I’m wary of how diluted “affordable housing” means. Bypassing Council, VCAT and third party appeals are very tasty prizes for developers and I’m sure plenty would manipulate the definition of “affordable housing” to get a ticket to far less planning oversight, especially with the low bar of entry at 50 million. More housing is desperately needed, and NIMBY pushback has definitely been an issue, but I really hope the homes will actually be affordable, and that the Vic government planners will enforce good quality design, not boundary to boundary grossness with no setbacks or green space.
Hope that the new disputes mechanism has enforcement powers. Also, mandatory training for property managers is 💯 needed.
One thing I would love to see invoked - just for the fucking hilarity that would ensue - is a punishment for invalid breach notices. So many REAs would get absolutely buttfucked.
There should also be as part of the reform a certificate process for rental properties - think of it like a RWC. Before a property is allowed to be rented out a third party like the CAV goes through and certifies it fit for rental in accordance to minmum standards. You pass? well done, here’s your cert. You fail, GTFO. And if its found to be rented without certification or remediation of raised issues, you absolute penalise the fuck out of the owner. Fairly easy to enforce too, if somewhere has been flagged as unfit, someone sticks their head in every year or so, ain’t the owner living there? DOWN COMES THE HAMMER. Couple that with an actual enforced and checked vacant property penalisation and lot of shitty behaviour will dry up entirely.
Also having the ability to dob in a known dodgy landlord as a third party would be useful as fuck. At the moment everything is reliant on the tenant - who especially in the current environment is not going to risk the roof over their heads for a system that is proven won’t protect them.
Stop, I can only get so wet.
And punishment for illegal inspections, harassing tenants or trying to keep bonds. Or kicking tenants out to raise rent. Mmm