“Homeworthy” standard for renters - Environment Victoria

Renters feeling the heat

Hundreds of thousands of Victorians are living in rental homes which are dangerously hot in summer and freezing in winter, or waste too much energy to keep at a safe temperature.

With home ownership increasingly out of reach for Victorians, more and more people are renting. The appalling state of our rental properties has become a mainstream issue the government can’t ignore.

Rental homes make up around a quarter of our housing. If they are missing out on efficiency upgrades, then Victoria is also missing out on a big opportunity to lower bills and cut climate pollution.

The good news is that new rental laws passed the Victorian Parliament in September 2018. As a result of campaigning by the One Million Homes Alliance (of which Environment Victoria is a member) these laws included new powers for the government to set minimum standards for energy and water efficiency, that rental homes would be required to meet before they could be leased.

We’re looking forward to working with government to get strong standards in place as soon as possible, so that all renters can start to enjoy the benefits of living in efficient homes.

Get the detail on Victoria’s new rental laws

Read more in our report: ‘Bringing rental homes up to scratch’

Take 2 minutes to read our 4-page briefing paper

Why minimum standards are so important

Right now, the only standard Victorian rental homes need to meet is to have a smoke alarm. That’s it. There doesn’t need to be a heater, the windows don’t need to open, and you can forget about insulation or draught-sealing.

At Environment Victoria, we think renters deserve better. At the very least, a rental home should be a liveable home.

While many landlords do the right thing by their tenants in terms of repairs and maintenance, it’s also true that most landlords don’t take advantage of voluntary efficiency programs even when they are free. There’s not much incentive for landlords to invest in relatively invisible measures like insulation or draught-sealing while it’s the tenants who reap the benefits of lower bills and better living conditions.

The only way to fix this problem is to set minimum standards for efficiency, health and security that all rental properties need to meet before they can be leased.

Responsible landlords who already recognise the benefits of keeping their properties in good condition would easily meet basic standards. The rest would have plenty of notice to get their properties up to scratch. And they’d be prevented from passing on unreasonable costs through rent increases. Find out more in our blog post ‘8 myths and facts about efficiency standards for rental homes’.

8 myths and facts about efficiency standards for rental homes

In 2016, more than 1300 renters and landlords filled out our Rate Your Rental survey to tell us about their experiences in Victorian rental properties and why they support minimum standards. Here are some typical stories.

Click the right arrow to read their stories

Jack* and his housemates have just endured winter in a freezing house without a functional heater, but they’re already dreading summer. With no insulation or window shading, their old weatherboard house bakes under the smallest amount of sun. Added to that, their roof constantly leaks, the plumbing in the laundry doesn’t drain properly, some power points don’t work, and there are holes in the walls. They’d like to grow their own veggies but the backyard taps aren’t even connected to water. “It’s really frustrating to be surrounded by so many simple things that wouldn’t actually cost much to fix, but have such a big impact on our quality of life,” says Jack. “It’s not much to ask that landlords spend a bit of money here and there just to keep things liveable.”

Jack, renter, West Footscray

Duncan* and his family rent an old ex-public housing house which is so poorly insulated that parts of it are basically uninhabitable in hot weather. The family have had to buy their own portable air-conditioner which helps comfort levels a bit but adds significantly to their energy bills. They are having to draw on super to pay their bills from month to month. The house is also freezing cold in winter, and has a serious damp and mould problem due to poor ventilation. Duncan has a number of health issues such as severe arthritis and back pain which have left him unable to work, and which are exacerbated by the chronic cold and damp conditions.

Duncan, renter, Box Hill

Margaret* and her 16-year-old daughter live in an uninsulated brick veneer house which can be as hot as 39 degrees inside in summer, and as cold as 10 degrees in winter. “In winter, we can manage to get the lounge room, where the heater is, up to 17 degrees. But all that heat just disappears as soon as the heater goes off because there’s no insulation,” she says. “I feel so annoyed that the landlord offered to install an air-conditioner but refuses to spend money on sensible things like insulation that would make the place more comfortable and avoid the need for costly heating and cooling in the first place. And of course I’m worried about climate change and emissions as well. I don’t want to be running the heater or air-conditioner all day if I know all that energy is just blowing straight out the roof.”

Margaret, renter, North Balwyn

"As a landlord keeping your house up to a good standard means that you get respect from the renter. Also everyone should be entitled to a minimum standard in their home, even if you do not own it."

Martin, landlord, Yarraville

"Minimum standards would protect me as a landlord from any adverse findings if an unfortunate incident happened at a rental property that could be linked to inadequate conditions of the property. For example if a window couldn't be opened in the case of necessity to escape rapidly due to a house fire or an intruder; health problems for a tenant, e.g. an infant or elderly person that could be exacerbated due to a cold house. Tenants would presumably be likely to consider a longer tenancy, be more amenable to (reasonable rent increases) and more likely to care for the property if they feel the landlord cares for decent amenities for the property."

Ben, landlord, Preston

"Keeping the house in a better condition with appropriate heating/cooling, ventilation, hot water and security benefits me as a landlord because it helps to attract a tenant who is interested in maintaining the property, and thus retain property value."

Lorraine, landlord, Pakenham

*Many renters are concerned about speaking up about substandard living conditions, so names have been changed to protect tenants' identities.

Read more rental stories