There are calls for reforms to Victoria’s rental bond system after it was found to be stacked against renters and in favour of landlords. A Melbourne law firm says a third of all renters lose all or part of their bond at the end of their tenancy and that landlords are making bogus claims.
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TVTranscript
00:00Warming up in a new home after a frosty rental dispute.
00:06When Judy signed a lease two years ago,
00:09she thought her contract came with a cooling off period.
00:12Within an hour of signing the lease,
00:14we made it clear that we didn't want to live there anymore,
00:17we didn't want to move in, we didn't receive the keys,
00:20and we thought that it would be a fairly clean-cut exit.
00:24She was mistaken.
00:26Our bond was tied up for 15 months with VCAT.
00:29A new report from Anika Legal has found
00:32one in three Victorian renters lose all or part of their bond
00:36at the end of their tenancy.
00:38It suggests landlords are using their power against renters
00:41to make unfair bond claims.
00:43They are free to make these claims
00:45and just treat them as a free lottery ticket.
00:47If they don't get it, oh well, nothing lost.
00:49Clearly what happened in our case, she knew what she was doing
00:53and she took advantage of it.
00:55While Judy was able to get some of her bond back
00:57after a VCAT hearing, others haven't been as fortunate.
01:01These unfair claims are pushing renters into financial hardship
01:06and in many cases starting cycles of disadvantage
01:09that can lead to homelessness.
01:11The report found renters who took their bond disputes to VCAT
01:14waited on average 502 days for a hearing.
01:17It recommends tougher policies should be enforced for unfair claims,
01:21such as penalties for landlords and agents.
01:24Let's imagine that there was a $1,000 penalty
01:27for a landlord who made repeated unfair claims.
01:30You can imagine that the number of these bogus claims
01:33would stop very drastically.
01:35But property manager Leah Kelnan says that's unfair.
01:39If they introduce any penalties, it needs to be applicable to both sides.
01:42I find it interesting that they see that it's imbalanced
01:45perhaps towards the owner in bond disputes
01:48when I think from my experience on the ground
01:52and presenting at VCAT, that's certainly not the case.
01:56The government says it's establishing a body
01:59to deal with tenancy disputes without clogging up VCAT
02:02as part of its reforms to strengthen renters' rights.
02:05But Judy and Victoria's 600,000 renters say more support is needed now.
02:10It may be their house, but it's your home.