The letter turns up, you read the number, and the argument you have with yourself is about whether you can afford it. That is the wrong first question.
The first question is whether the notice is valid, because in Victoria a fair number of them are not. And the rule most people check against is now out of date.
It is 90 days, not 60
From 25 November 2025 the minimum notice period for a rent increase went from 60 days to 90. That came in with the Consumer and Planning Legislation Amendment (Housing Statement Reform) Act 2025, the same package that banned no-fault evictions, banned rental bidding, and required properties to meet the minimum standards at the point they are advertised.
Consumer Affairs Victoria’s own page carries the change at the top. Most of what a search will hand you does not, because it was written before that date and nobody went back to fix it. If a notice gives you 60 days, it is short by a month.
Two details on the counting. The 90 days runs to the date the increase is due to start, not the date you are supposed to respond. And the notice has to reach you by the method agreed to in your rental agreement, so if that method is post, CAV points to Australia Post delivery times, and the clock has to allow for them.
Only one form counts
There is a prescribed form, called Notice of proposed rent increase to renter of rented premises. Rooming houses, caravan parks and site agreements each have their own version.
CAV is blunt about what happens if it is not used. If the rental provider does not use the right form, the notice is not valid, and the renter only has to pay the increase if they are given proper notice. An email saying the rent is going up in April is not a notice. Neither is a line in a routine inspection report.
The wording that fails
This is the part almost nobody knows about, and it is published guidance, not a technicality someone invented.
The law does not cap how much the rent can rise. What it does require is that the rental provider tell you how the increase was calculated. CAV lists four common methods: the Consumer Price Index, the metropolitan or regional rent index, a fixed percentage, or a fixed dollar amount. Others are allowed, but the notice has to show a specific amount and show that it was worked out the way the notice says.
CAV then publishes examples on both sides.
| Wording | CAV’s classification |
|---|---|
| Rent increased by dollar amount. | Invalid |
| Based on the rental market valuation. | Invalid |
| As per rental provider’s instructions. | Invalid |
| All properties in the same building are leased between (price range). | Invalid |
| CPI | Invalid |
| The next rent increase will be by 1.8% in line with the Consumer Price Index increase as reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for the September 2025 quarter. | Valid |
| The next rent increase will be by $20 in line with the statewide rent increase for the June 2025 quarter. | Valid |
The pattern is the same in every line. Naming a method is not enough. The notice has to name the method, the source, the period it was drawn from, and the resulting figure. The bare letters CPI appear on the invalid side of CAV’s own list.
If an agent manages the property, CAV notes that the agent has to prepare the form correctly and needs clear instructions from the rental provider, and that getting it wrong may put them in breach of their Professional Conduct obligations. That is worth putting in an email, politely. The agent’s licence is on the line, not just the owner’s rent.
How often they can do it
In most cases the rent cannot go up more than once every 12 months, even if the rental agreement says otherwise.
| Agreement | How often |
|---|---|
| Started before 19 June 2019 | Not more than once every 6 months |
| Started on or after 19 June 2019 | Not more than once every 12 months |
| Became periodic on or after 19 June 2019 | Not more than once every 12 months |
| Rooming house, residential or caravan park started after 29 March 2021 | Not more than once every 12 months |
| Long-term agreement of more than 5 years | Not more than once every 12 months, and only if the agreement allows it |
Two things get missed here. A periodic lease is still covered, no matter how many years you have been rolling month to month. And during a fixed term, the rent cannot be increased at all unless the agreement contains a clause allowing it and states how the increase will be calculated.
There is also a straight prohibition worth knowing. The rent cannot be raised because you broke a term of the agreement. A clause that says otherwise cannot be enforced, and there are financial penalties for including one.
Your bond does not go up with it
Agents ask for this, and on an ordinary lease they are not entitled to.
CAV’s position is that additional bond can only be required where a long-term agreement is being renewed for another fixed term of more than 5 years. Even then, it needs 120 days written notice on the Notice requesting additional bond form, it cannot happen more than once every 5 years, and the extra amount has to be lodged with the RTBA within 10 business days of being received. The note under it is the one to keep: additional bond amounts cannot be required for a periodic or fixed short-term agreement.
So the number sitting with the RTBA stays where it is. Your rent rises, your bond does not, and at the end of the tenancy the bond you get claimed against is the one you originally lodged.
If you think the number is too high
There are two 30-day clocks and they run one after the other.
- Ask Consumer Affairs Victoria for a rent assessment. You have to do this within 30 days of your rental provider giving you the written notice. Not 30 days from the increase starting, 30 days from the notice.
- An inspector investigates and writes a report on behalf of the Director of CAV. Copies go to you and to the rental provider.
- If you still disagree, apply to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria within 30 days of getting that report. RDRV is free and runs mostly online or by phone. It is the same service that now handles bond disputes.
- VCAT can set a maximum rent, usually for 12 months on a private rental, and 6 months for rooming houses, caravan parks and site agreements.
The relevant sections are 44, 45 and 47 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997.
One change from earlier this year matters to how this is decided. Since 31 March 2026, the Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria and VCAT, including RDRV, can consider additional factors when working out whether a proposed increase is excessive. If you were told a few years ago that these assessments rarely go anywhere, that advice predates the reform.
If you would rather leave
A rent increase is one of the situations where a periodic renter can simply give notice and go. That is a notice of intention to vacate, and the 28 days on your side did not change when the provider’s notice period went to 90.
Work the dates backwards. You have 90 days before the new rent starts, which is enough room to give 28 days notice, book a final clean, and be out before you pay the higher amount once.
One more date to write down
13 October 2026. From that day, a rental provider has to tell you in advance if they are going to claim on your bond at the end of the agreement, and has to provide evidence to support the claim.
That is the same reform package as the 90 days. It does not change what they are allowed to deduct, and the condition report still decides most of it. What it changes is the surprise. Right now a claim can be the first you hear of a problem.
The short version ① The notice period is 90 days from 25 November 2025, and a notice giving 60 is short by a month ② A notice fails on the form or on the wording, and CAV’s published list of invalid wordings includes the letters CPI on their own ③ Your bond is not topped up on an ordinary lease, and if you want to argue the amount you have 30 days from the notice to ask CAV for an assessment, then 30 days from the report to take it to RDRV
Frequently asked questions
How much notice does a rental provider have to give for a rent increase in Victoria?
At least 90 days. This changed on 25 November 2025 under the Consumer and Planning Legislation Amendment (Housing Statement Reform) Act 2025, which lifted the minimum notice period for rent increases and certain notices to vacate from 60 days to 90. Consumer Affairs Victoria says the notice has to be given using the prescribed Notice of proposed rent increase form and delivered by the method agreed to in the rental agreement. A lot of guidance written before that date still says 60 days.
Can they put the rent up during a fixed term lease?
Only if the agreement itself allows it. Consumer Affairs Victoria puts it plainly, that a rental provider is not allowed to increase the rent during a fixed term agreement unless the rental agreement has an additional clause allowing for an increase. If that clause exists, the agreement also has to state how the increase will be calculated. Without both of those things, the increase has to wait until the fixed term ends.
What makes a rent increase notice invalid?
Using the wrong form makes it invalid outright, and Consumer Affairs Victoria says the renter only has to pay the increase if they are given proper notice. The other way it fails is on wording. CAV publishes examples of calculation wording that does not work, including "Based on the rental market valuation", "As per rental provider's instructions", and the letters CPI on their own. A valid one names a figure and the source, such as an increase of 1.8% in line with the Consumer Price Index for a specified quarter.
Does my bond go up when the rent goes up?
Not on a normal lease. Consumer Affairs Victoria states that additional bond amounts cannot be required for a periodic or fixed short-term agreement. A top-up is only possible where a long-term agreement of more than 5 years is being renewed for another fixed term of more than 5 years, it needs 120 days written notice on the prescribed form, and it cannot be done more than once every 5 years. If an agent asks you to top up the bond after an ordinary rent rise, that request has no basis.
How do I challenge a rent increase I think is too high?
Two 30-day clocks. You ask Consumer Affairs Victoria for a rent assessment within 30 days of being given the written notice, and an inspector investigates and writes a report on behalf of the Director. If you still disagree after the report, you apply to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria within 30 days of receiving it. VCAT can set a maximum rent, usually for 12 months on a private rental and 6 months for rooming houses, caravan parks and site agreements.
- Consumer Affairs Victoria, Rent increases
- Consumer Affairs Victoria, Challenging rent increases or high rent
- Consumer Affairs Victoria, New changes to the rental laws (dates in effect from 25 November 2025)
- Consumer Affairs Victoria, Notice of proposed rent increase to renter of rented premises (prescribed form)
- Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria
This guide is general information based on official sources current at the date shown above. Tenancy law differs by state and by agreement. For decisions about your own bond, check the official body linked above or get advice for your situation.
Keep reading
In Victoria a rental provider or agent can only list you on a tenant database after the lease has ended, and only if a breach left you owing more than the bond or led to a VCAT possession order. They have to warn you in writing and give you 14 days to object first. A listing is gone after three years at most, and sooner if you pay what you owe within three months.
In Victoria your bond has to sit with the RTBA, not in your landlord's account. If you paid the agent, they must lodge it within 14 days, the RTBA sends every renter a receipt with a bond number, and you can look the bond up online. Check it before you move out, because you need that bond number to claim it back.
A rental provider in Victoria can only end your tenancy for a reason on Consumer Affairs Victoria's list, and most of the end-of-lease reasons need 90 days' notice and paperwork attached. If the evidence is missing the notice is invalid, you have 30 days to challenge it at VCAT, and you can leave sooner on 14 days' notice of your own.