What renters forget at handover is often something they put in themselves and stopped seeing years ago. The water-saving shower head. The blockout curtains that went up in the first week, with the agent’s originals still folded in a cupboard somewhere. A camera on the porch. Stick-on child locks on every kitchen drawer.
All of that is allowed in Victoria. Some of it doesn’t even need permission. The catch is at the end of the lease, because each change you made has to be reversed or paid for.
What you could install without asking
Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) lists two groups.
On any property:
- non-permanent window film for insulation, heat or privacy
- a wireless doorbell
- curtains, as long as you don’t throw out the original curtains
- adhesive child safety locks on drawers and doors
- pressure-mounted child safety gates
- a lock on the letterbox
On any property not listed on the Victorian Heritage Register:
- picture hooks or screws for wall mounts, shelves or brackets, on every surface except exposed brick or concrete
- wall anchors to secure furniture, same exception
- LED globes that don’t need a new light fitting
- a low-flow shower head, as long as you keep the original
- blind or cord anchors
- removable alarms or security cameras that aren’t hardwired and don’t intrude on the neighbours’ privacy
- hardware-mounted child safety gates, except on exposed brick or concrete
Anything else needs the rental provider’s permission. For some changes they can’t refuse without a good reason. CAV’s list includes painting, flyscreens, draughtproofing, a vegetable or herb garden, and hooks on exposed brick or concrete.
The rule at the end of the lease
Tenants Victoria sums up section 64 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 like this. If you make any modification, even one the rental provider agreed to in writing, then when you move out you either:
- restore the property to the condition it was in before the change, allowing for fair wear and tear, or
- pay the rental provider the reasonable cost of having it restored.
CAV gives three ways out of that. The rental provider agrees you don’t have to. The rental agreement says you don’t have to. Or you paid a modification bond.
Notice what isn’t on the list: “they said it was fine when I asked.” Agreeing to the change going in and agreeing to it staying are two different conversations. If you only had the first one, have the second before you move out, by email.
The move-out list, item by item
| What you put in | Before you hand back the keys |
|---|---|
| Your own curtains | Rehang the originals. CAV’s permission depends on you keeping them |
| Low-flow shower head | Refit the original head. Same condition as the curtains |
| Picture hooks, screws, wall anchors | Take them out, fill the holes and make good. Details in marks on the walls |
| Hardware-mounted child gates | Unscrew them and fill the fixing holes like any other screw hole |
| Pressure-mounted gates, adhesive locks | Remove them and check for adhesive left on doors and drawer fronts |
| Window film | Peel it off and check the glass for residue in daylight |
| Wireless doorbell, cameras, alarms | Take them down. If a mount left holes, treat them like hooks |
| Letterbox lock | Remove it, or ask in writing whether they would like it left along with the key |
| LED globes | Neither CAV nor Tenants Victoria singles these out. Ask whether they want them left before you swap anything back |
Two items on that list are where I see trouble most. The first is the shower head, because the original went in the bin or into a box that got packed and moved. The second is curtains, because the originals were rehung badly or not at all. Both are on CAV’s own list with a condition attached, so there isn’t much room to argue.
Changes you asked permission for
Painting a room, putting in flyscreens, digging a veggie patch. The rental provider may have agreed, and in many cases couldn’t reasonably refuse. That still doesn’t settle what happens when you leave.
CAV’s advice for long-term agreements is to record any agreement about changes in the rental agreement itself, using an extra copy of the “alterations and restorations requirement” section (Part F), signed by both of you. On an ordinary lease the practical version is an email from the agent saying, in plain words, that the change can stay and doesn’t need to be reversed. Keep it with your condition report.
Also worth knowing: CAV says that even when a rental provider gives permission for a change, they don’t have to pay for it.
The modification bond
If a rental provider won’t agree that a change can stay, they may ask for extra bond to cover reversing it. CAV calls this a modification bond. Once it’s paid, you aren’t expected to remove the change when you leave.
The limits, from CAV:
- it can’t be asked for if the amount would be less than $500
- it has to be reasonable compared with the cost of reversing the change
- it can’t be asked for if the rental provider doesn’t want the change reversed
- it can’t be asked for where a government scheme such as NDIS funding paid for the change on the condition it stays
It is lodged with the RTBA separately from your main bond. If you think the amount is unreasonable, you can apply to VCAT to change it or to rule that it isn’t required.
Changes you weren’t allowed to make
If you made a change that needed permission and never got it, CAV says the rental provider can serve a Notice of breach of duty. It asks you to restore the property to how it was right before the change, or pay what restoring it would reasonably cost. At the end of a lease that cost tends to turn up as a line in the bond claim, so it’s cheaper to deal with it yourself first.
One more from the same CAV page. Renters must not remove or disable safety devices, and CAV names taking the batteries out of a smoke alarm. If you did that at some point, put the battery back before the final inspection.
Where the money goes from there is covered in how to get your bond back.
The short version Victorian renters can install a fair amount without asking, but at the end of the lease each change has to be reversed or paid for, even ones the rental provider approved. You’re off the hook only if they agree in writing, the agreement says so, or you paid a modification bond (minimum $500, lodged separately with the RTBA). Put the original shower head and curtains back, take out and fill every hook and screw, and get “you can leave it” in an email before you move out.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to remove changes my landlord gave me permission for?
Usually, yes. Tenants Victoria says that even with the rental provider's written consent, when you move out you have to put the property back the way it was before the change, or pay the reasonable cost of having that done. Fair wear and tear is excepted. Permission to make a change is not the same as permission to leave it there.
When don't I have to undo a modification?
Consumer Affairs Victoria lists three cases. The rental provider agrees you don't have to, the rental agreement says you don't have to, or you paid a modification bond. Get the first one in writing, because a verbal "leave it, that's fine" is hard to prove at a bond dispute.
What is a modification bond in Victoria?
It is extra bond a rental provider can ask for to cover the cost of reversing a change, so you are not expected to remove it yourself. CAV says it is lodged with the RTBA separately from your main bond. They cannot ask for one if it would be less than $500, if it isn't reasonable compared with the cost of reversing the change, or if they don't want the change reversed.
I swapped in a low-flow shower head. What do I do with the old one?
Put it back before you hand over the keys, unless the rental provider has told you in writing to leave yours. CAV allows the swap without permission on the condition that you do not throw out the original shower head. Curtains work the same way. You can hang your own, but you must keep the originals.
What happens if I made a change I wasn't allowed to make?
CAV says the rental provider can serve a Notice of breach of duty. It asks you to either restore the property to the condition it was in right before the change, or pay what it would reasonably cost to restore it. If that comes up at the end of the lease, the cost can end up as part of a bond claim.
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
Victoria's guidelines draw an unusually precise line through windows: the inside of every window is yours, the outside of ground floor windows is yours, and the outside of anything above that is theirs. Blinds get their own rule again. Faded is wear and tear, stained or ripped is damage. Here is exactly where each line sits, and what it means for the exit report.
Walls are where most final inspections turn into an argument, and Victoria has two documents that settle it: the Director's Guidelines on cleanliness and on damage, which VCAT must have regard to. Here's the line they draw between a scuff you have to wipe and a mark nobody can charge you for, why hook holes sit on the other side of it, and what depreciation does to a repainting claim.
Victoria's Residential Tenancies Act says damage does not include fair wear and tear, which it defines as deterioration from reasonable use and natural forces. Consumer Affairs Victoria's Guideline 3 gives side-by-side examples, and VCAT has to weigh the age of an item using the ATO depreciation guide. An 8-year-old carpet is the example CAV uses for one a renter can't be charged to replace.