Victorian rental law updates: What you need to know

What’s changing & why it matters

The Victorian government is introducing significant changes to rental laws, many of which will be taking effect from November 25, 2025.

We understand that regulatory changes can feel overwhelming, and we want to assure you that we’re here to support your business every step of the way. This blog will be regularly updated to keep you informed as changes occur.

While Reapit has made every effort to ensure you are compliant with the new legislation, it is ultimately your business' responsibility to ensure that your processes align with your agency’s own interpretation of the law.

To read about the legislation changes in more detail, you can follow this link to the Victorian Consumer Affairs website.

Key dates

Below is a summary of the changes that will require you to adjust your process in Reapit Lettings and Reapit PM and their corresponding timelines for effect:

Effective 25 November 2025

• Ban on all types of rental bidding
• Extension of notice periods for rent increases and certain notices to vacate
• New rules to protect renters’ personal information

Future-dated changes (date TBC by the government)

• New standard form for rental applications

What this means for your Reapit workflow

These legislation changes require agencies to adapt their workflows, and Reapit will evolve accordingly. We already have a number of settings, processes and policies in place to help your agency remain compliant.

Changes effective 25 November 2025

Ban on all rental bidding

According to Consumer Affairs, ‘agents and rental providers will be banned from accepting offers made by a renter to pay rent higher than the advertised amount or to pay more than one month’s rent in advance’.

The setting Prevent Higher Rent Offers already exists in Reapit Lettings, and we have already enabled this for you, so there is nothing you need to action for rent bidding in order to remain compliant.

If you wish to make any changes, the setting can be found by navigating to Settings > Applications > 2Apply > General. In the Lease Details section, tick Prevent Higher Rent Offers checkbox. This setting will prevent applicants from entering a rent amount higher than the advertised price.

Extension of notice periods for rent increases

According to Consumer Affairs, ‘rental providers must give a renter 90 days' notice of a rent increase and certain notices to vacate’.

We have put together a separate article on managing rent reviews in Reapit PM for Victorian agencies, which you can read here.

New rules to protect renters' personal information

Reapit Lettings and 2Apply proactively made changes to its Data Retention Policy in late 2024 to align with state legislation Australia-wide. For Victoria, we’ve adjusted the deletion period for unsuccessful applications from 60 days to 30 days to ensure compliance.

Unsuccessful applications:

• All data from unsuccessful applications will be deleted 30 days after submission.
  • This includes all documents submitted and information entered during the application process.

Successful applications:

• All data from successful applications will be deleted 3 years after submission.
  • This includes all documents and information entered during the application process.

Data retention for reporting:

• Agents will still retain a record of the application submission for reporting purposes.
• This record will only include the applicant's name and some basic contact details.
• No other data from the application will be stored.

Prospect data:

• Data on prospects who enquired about a property will remain available.

Data Recovery:

• We no longer facilitate data recovery requests
• Users will need to download and store their data in another system, as IRE will no longer be used for historical application data storage outside of the timeframes stated above.

Recommended Actions for Approved Applications:

• Approved applications should be saved into the agents' trust accounting software.
• This is necessary for maintaining records for insurance purposes.

Changes yet to be confirmed

New standard rental application form

Consumer Affairs states that ‘rental providers and their agents must use the prescribed form for rental agreement applications’. However, this standardised form has yet to be released.

At Reapit, we have already implemented standardised application forms in Queensland, and are progressing the same work for South Australia. Because each state’s standardised form differs significantly, we cannot begin development until Consumer Affairs are able to provide the form itself.

Until the Victorian standardised form is released, agencies can continue using their current rental application workflow in 2Apply and Reapit Lettings. Please rest assured that Reapit will provide further guidance on timelines for changes once the form has been released.

Supporting your business

Should you have any questions or require assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact our Support team by initiating a Live Chat via the Support button at the top of your Reapit Lettings or Reapit PM systems between the hours of 8am and 6pm AEST, Monday to Friday.

Disclaimer: This article is intended as a general guide and does not constitute legal advice. Please seek independent legal counsel for guidance specific to your business or interpretation of the legislation.  

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