23  Sept 2025

VICTORIAN RENTERS FACE UNPREDICTABLE RENT HIKES

NEW CONSUMER POLICY RESEARCH CENTRE (CPRC) AND TENANTS VICTORIA REPORT SHOWS HOW RENT INCREASES WORK IN PRACTICE

Victorian renters are being hit with rent increases that can range from as little as 3% to more than 50% in a single year, with no clear or consistent formula to determine the price of their home, new research has found.

CPRC and Tenants Victoria conducted interviews with rental providers and agents to understand price setting practices, combining this insight with a mystery shop of price setting advice to rental providers.

Currently in Victoria, rent can only be increased once every 12 months — but there are no clear limits on how much. Rental increases can be based on assumptions, market scans, or even media reporting, leaving renters with uncertainty about their most important cost.

“When rent increases range anywhere from 3% to 52% with no transparent process, renters are left unable to predict the cost of their largest and most important budget item: their home.

“We did observe some good practice, where a third of the rental providers we talked with considered the wellbeing of people who rent when setting their prices. This good practice is something that the Victorian Government could build on to create more certain and clear pricing practices,” CPRC CEO Erin Turner said.

The research found:

• Four out of five rental providers interviewed had increased rent in the past two years, with an average increase of $48 per week
• Rent increases varied widely — from 3% to 52% in a single year — compared with just 2.4% CPI growth.
• Media coverage of the rental crisis spurred some landlords to raise rents, often out of fear of “missing out.”
• While some landlords held off on increases to keep “good renters” or because they worried about financial pressure, these decisions were inconsistent and relied on individual attitudes rather than clear rules.

Tenants Victoria, Acting CEO, Cameron Bloye said, “For renters, the stakes couldn’t be higher.”

“When your rent can jump by 30, 40, even 50% overnight, it’s destabilising and can put your housing security at risk. We need strong protections and a fair formula so people can plan their lives.”

The report calls for a rent increase fairness formula that would introduce guidance, transparency, consistency and fairness to the process of rent increases.  

More information, including the full report is available at: cprc.org.au/report/setting-the-price

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MEDIA ENQUIRIES 

CPRC
Liliana Campos
Communications Manager
T: +61 (0) 493 539 466
E: liliana.campos@cprc.org.au