A word from our CEO

It’s been a big year at Tenants Victoria as we’ve taken on the unprecedented and continuing impacts of the pandemic – and responses to it – for renters across the state, while dealing with fresh challenges such as the rising cost of living. It’s all part of our mission to ensure a safe, secure and affordable home for every Victorian renter in a fair housing system.

• We responded to more than 11,000 inquiries this financial year – and counting – from renters and community workers about renting problems.
• Our advocacy to government on behalf of renters included 5 submissions on topics ranging from rooming houses to the laws that regulate the property market.
• We launched resources in 4 community languages – Chinese, Arabic, Dari and Dinka – including videos, social media posts and ‘Hot Topic’ rental guides.
• We hosted 19 online events with multicultural communities that included small discussion groups, forums and workshops, and many more informal meetings.
• Our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter platforms attracted almost 550,000 views or impressions, while we made more than 40 appearances in mainstream media, where highlights included an opinion article in Guardian Australia and an interview on ABC Radio National’s AM program.

In this special end-of-financial-year edition, we’ll discuss some of the benefits renters across Victoria have been able to tap into due to the ongoing advocacy, community outreach and advisory services of Tenants Vic.

This year we hope that you can contribute to the next level of service provision by making a tax-deductible donation before June 30, so we can continue to grow and expand our current community connections and advisory services. Find out more below.

‘It’s important to have a service advocating for tenants especially in the property market where many will be tenants for life.’

Why we need your help

Looking ahead into the next financial year, we’d like to focus on increasing and improving the ways that we provide advice and support to our community members. We currently can’t meet demand and respond to all enquiries that come through to us, so we need to develop more efficient and effective ways to respond, such as through digital tools on the website.

We’d also like to make sure we are able to connect with more community groups who experience greater disadvantage as renters – whether due to speaking a language other than English, experiencing financial difficulties, or being isolated from support networks.

To improve our advisory and support services, while also maintaining our role campaigning for sustainable renting options throughout Victoria, we are seeking donations throughout June.

If you’d like to donate and you do so before the end of June, you’ll also be able to receive the benefit of a tax deduction.

Supporting mental health

Through our advocacy and campaigning for renter’s rights we have been able to see firsthand some of the mental health benefits that renters can now enjoy due to recent changes to rental laws. Some of these changes include:

• Relaxing the laws around pet ownership
• Allowing people to make minor modifications to houses

While there are still some hurdles to cross with pet ownership for people in rentals, the process has been made easier. Pets help people with their mental health in many ways. They provide us with company and emotional support, with their instinct to understand and respond to human emotion. Pets also provide us with a sense of purpose with the responsibility to feed and walk them which encouraging exercise and the release of endorphins.

Meanwhile, changes to the laws regarding what minor modifications can be done in the home have also shown benefits towards greater mental health. Shaping our home environment can be seen as an opportunity for self-expression, and this is now easier. Even minor changes to a house or room to suit a person’s preferences help to provide a sense of control and safety, turning a house into a home.

Victorians respond to Tenants Vic support services

It’s been a tough year for so many people with the impacts of COVID, and huge price increases in fuel and other cost of living impacts. Tenants Vic have been there throughout it all to help tenants with their concerns and enquiries. Scattered throughout this special edition and below are just a few pieces of feedback we’ve received about our work for renters.

So what’s next?

We have big plans for 2022-23. But those plans closest to our heart are focussed on improving how we connect with the increasing number of community groups and individuals who are experiencing significant hardship and need our services. We’re looking at technology to make it quicker and more convenient for tenants to get in touch with questions or concerns. We’re also further expanding our outreach programs to community groups and individuals who experience greater disadvantage, as renters know that we’re here to help.

• Exploring how we can better develop and use technology to help us reach more people who need our services
• Expanding our outreach program to connect with more community groups and individuals who may be experiencing obstacles in understanding the rights and responsibilities of renting in Victoria. These may be cultural community groups who speak another language or may be unfamiliar with renting in Victoria.
• Finding innovative was to meet the considerable unmet demand we know is out there for our services through new approaches to tenancy-law training for community lawyers and support workers who assist renters experiencing hardship and disadvantage.

How you can help

To continue to grow our advisory and support services, while also maintaining our role campaigning for sustainable renting options throughout Victoria, we are seeking donations throughout June.

If you’d like to donate and you do so before the end of June, you’ll also be able to claim the benefits of a tax deduction.