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The rental provider must give enough notice 

A rental provider must give you at least 60 days’ notice in writing of any proposed rent increase. If the rental provider gives you less than 60 days’ notice, the proposed increase will be invalid. 

Have I been given enough notice? 

A rent increase cannot come into effect until the day after the 60-day notice period has ended.  

The notice period will begin when you are estimated to have received the notice. When you are estimated to have received the notice will depend on how it was delivered to you. 

If the rental provider delivered the notice by hand or via email, the proposed rent increase can come into effect 61 days later.  

Additional time must be allowed when the notice is delivered by regular or registered post. How much additional time is based on Australia Post’s delivery time estimates. 

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The rental provider must give enough notice 

A rental provider must give you at least 60 days’ notice in writing of any proposed rent increase. If the rental provider gives you less than 60 days’ notice, the proposed increase will be invalid. 

Have I been given enough notice?

A rent increase cannot come into effect until the day after the 60-day notice period has ended. 

The notice period will begin when you are estimated to have received the notice. When you are estimated to have received the notice will depend on how it was delivered to you. 

If the rental provider delivered the notice by hand or via email, the proposed rent increase can come into effect 61 days later. 

Additional time must be allowed when the notice is delivered by regular or registered post. How much additional time is based on Australia Post’s delivery time estimates.  

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The notice must contain sufficient information 

There is not a limit on how much the rental provider can increase your rent, but the rental provider must give you sufficient information about how they calculated the rent increase. If they do not, the rent increase will not be valid. 

Rental providers may use various methods to explain how they have calculated a rent increase. The most common methods are: 

  • Consumer Price Index (CPI), 
  • comparative market review, 
  • increase by a fixed percentage, 
  • increase by a fixed dollar amount. 

Consumer Price Index (CPI) 

If your rental provider has used the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to calculate your rent increase, the notice needs to have the correct percentage increase based on the CPI for the relevant time period. The amount that your rental provider has increased the rent as a dollar figure should correspond with the CPI increase included on the notice. 

You can check that your rental provider has used the correct CPI on the Australian Bureau of Statistics website.   

For example: 

  • valid wording on a notice: “The rent increase will be by 0.6% in line with the Consumer Price Index increase as reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for the December 2023 quarter.  
  • invalid wording on a notice: “Consumer Price Index” 

Comparative market review 

If your rental provider has used comparative rental properties to calculate your rent increase, the notice must include information or documentation of the properties used in the comparison. This information should include similar rental properties in your area, their condition, key features and the rent amount. This can be attached to the notice, but it must be given with the notice, not afterwards. 

For example, if the notice contains a description and documentation of similar properties, including the location, key features and/or rental amounts, this is likely to be enough information. 

But if the notice simply stated, “market review” without giving any further information or documentation about the properties used to determine the new rent, this would be unlikely to be enough information for the notice to be valid. 

Increase by a fixed percentage 

If your rental provider has used a fixed percentage to calculate your rent increase, the notice needs to contain the specific percentage increase, and outline the process or steps used to calculate that percentage amount. 

For example: 

  • valid wording on a notice: “The rent increase will be a fixed increase of 3%” 
  • invalid wording on a notice: “Rent increased by a fixed percentage” 

Increase by a fixed dollar amount 

If your rental provider has used a fixed dollar amount to calculate your rent increase, the notice needs to contain the specific dollar amount of the increase, and outline the process or steps used to calculate that amount. 

For example: 

  • valid wording on a notice: “Rent increased by a fixed dollar amount – $30/week in line with the Victorian median rent increase for March 2024 quarter as reported by the Victorian Government Rental Report.” 
  • invalid wording on a notice: “Rent increased by a fixed dollar amount – $20/week” 

A rental provider can use a different method to the above, however they are still required to give you sufficient information about how they have calculated the rent increase. 

If you think your rental provider has not provided sufficient information, the proposed rent increase may not be valid. 

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The rent increase notice must be in the correct form 

If the rental provider wants to increase your rent, they must provide notice in writing using Consumer Affairs Victoria’s official ‘Notice of proposed rent increase’ form. In the notice, the rental provider needs to tell you: 

  • how much the rent will increase, 
  • how the rental provider has calculated the increase, 
  • what you can do if you think the increase is too much. 

The notice can be delivered to you by hand, regular or registered post, or by email if you have consented to receiving emails. 

A notice that isn’t in the correct form or isn’t given to you correctly will be invalid.  

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The proposed rent must not be excessive 

There is not a limit on how much the rental provider can increase your rent, however the proposed rent should not be excessive.  

When considering whether the proposed rent is excessive, you should compare your home with similar properties in your area, thinking about: 

  • the proposed rent compared to the rent for other similar properties in your area, 
  • facilities or features of your home, including:  the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, whether your home has a backyard, courtyard or balcony, heating and cooling, storage options and accessibility features. 
  • the general condition and state of repair of your home, 
  • any work or improvements you have done on your home (with the rental provider’s consent), 
  • anything the rental provider pays for (e.g. utilities), 
  • anything extra that you pay for, 
  • any changes to the property (e.g. condition or facilities) since you started renting or since the last rent increase, 
  • the number and amount of rent increases in the last 24 months. 

The amount of rent you are currently paying or any hardship you are facing are not considered when considering whether the proposed rent is excessive. 

You can challenge the rent increase with Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) if you think the proposed rent amount is excessive. You must make this request to CAV within 30 days of receiving the rent increase. CAV will then conduct an investigation and provide you and your landlord with a report on whether CAV considers the rent increase is excessive.