Spotlight on landlords

By Paul Pickering
KNOX City Council has vented its frustration with current rooming house regulations in a submission to Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV).
The council has widely criticised the State Government for its perceived hands-off approach to privately operated rooming houses, and has now recommended sweeping reforms to regulations in its submission to the Residential Accommodation Issues Paper released recently by the CAV.
Dobson Ward councillor Karin Orpen – who has led a protracted campaign against a cluster of privately-operated boarding houses in Ferntree Gully – said that rooming houses are the only type of development that escapes the checks and balances of the planning system.
“Currently, rooming houses are covered by three different State laws – and each applies at a different point,” Cr Orpen explained.
“You need to apply for a planning permit if you have more than 10 habitable rooms; you need to register with the council if you have more than five residents; and the residents are given tenancy rights if there are more than four residents.
“That’s confusing and inequitable, and as a result residents of boarding houses and their local communities often get a bad deal.”
While criticisms of rooming house regulations are always tempered by the reality of Melbourne’s critical shortage in social housing, Cr Orpen said that many rooming houses barely qualified as affordable accommodation alternatives – with residents often paying between $120 and $150 per week.
In its submission to CAV, Knox has recommended that all rooming houses with four or more residents should require a planning permit and be covered by the Residential Tenancies Act and health regulations.
Additionally, Knox suggests that all rooming houses should be centrally registered with the State Government, and operators should be subject to registration and basic competency requirements.
“We hope that the State Government works with us to ensure the laws governing rooming houses provide a fair deal for residents and local communities,” Cr Orpen said.
Knox City Council is currently awaiting a decision on a Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal hearing to decide the fate of a refused application for another privately-operated rooming house to be established in Craig Avenue, Ferntree Gully.