The Victorian government has introduced 150-plus rental reforms, first under Daniel Andrews and now Premier Jacinta Allan, across the past five years. Picture: NewsWire/Andrew Henshaw.
A former landlord has been left “dumbfounded” by a Victorian legal loophole which allows ex-tenants to request urgent repairs, long after they move out of a rental home.
Joanna Giannone and her husband legally evicted a tenant from an apartment so they could move into it themselves, a few years ago.
But the couple were shocked when the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal notified them that the tenant had requested urgent repairs to the property, more than two years after being evicted – prompting Ms Giannone to describe the state’s rental system as “broken”.
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Ms Giannone contacted VCAT to explain the situation, thinking the tribunal could conduct a background check to confirm the renter had indeed been evicted – given that VCAT had signed off on the eviction notice in the first place.
However, Ms Giannone was flabbergasted when VCAT advised her to attend the hearing instead.
“What we were advised was that the system does not have the ability to check whether the urgent request for a repair is actually something from an applicant that is in a current rental agreement, or whether they’ve been evicted,” Ms Giannone said.
“We were dumbfounded that we were told that, ‘No still you would need to proceed with the VCAT hearing’.”
A total of 38,573 landlords applied to VCAT and Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria, seeking legal action or dispute resolution relating to their tenants, between May 2025 and April 2026.
At the hearing, the VCAT member struck out the urgent repairs’ claim in a process which took roughly 45 minutes.
“We never had any doubts that it would be dismissed because it was like, this is just a complete waste of our time,” Ms Giannone said.
“This was a gross misuse of taxpayer funds, this is how broken the system is.”
Ms Giannone said the former tenant’s application did not relate to any repairs they had requested when living in the home.
She remains unsure as to what the former renter actually wanted to be fixed, as this was not explained during the hearing, either.
VCAT’s head office and main Melbourne CBD venue is located in La Trobe St, Melbourne.
After the case wrapped, Ms Giannone wrote to then-Shadow Minister for Housing, Richard Riordan.
In the letter, she described the “loophole” in Victoria’s rental laws as “a massive gap in the VCAT process, specifically the Residential Tenancies Act”.
Shortly after Ms Giannone’s VCAT hearing, the Victorian government introduced Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV), in March 2025.
The RDRV is dispute resolution and case management service provided by VCAT to help renters and rental providers resolve rental issues such as bond returns, compensation claims, repairs, maintenance and excessive rent increases.
Ms Giannone said she was shocked when VCAT advised her she should attend the hearing on urgent repairs, despite the tenant being evicted about two years earlier.
A VCAT spokesperson said anyone could make an application to VCAT or RDRV.
“However, in most cases, the true nature of the dispute or issue is not revealed until the actual hearing of the matter,” the spokesperson said.
“This may be the first opportunity to strike it out or dismiss it.”
A renter, who references uncompleted repairs at a property they have vacated, would usually be treated as having made an application for compensation related to the failure by a rental provider to carry out their obligation to complete repairs during the rental agreement.
“VCAT does not usually know if a rental agreement has come to an end, unless a warrant is returned executed, or the parties lodge a bond and compensation claim,” the spokesperson added.
Changes to Victorian rental laws introduced since 2021 include a ban on no-fault evictions and having the RDRV or VCAT review rent increases, if a tenant requests it.
A total of 38,573 landlords applied to VCAT and RDRV between May 2025 and April 2026, seeking action legal or dispute resolution relating to their tenants over matters such as notices to vacate a property, bonds and compensation, repairs and compliance.
The Victorian government has introduced 150-plus rental reforms, since 2021.
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