Tenant Rights and Responsibilities

At Haven, we believe you should be treated with dignity, respect and fairness every time you deal with us.

We are committed to the principles of equal opportunity. We will work for you without discrimination or favor, respect your rights, privacy and cultural values and ensure that you have open, equitable access to our services regardless of circumstance.

When you contact us, we want you to feel safe, welcome and valued. We want you to feel you have received professional, quality service. We want you to understand why we make the decisions we make and to have a voice in the issues that affect you.

If  you need an interpreter or translator, we can help. If you want an advocate to represent you, we can arrange it. If you wish to raise an issue with us or provide feedback, we will give you the opportunity to do so.

These are your rights as a tenant.

In return, you have a responsibility to provide us with honest and accurate information, to let us know if your circumstances change and and to respect the rights, privacy, beliefs and cultural values of others, including our staff.

What happens when things go wrong?

The tenant-landlord relationship is not always a smooth one. If you feel we have breached your rights or let you down in some way, please let us know. Your feedback will help us to do our job better and we will make every effort to resolve the problem.

To make a complaint or appeal a decision, first speak with the staff member/s involved. You can bring a friend, family member or someone else to support or represent you and we encourage this. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome, you can  have the issue reviewed by a supervisor, team leader and Haven's chief executive officer in turn.

If we still can't resolve the problem?

You can make a formal complaint by contacting:

Consumer Affairs Victoria
Ph: 1300 558 181 www.consumer.vic.gov.au
Tenants Union of Victoria
Ph:03 9416 2577 www.tuv.org.au
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)
Ph: 03 9628 9800  www.vcat.vic.gov.au
The Homelessness Advocacy Service
Ph: 1800 066 256 (free call) www.melbourne.homeless.org.au
The Advocacy and Rights Centre
Ph: 03 5444 4363 www.advocacyandrights.org.au
Legal Aid Victoria
Ph: 1800 677 402 www.legalaid.vic.gov.au
Homeless Persons' Legal Clinic
Ph: 03 8636 4400 www.pilch.org.au/hplc/
Office of Housing Registrar
Ph: 1300 650 172 www.housingregistrar.vic.gov.au/

Lease agreements

In Victoria, the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 is the law that governs lease agreements between a tenant and landlord. This legislation is designed to protect the interests of both parties. It covers many areas including tenant and landlord obligations, landlord right of entry to premises,  payment and refund of security  bonds, condition reports, rent payments and increases, repairs and maintenance, lease terminations, notices to vacate and dispute resolution.

Before signing a lease agreement, it is important that you understand what is expected of you and what you can expect of your landlord in return. Much of this information is contained in the Consumer Affairs Victoria booklet Renting a Home: A Guide for Tenants.

Renting a home guide for tenants (717 KB)