The Victorian government has promised new rental reforms giving renters more protection against landowners. It’s part of a slew of plans to increase the state's housing stock, but some fear it could drive investors out of the state.
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00:00Surrey Hills renters Sarah Amos and Rory Spears have been evicted three times. In their last
00:10home they were never told why.
00:12It was a pretty difficult time actually because I actually just went through a miscarriage
00:17and we were also getting married and then to find out that we were being evicted was
00:23pretty difficult.
00:25Months after adding Murray to their family, they were forced to leave without explanation
00:29under the no grounds evictions laws.
00:31There was no reason.
00:32But the government is trying to stop that with reforms to help renters including banning
00:37no grounds evictions, vetoing dodgy bond claims and capping lease break fees at four weeks
00:43rent.
00:44These are the reforms that we're introducing to make sure that we're getting the right
00:47balance in that marketplace.
00:49But there are concerns the balance isn't right with warnings these reforms could actually
00:53worsen Victoria's housing crisis. Real estate experts say these rules could act as a disincentive
00:59to investment and put more pressure on the already struggling market.
01:04This is a diabolical for Victoria. It's diabolical for rental supply. It's absolutely crazy.
01:10You're going to see more boycotting from investors investing in Victoria.
01:15According to an industry led survey this year, Victoria was the least accommodating state
01:19or territory for property investors in the country.
01:22It also found that concerns about new or proposed tenancy legislation was the top reason why
01:27Victorian investors thought about selling within one to two years.
01:31Not only are they seeing an exodus from existing investors, but new investors are just not
01:37going to be interested in starting their small businesses in Victoria.
01:41All we ask the government to do is simply make sure that any of their measures don't
01:45drive away investments that's needed to put roofs over Victorians' heads.
01:51But for Sarah, Rory and Murray, these reforms provide much needed security.
01:55Thankfully, this won't happen to other families.