Registration and regulation

Registration and regulation of housing agencies is a fundamental part of the Government’s approach to increasing the supply of affordable rental housing for low-income Victorians.

Regulation holds agencies accountable to the Government, tenants, investors and the community for their use of public and private funds to provide community housing where this is not currently provided by the market.

Housing Registrar

The Housing Registrar was established in 2005 to register and regulate rental housing agencies in Victoria. A regulatory framework came into effect in July 2007. It was developed in consultation with currently registered housing agencies, agencies seeking registration and peak bodies.

It aims to strengthen the capacity of the housing sector for innovation and continuous improvement in the provision of affordable housing for low income people.

National Community Housing Standards

The National Community Housing Standards (NCHS) were first published in 1998 and a revised version published in 2003. These standards guide the operations of community housing providers. The manual outlines the principles of community housing and is a useful source of information for managers, staff, board members, tenants and Department of Human Services personnel regarding ideas for continuously improving service delivery.

Rooming house regulations

On 11 December 2008, new regulations were introduced to cover rooming houses of four or more people in the Health (Prescribed Accommodation) Regulations 2001 (HPA).

The HPA Regulations definition of a rooming house has been changed to align with the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (RTA) definition of four or more people. In addition to achieving consistency in the definitions between the two pieces of legislation, this change provides a range of additional protections to residents of rooming houses with four and five residents.