TENANT INFORMATION GUIDE FOR TENANTS (VIC) | Page 16

Renting a home

Communicating with
your landlord
You and your landlord may
need to contact each other
about issues such as rent increases,
sub-letting, damage to the premises,
or ending the tenancy.
You should always communicate or
confirm important matters in writing.
Your written communications should
be clear, signed, and include all the
necessary details. Keep copies for
future reference. Consumer Affairs
Victoria has forms available for a
range of scenarios.
See consumer.vic.gov.au/renting
for details.
You can communicate with your
landlord or agent via email, if they
agree. It is a good idea to get this
agreement in writing. Note that you
must have your landlord or agent’s
written agreement if you want
to email them official notices (for
example, about repairs, damages,
utilities, moving out or breaches
of duty).
You can use the email templates in
Consumer Affairs Victoria’s RentRight
app to correctly contact your landlord
or agent via email, if they agree. For
more information and to download
the app, visit consumer.vic.gov.au/
rentright

Utilities
Water expenses
If the property has its own meter, you must
pay for:
• water consumption, and
• (in the Melbourne metropolitan area)
sewage disposal, unless your landlord
has agreed to pay these charges.
This agreement must be in writing
and signed by the landlord.
The landlord must pay all other charges
related to water supply, although
different rules may apply when a tank is
the main source.
Other utilities
Your landlord must pay all installation and
initial connection costs for electricity, gas
and oil supply. If there is a separate meter,
you must pay for all other charges for these
amenities, unless otherwise agreed. If there is
no separate meter, your landlord must pay.
Where bottled gas is provided, your
landlord pays for the supply or hire of
bottles, and you pay for the gas. Your
landlord must reimburse you:
• if you have paid the costs of any
utilities for which your landlord is liable
• for any rates or taxes paid to a
public authority that are not part of
consumption charges for the service.
Read your tenancy agreement carefully
and make sure you clearly understand
who is responsible for paying utilities.
Tenants in housing owned or subsidised by
the government may be charged separately
for expenses such as heating and laundry.

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