Tuesday, 20 June 2023

North-Eastern Metropolitan Region

Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (13:06): (249) My question is to the Minister for Consumer Affairs. Last week I held a renters forum in Ivanhoe, and those that attended shared frankly awful stories of their experiences as renters in my region. I heard from one person who was moving out of a rental and did not hear from their landlord about their bond refund until the last possible day. They were told that the landlord was withholding some funds for X, Y, Z reasons, and given the timing, if they did not accept these charges, then the matter would have to immediately go to VCAT. The renter was left with no option but to accept the reduced bond refund. They needed these funds for the next bond, and they could not wait for a VCAT hearing. This is the second time I have heard of such a story in North-East Metro. From the sound of it, landlords and agents are purposefully leaving the decision to withhold funds from the bond until the last day that they must legally inform renters. Minister, will your government improve conditions to better protect renters from manipulative agents and landlords?