A report found that the number of Victorian renters who received eviction notices was five times as much as rent, a report found, highlighting the increasing efforts of tenants to keep up with the cost of living.

The state’s Resident Leasing Specialist’s report was released on Tuesday and also found that 58% of rental households received an increase in rent in the 12 months to September 2023, up from 29.8% in the previous 12 months.

These findings led tenant Victoria to call for a “leasing fair formula” to reduce the rise in excessive rents and provide more support for renters facing “cruel rental market conditions.”

Commissioner Heather Holst's report uses data from the census, government and welfare agencies, and community legal services including tenant Victoria to determine the ongoing and deteriorating trends in the state's rental market.

Renters receive much more notifications than in 2021, with an average of nearly 2,000 notifications issued per week in the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Non-payment of rent constitutes 95% of negligence notices, and notices issued for this reason have increased by five times - and landlord sales are the main reason for more than half of the failure-free notices.

The report found that affordability was the lowest point in more than a decade in the past two years, and has been declining in metropolitan and regional areas. Almost all rents are unaffordable for job seekers and other government-supported payments.

The report shows that markets have also tightened over the past few years, with the vacancy rate in Greater Melbourne at 2 per cent, a rate five years ago - after peaking in metropolitan areas during the pandemic.

The Victorian government passed a law in 2020 that prohibits landlords from rejecting renters’ requests to keep pets, but Lost Dogs’ Houses report says the second most common reason for surrendering pets is the landlord restrictions, and that has increased by 47% since 2021. Since 2021, this is since 2021.

Historically, low vacancy rates and rapidly escalating rents are ongoing problems for renters in the private market, so there are “consistent reports” for real estate with unqualified rents. Holster said the Victorian government recently established a rental task force to investigate substandard residences, which she was “exciting”.

Tenant Victoria CEO Jennifer Beveridge said the need for advocacy and advice such as their services has increased, but funding restrictions mean they can only answer one in five of the help.

"Renters really feel financial pressure. They tell us the horrible choices they have to make: no food, no heating, kids supplies, hairstyles and shoes. The constant need to make these choices makes these choices hard."

Beveridge said the Victorian government “does a lot to improve rents in Victoria” but “needs more attention to addressing the worst housing crisis in life’s memory.”

"It's obvious that we need a fair rental formula to guide reasonable rental increases. We don't want to see the out-of-control rent increases in the past few years."

Contact the Victorian Government for comment.