A rental agreement used to be called a lease or a residential tenancy agreement. It is a contract between the renter (tenant) and rental provider (landlord).
There are 3 types of rental agreements for residential properties such as houses, units and apartments.
Rental agreements should include:
You must use the ‘prescribed form’ when entering into a written rental agreement. A prescribed form is defined by Victorian rental law.
You can include extra terms and conditions that are not in the form, as long as they are not prohibited by the law. You must not include terms which take away any of the rights and responsibilities provided for by the law.
There is no cooling-off period for a rental agreement, so you should make sure you understand it and accept the conditions before you sign one.
There are 3 types of residential rental agreements:
Most fixed-term agreements are short-term. They might be for 6 or 12 months, but they can be up to 5 years.
Short-term agreements can be written or verbal, but we recommended using written agreements.
You should use this form:
If a short fixed-term agreement ends, and you stay in the rented premises without signing a further agreement, it will automatically turn into a periodic (month to month) agreement.
Long fixed-term agreements are for more than 5 years.
People might choose a long-term agreement because it offers more security and stability. It also lets people agree before they sign the agreement about things like how rent increases will be calculated and making changes to the property.
There are some different laws for long-term agreements. These include:
Long-term agreements must be in writing. If not, the renter can end the agreement at any time by giving the rental provider 28 days’ notice. The renter will not have to pay a penalty.
You should use this form:
If a long fixed-term agreement ends, and you stay in the rented premises without signing a further agreement, it will automatically turn into a periodic (month to month) agreement. The rules of that periodic agreement will be the standard fixed term agreement of 5 years or less at the time the agreement ends.
Month to month agreements do not have an end date.
When a fixed-term rental agreement ends, it will automatically turn into a periodic agreement, unless either the rental provider or the renter gives notice to end the agreement or chooses to start a new fixed-term agreement.
Usually, the renter does not sign a new agreement when a fixed-term agreement becomes a month to month agreement. However, if a rental provider or renter wish to enter into a written period agreement, they must use the prescribed form: Form 1 - Residential rental agreement (Word, 1.5MB).
If the fixed-term agreement was for 5 years or less, the terms and conditions of the original agreement still apply to the new periodic agreement.
If a long fixed-term agreement ends, and it rolls over into a periodic agreement, the rules of that periodic agreement will be the standard fixed term agreement of 5 years or less at the time the lease ends.
Before a renter moves in, the rental provider or agent must give them:
Renters and rental providers can agree to change from one kind of agreement to another. They can:
When a fixed-term rental agreement ends, it will automatically turn into a periodic agreement, unless either the rental provider or the renter gives notice to end the agreement. However, you can both agree to start another fixed-term agreement.
Agreements can include additional conditions if the renter or rental provider requests them, but there are some conditions that are not allowed.
If one of these prohibited conditions is included in the agreement, it is not valid. The rental provider may also have to pay penalties for including a prohibited term in the agreement.
Renters cannot be required to:
As well, the agreement cannot say that:
Agreements must be in the ‘prescribed form’. A prescribed form is defined by Victorian rental law. We recommend using our official forms:
If you want to know what the law says about residential rental agreements, you can read these sections of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997:
Last updated: 5 June 2024
Why? (optional). If you require a response, use our General enquiry online form. Why not? (optional). If you require a response, use our General enquiry online form. Please ensure that this field is always blank.
How to contact us or another organisation to understand your rights and responsibilities, report an issue, make a media enquiry or give feedback.
The department acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Custodians of the land and acknowledges and pays respect to their Elders, past and present.
© State Government of Victoria (Consumer Affairs Victoria)