PRESS RELEASE: Housing Crisis: New report reveals up to two in five claims made by rental providers against their renters’ bonds are completely baseless
Anika Legal, a community legal centre dedicated to providing free legal support to renters in Victoria, has released its latest report shedding light on the challenges faced by renters in navigating bond disputes.
The report, based on comprehensive analysis of data from 147 bond disputes in 2022-2023, underscores the pressing need for reforms to ensure fair treatment and justice for renters across the state.
Staggering key findings include that wait-times for VCAT hearings within this two-year period averaged 502 days.
84% of respondents to a survey conducted by Anika Legal reported feeling stressed and anxious about the bond dispute, and 43% reported that the bond dispute impacted their ability to pay the bond for their next rental home.
When provided with legal assistance, renters were able to recover two-thirds of the bond money claimed by rental providers – $1,688 on average, or the equivalent of two months’ worth of groceries.
In 39% of the cases where Anika Legal assisted renters with bond disputes, no money was recovered by the rental provider, suggesting that the claim was baseless. If the same percentage of the estimated 23,700 bond disputes heard by VCAT each year are baseless, then the Victorian government is spending $14 million each year in VCAT costs for cases that should never have been brought in the first place.
In light of these findings, Anika Legal is advocating for urgent reforms to address systemic issues within Victoria’s rental market.
These recommendations include:
Implementation of a Portable Bond Scheme to alleviate financial burdens on renters and streamline the rental process.
Adjustment of Rent Assist eligibility criteria to ensure equitable access for all renters.
Enforcement of civil penalties for unfair bond claims to deter rental providers from exploiting renters.
Anika Legal urges policymakers to prioritise the concerns of renters and incorporate their voices in the design of these critical reforms.
By working collaboratively with stakeholders, Anika Legal believes it is possible to create a rental market that is fair, transparent, and equitable for all parties involved.
Quotes attributable to Noel Lim, CEO and Co-founder of Anika Legal:
“Rental providers and their agents are making baseless and inflated bond claims as a matter of course to get as much income out of their tenants. There’s no penalty for a rental provider to make a baseless bond claim, so they’re treating them like free lottery tickets. This is clear exploitation of renters, which is costing them two weeks’ pay on average, and negatively impacting their mental health.”
“Almost half of Anika Legal’s clients facing a bond dispute had their ability to pay their next bond impacted. Unfair bond claims lead to a cycle of disadvantage that can result in homelessness.”
“The failings of the bond system are characteristic of the broader tenancy system’s failure to address the power imbalance between rental provider and renter. Until this is meaningfully addressed, the system will not work for renters across a range of tenancy issues.”
