Five Victorian real estate agencies will face court next month for advertising rental properties in breach of Victoria’s rental bidding laws. This follows investigations by Consumer Affairs Victoria’s renting taskforce.
It is alleged the agencies failed to include the fixed price for the rent when advertising properties on realestate.com.au and domain.com.au. The agencies are:
- Wyndham Realty Pty Ltd, trading as Barry Plant, Werribee
- AAM Realtor Pty Ltd, trading as Ray White, Point Cook
- White Lotus Property Group, Truganina
- YouSales Pty Ltd, Docklands
- Smart Six Corporation Pty Ltd, trading as PRD, Mildura
The agencies were issued with infringements but chose not to pay their fines and have their matters heard at court.
Using a price range or phrases such as ‘Contact agent’ in rental advertisements in place of a fixed price is a form of rental bidding. It leaves renters unclear what rent is being asked for and can pressure them to offer inflated amounts.
Rental bidding was prohibited as part of the 130 rental law reforms introduced in 2021. Over 40 agencies have been fined for not using fixed prices in their listings, since the taskforce began.
Fines for this offence are $2,371 for individuals and $11,855 for companies. A maximum penalty for companies of more than $59,000 per offence applies.
These cases will be heard in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court and Mildura Magistrates' Court in July.