Sweltering Cities is making a submission to the Victorian Government’s inquiry into the rental and housing affordability crisis.
About the Inquiry:
The inquiry aims to uncover the underlying causes of the rental and housing affordability crisis in Victoria. The Legislative Council’s Legal and Social Issues Committee is spearheading the inquiry, and will examine the regulations that govern the conditions and standards of Victorian rental homes. From a broader perspective, the Committee will assess the effectiveness of the current rental system and the enforcement of existing legislation.
The Committee is seeking comments from anyone with a stake in addressing the rental and housing crisis, including renters, organisations and individuals with industry knowledge.
Submissions from across Victoria, including all of your comments will be collated into a report, which is due to be tabled in Parliament no later than the 17th of November 2023.
Two ways to provide comments:
1. Add your comment to our submission
We are calling on the VIC Government to introduce the necessary measures to ensure that renters have access to safe, cool, homes.
We support the inclusion of cooling in the minimum rental standards, introducing insulation standards for rentals, mandating that landlords action heat-related complaints within 24 hours, and clearing the backlog of rental disputes in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). These changes will help protect our communities from baking in hot homes every summer.
In our submission, we will include your comments and ideas, as well as community stories from across Victoria that highlight peoples’ lived experience of renting in hot homes.
Click here to add your comment to our submission.
2. Provide feedback directly to the Legislative Council’s Legal and Social Issues Committee
You can make a submission to the Committee directly by filling in an online form.
When you click on the link above, you will see a document called ‘download guidance for making a submission’ which can serve as a useful guide for writing your submission.
What should I include in my submission?
- Your story of living in a hot home as a renter, or your reasons for caring about this issue
You might like to consider the following questions: (these are not an exhaustive list, and please feel free to include anything that you feel is relevant to your situation)
- Is it difficult to keep cool in your rental home during summer?
- How does extreme heat affect your quality of life?
- What cooling systems do you have in your home that help keep you safe during summer? E.g. air conditioning, blinds, insulation, window glazing
- If you have made heat-related complaints to your landlord, have they been actioned appropriately?
- If your home is not heat-proof, what measures have you had to take to keep cool during summer? E.g. going to libraries or shopping centers.
- What you would like to see achieved as a result of this inquiry
This is our opportunity to make our voices heard by politicians and policymakers with the power to make heatwave safe homes a reality for all renters.