Victorian landlords face $62,000 fines for illegal renter questions

Victorian landlords asking prospective tenants about their pets or car are risking fines upwards of $62,000 as the state’s rental task force cracks down on new rental regulations.Since March 31 this year, rental reforms have limited property managers and landlords to seeking only information contained in the state’s standardised rental application form establishing their identity and their income.Separately, one of the biggest rental application platforms in the state, 2Apply, run by Reapit, has removed a field from its applications in Victoria touching on “anything else you’d like to add” after the taskforce warned them it risked breaking the law.It comes as new government data has revealed the state’s recently founded Portable Rental Bond Scheme this week reached $1m in bonds being guaranteed by the government for transition from one rental to another.Consumer Affairs Victoria director Nicole Rich said forms with additional questions or fields in them could lead to renters answering them for fear of missing out on a home in a tight rental market.Ms Rich warned those who continued to ask unlawful questions could face enforcement action, with maximum penalties for agents and landlo...