Legislative Assembly petition #202627 | presented 8 September 2026
Routine rental inspections
Issue:
This petition of residents in Victoria draws to the attention of the Legislative Assembly that the current allowances under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 for continuous, comprehensive video recording during routine property inspections constitute a severe and disproportionate invasion of tenant privacy. Property managers and agents are increasingly using video sweeps not to log structural maintenance, but to audit a tenant's standard of everyday tidiness. This penalizes model tenants for standard, "lived-in" environments, transforms family homes into active surveillance zones, and compromises the fundamental right to quiet enjoyment
Action:
The petitioners therefore request that the Legislative Assembly amends the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 to: explicitly prohibit continuous video sweeps of occupied properties during routine inspections; restrict digital documentation exclusively to high-resolution static photography of specific, identified structural defects or maintenance items; and strictly ban the filming or photography of undamaged personal spaces, furniture, or living areas solely for the purpose of assessing a tenant's housekeeping or neatness.
This petition of residents in Victoria draws to the attention of the Legislative Assembly that the current allowances under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 for continuous, comprehensive video recording during routine property inspections constitute a severe and disproportionate invasion of tenant privacy. Property managers and agents are increasingly using video sweeps not to log structural maintenance, but to audit a tenant's standard of everyday tidiness. This penalizes model tenants for standard, "lived-in" environments, transforms family homes into active surveillance zones, and compromises the fundamental right to quiet enjoyment
Action:
The petitioners therefore request that the Legislative Assembly amends the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 to: explicitly prohibit continuous video sweeps of occupied properties during routine inspections; restrict digital documentation exclusively to high-resolution static photography of specific, identified structural defects or maintenance items; and strictly ban the filming or photography of undamaged personal spaces, furniture, or living areas solely for the purpose of assessing a tenant's housekeeping or neatness.