Victoria bond evidence rules start soon: records property managers should fix now

Consumer Affairs Victoria updated its rental-law changes page on 22 September 2026, listing several changes due to start on 13 October. They cover bond claims, minimum rental standards records, two-yearly gas and electrical safety checks, gas checks before draughtproofing, and a ban on rental providers and agents charging renters application fees.

The topic has also moved into renter and industry guidance this week. RACV published updated bond guidance on 24 September, and Victorian agency-support providers have started telling property managers to change vacate checklists, fee schedules and records folders before October.

The practical theme is clear: Victorian rental files need to show the evidence earlier. A note in the system after a dispute starts will not do the same job as a dated condition report, photo set, invoice, quote, safety certificate or fee-setting record that was already in place.

Build the bond evidence before the RTBA claim

From 13 October, rental providers and their agents must notify renters in advance if they intend to make a bond claim and provide evidence supporting the claim. The Consumer Legislation Amendment Act 2025 inserts a more specific rule into the Residential Tenancies Act: at least three days before a bond claim for repayment to the rental provider is made, each renter must receive bond claim evidence that supports the claim.

The Act defines bond claim evidence as documentary evidence such as an invoice, receipt, quote or photograph, plus any other prescribed evidence. It also says the evidence must not conflict with a statement in the condition report.

That makes the final inspection workflow more deliberate. If the agency intends to claim for cleaning, damage, missing items or unpaid amounts, the file should show what was found, how it compares with the entry record, what the proposed amount is based on, when the evidence was sent to every renter, and when the RTBA claim was lodged.

Condition reports now carry more weight

Consumer Affairs Victoria's bond guidance already says the final inspection should compare the home against the condition report, and that the renter must be present or have been given a reasonable opportunity to attend. It also says rental providers cannot claim bond for fair wear and tear or for damage the rental provider was responsible to repair.

The new evidence rule makes weak entry records harder to work around later. If the entry report says a carpet stain already existed, a later photo of that same stain is not a clean basis for a bond claim. If the entry report is vague, the agency may spend the dispute explaining what should have been recorded at handover.

For property managers, the fix starts at the beginning of the tenancy: clear room-by-room notes, dated entry photos, renter amendments, repair follow-up, and a tidy record of anything the owner agreed to fix after move-in.

Minimum standards need a records folder

CAV says rental providers or their agents will need to keep records showing the property met the minimum rental standards before it was advertised, offered or the renter moved in. They must give those records to CAV if asked.

This is different from believing the property complies. The file should be able to show it. For a typical agency, that means a listing-ready checklist, dated photos, invoices or service records for repairs completed before advertising, any safety certificates, owner instructions, and notes explaining unresolved work that meant a property should not yet be advertised.

Do not leave this as a folder called "misc compliance". Tie the records to the property and the listing date. If CAV asks later, the agency should not need to rebuild the file from emails and memory.

Bring older tenancies into safety-check planning

From 13 October, CAV says rental providers and agents must arrange gas and electrical safety checks by a qualified tradesperson every two years for all rental agreements, whether they commenced before, on or after that date.

The easy miss is long-running tenancies. Some agencies have newer tenancies already flowing through a two-year cycle, while older periodic tenancies sit outside the routine calendar. Those properties now need to be found, owner costs need to be flagged, trades need to be booked, and the next due date needs to sit somewhere visible.

If draughtproofing work is being planned, CAV also lists a gas ventilation safety check within the previous six months before that work can be undertaken. Keep that check with the work order, not in a separate compliance archive.

Check renter fees before they become arrears

CAV's current page says that from 13 October it will be an offence for a rental provider or agent to charge a renter fees to make a rental application. Earlier changes already restricted third-party application and rent-payment fees.

For agencies, the boring admin matters here: application forms, platform settings, tenant ledgers, dishonour-fee workflows, automatic invoice codes, and arrears templates. If a fee is no longer allowed, it should not be sitting on a renter ledger waiting to be collected.

Make the change visible to staff. If the person answering applicant questions is not the person configuring the software, both need the same instruction.

What to do before 13 October

Start with the vacate checklist. Add the evidence pack step before the RTBA claim step, and record the date each renter received the evidence. Put a hold in the process so a claim is not lodged before the three-day window has run.

Then work through active Victorian properties. Confirm entry condition reports and photos are stored together, minimum-standards records can be found by property and listing date, older tenancies have gas and electrical checks scheduled, and fee codes that touch renters have been reviewed.

Finally, brief owners in plain language. Some will notice extra safety-check costs or tighter bond-claim evidence requests. It is better to explain the process before the end of a tenancy than while everyone is arguing about the bond.

This article is general information for rental operators, not legal advice. Check the current Victorian legislation, Consumer Affairs Victoria guidance and qualified advice before changing compliance procedures.

Sources checked

Reviewed 2026-09-25.