Tuesday, 31 March 2026

 Gabrielle DE VIETRI (Richmond) (14:53): (1594) My question is for the Minister for Consumer Affairs. Every renter in Victoria knows that a landlord cannot increase the rent in the first year of a lease, right? Well, it seems that real estate agents have actually found a way to sneak in rent increases before then. A constituent found one property advertised by Ray White at $460 a week, but the fine print said that the rent would increase to $600 a week within a few months. Another listing said that rent would increase in line with market conditions just four months in. It appears that real estate agents are exploiting a loophole in section 44 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 to lure renters in and then trap them into unaffordable leases. Minister, is this deceptive practice legal?