interval is 6 months. From 29 March 2021 a new fixed-term lease with a rent increase clause must state the amount of the increase or the method used to calculate it and that the rent will not be increased by more than that amount; a rent increase notice is invalid if the wrong form is used, an invalid notice has no effect, and Tenants Victoria states only one increase can be listed in each notice. The minimum notice period changed from 60 to 90 days on 25 November 2025 according to Consumer Affairs Victoria, but Collings Real Estate described 60 days as the minimum as of 26 June 2026. There is no statutory cap on the percentage by which rent can be increased; from 31 March 2026 Consumer Affairs Victoria and VCAT take the CPI into account when assessing whether an increase is excessive, and from the same date the Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria, Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria and VCAT can consider additional factors; Tenants Victoria states an increase above the relevant CPI is not necessarily excessive, and a renter can seek a free rent assessment from Consumer Affairs Victoria within 30 days of receiving the notice, and after 30 days the renter can no longer request one.

Every part of this comes from the quotes below. How we write these.

What the rules actually say18

Quoted straight from Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Residential Tenancies Act or a tribunal.

#

Consumer Affairs Victoria states a rental provider is not allowed to increase the rent during a fixed term agreement unless the rental agreement has an additional clause allowing for an increase.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
The rental provider is not allowed to increase the rent during a fixed term agreement unless the rental agreement (lease) has an additional clause (term) allowing for an increase.
#

Consumer Affairs Victoria states that the law does not say exactly how much a rental provider can put the rent up by.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
The law doesn’t say exactly how much a rental provider can put the rent up by.
#

Consumer Affairs Victoria states that in most cases rent cannot be increased more than once every 12 months, even if the rental agreement specifies a rent increase before that time.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
In most cases, rent cannot be increased more than once every 12 months, even if the rental agreement specifies a rent increase before that time.
#

Consumer Affairs Victoria states that for rental agreements that started on or after 19 June 2019 the rent cannot be increased more than once every 12 months.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
for rental agreements that started on or after 19 June 2019, the rent can’t be increased more than once every 12 months
#

Consumer Affairs Victoria states that for agreements that started before 19 June 2019 the rent cannot be increased more than once every 6 months.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
for agreements that started before 19 June 2019, the rent can’t be increased more than once every 6 months
#

Consumer Affairs Victoria states that if the rental provider does not use the right form the rent increase notice is not valid.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
If the rental provider doesn’t use the right form, the notice isn’t valid. The renter only has to pay the increase if they are given proper notice.
#

Consumer Affairs Victoria states that a rental provider cannot ask a renter to pay more rent because the renter has broken part of the rental agreement.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
A rental provider can’t ask a renter to pay more rent because they have broken any part of the rental agreement.
#

Consumer Affairs Victoria states additional bond can only be required on a rent increase where a long-term agreement is being renewed for another fixed term of more than 5 years.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
Additional bond amounts can only be required for rent increases when there is a long-term agreement which is being renewed for another fixed term of more than 5 years.
#

Consumer Affairs Victoria states that simply referring to a rent increase method in the rental agreement is not enough.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
Simply referring to a method in the rental agreement is not enough.
#

Tenants Victoria states a renter can get a free rent assessment from Consumer Affairs Victoria within 30 days of receiving the notice of a rent increase.

1 quote from 1 source
If you think the increase is too high, you can get a free rent assessment from Consumer Affairs Victoria within 30 days of receiving the notice.
#

Tenants Victoria states that…

  • the only exception to the 12-month interval between rent increases is where the renter has been in the same property since 19 June 2019.
  • where the renter has been in the same property since 19 June 2019, the interval between rent increases is 6 months.
1 quote from 1 source
The only exception is if you have been in the same property since 19 June 2019, where rent cannot be increased at intervals of less than 6 months.
#

Tenants Victoria states that a renter who has not applied for a rent assessment within 30 days of receiving the notice of rent increase can no longer request one.

1 quote from 1 source
If you did not apply to Consumer Affairs Victoria for a rent assessment, and 30 days have passed since you received the notice of rent increase, you can no longer request a Consumer Affairs Victoria rent assessment.
#

Tenants Victoria states that if a rent increase notice is invalid, the law says the notice has no effect.

1 quote from 1 source
If a notice is invalid, the law says it has no effect.
#

Tenants Victoria states that there is no set formula for how much weight the Consumer Price Index must be given compared with other factors when deciding whether a rent increase is excessive.

1 quote from 1 source
While the Consumer Price Index (CPI) will be considered when deciding whether a rent increase is excessive, there is no set formula for how much weight it must be given compared with other factors.
#

Tenants Victoria states a rent increase above the relevant CPI will not necessarily be considered excessive.

1 quote from 1 source
A rent increase above the relevant CPI will not necessarily be considered excessive.
#

The requirement for a rent increase notice to set out a method of calculation applies only where the rental agreement commenced on or after 29 March 2021.

1 quote from 1 source
The method used to calculate the rent increase – this is only required if the lease (officially called a rental agreement) commenced on or after 29 March 2021

Measured finding2

Something someone actually measured, with the method attached.

#
  • Tenants Victoria reported that renters on low to middle incomes reported rent increases to Tenants Victoria's service since 1 July 2022.
  • The rent increases reported to Tenants Victoria's service by renters on low to middle incomes since 1 July 2022 ranged from $30 to as much as $320 a week.
1 quote from 1 source
Since 1 July 2022, renters on low to middle incomes have reported to our service rent increases ranging from $30 to as much $320 a week.

Practical effect5

What is observed to happen in practice, as distinct from what is documented.

#

Tenants Victoria states that VCAT has made it clear that a rental provider cannot just say they used a market review to justify a rent increase.

medium confidence
1 quote from 1 source
VCAT has made it clear that a landlord (officially called a rental provider) cannot just say they used a market review to justify a rent increase.
#

In a rent increase refund dispute that reaches a formal VCAT hearing…

  • VCAT treats refund requests as compensation claims.
  • VCAT's treatment of refund requests as compensation claims may reduce the amount recovered.
medium confidence
1 quote from 1 source
However, if you do not reach an agreement with the landlord at RDRV and the dispute goes to a formal VCAT hearing, VCAT treats refund requests as compensation claims, which may reduce the amount you get back, depending on your circumstances.
#

Tenants Victoria describes bait advertising as…

  • advertising a rental property at a lower rate of rent to get people into the property.
  • increasing the rent soon after advertising at a lower rate.
medium confidence
1 quote from 1 source
This may be ‘bait advertising’, which is where a rental property is advertised at a lower rate of rent, to get people into the property, and then increased soon after.

Changed on6

A dated change. This is where advice quietly stops being true.

#

From 31 March 2026…

  • the Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria can consider additional factors when determining if a proposed rent increase is excessive.
  • Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria can consider additional factors when determining if a proposed rent increase is excessive.
  • VCAT can consider additional factors when determining if a proposed rent increase is excessive.
first-party
2 quotes from 2 sources
Protections against excessive rent increases are strengthened. The Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria, Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal can now consider additional factors when determining if a proposed rent increase is excessive.
From 31 March 2026, new rental laws mean that when renters challenge a proposed rent increase, Consumer Affairs Victoria and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) will take CPI into account when assessing whether it is excessive.
#

From 25 November 2025 the minimum notice period for a Victorian rental provider to issue a rent increase notice changed from 60 to 90 days.

first-party
1 quote from 1 source
From 25 November 2025, the minimum notice period for rental providers to issue a rent increase notice will change from 60 to 90 days.
#

From 31 March 2026 Consumer Affairs Victoria and VCAT take the Consumer Price Index into account when assessing whether a proposed rent increase is excessive.

1 quote from 1 source
From 31 March 2026, new rental laws mean that when renters challenge a proposed rent increase, Consumer Affairs Victoria and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) will take CPI into account when assessing whether it is excessive.
#

From 29 March 2021 a new fixed-term lease that includes a rent increase clause must also state the amount of the increase or the method used to work it out.

1 quote from 1 source
From 29 March 2021, if a new fixed-term lease includes a rent increase clause, the lease must also state the amount of the increase – or the method that will be used to figure out the amount – and that it will not be increased by more than that amount.

Disputed between sources3

Sources that do not agree, presented without picking a winner.

#
  • Collings Real Estate describes 60 days as the minimum notice period for a rent increase.
  • Consumer Affairs Victoria states the minimum notice period changed from 60 to 90 days on 25 November 2025.
first-partyvendor
2 quotes from 2 sources
The 60-day period is a minimum, not a target.
From 25 November 2025, the minimum notice period for rental providers to issue a rent increase notice will change from 60 to 90 days.
#

Tenants Victoria describes the expansion of factors considered in rent reviews as giving renters stronger grounds to challenge rent increases.

vendor
2 quotes from 2 sources
These include an expansion of factors that can be considered by Consumer Affairs Victoria and VCAT in rent reviews, removal of no-fault evictions, and increases in notice to vacate terms to 90 days.
The good news is that renters in Victoria now have stronger grounds to challenge rent increases, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) becoming an additional mandatory consideration when assessing whether an increase is excessive.

Often said, but we could not find it in the rules7

Lots of people say this. We went looking for an official source that backs it up and could not find one, so treat it as something people repeat rather than something settled.

#

Collings Real Estate states that the 60-day period for notice of a rent increase is a minimum, not a target.

vendor
1 quote from 1 source
The 60-day period is a minimum, not a target. Landlords who issue notice fewer than 60 days before the intended start date cannot simply push the start date back informally.
#

Collings Real Estate states that the 12-month limit on rent increases applies regardless of whether the property is on a fixed-term or periodic agreement.

medium confidencevendor
1 quote from 1 source
This 12-month limit applies regardless of whether the property is on a fixed-term or periodic (month-to-month) agreement.
#

Collings Real Estate states that…

  • landlords on fixed-term agreements could once sometimes negotiate rent increases mid-lease.
  • the flexibility for landlords on fixed-term agreements to negotiate rent increases mid-lease no longer exists for residential tenancies.
medium confidencevendor
1 quote from 1 source
Prior to those reforms, landlords on fixed-term agreements could sometimes negotiate rent increases mid-lease. That flexibility no longer exists for residential tenancies.
#

Collings Real Estate states there is no statutory cap on the percentage by which rent can be increased in Victoria.

medium confidencevendor
1 quote from 1 source
There is no statutory cap on the percentage by which rent can be increased in Victoria.
#

Forge Real Estate states that in Victoria rent…

  • can only increase once every 12 months under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997.
  • must not be excessive under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997.
medium confidencevendor
1 quote from 1 source
In Victoria, rent can only increase once every 12 months and must not be excessive under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997.