The Victorian Government has handed down their rental reforms following a public consultation process held earlier this year into the energy and safety standards in rentals and rooming houses. We want to love it but the Government isn’t making it easy.

In addition to writing our own submission, the No More Gas campaign at Friends of the Earth Melbourne released our Saving Rental Energy report with a series of recommendations to remove gas from rental properties across Victoria and improve the energy efficiency of the one third of households that rent.

These recommendations include:

• Mandatory energy performance disclosure when properties are advertised
• Raising environmental performance standards to a minimum four star energy standard
• Improving rental rights to make small changes to rental properties to raise thermal efficiency of rental homes
• Establishing tax brackets indexed to building energy efficiency values
• Shifting service charges for gas from the renter to the property owner (as currently happens with water bills)
• Subsidising landowners to switch their rental properties from gas to renewable energy

We are disappointed to see that none of the above recommendations have been adopted in the updated regulations released by the Victorian Planning Minister yesterday. While we support the reforms to rooming houses to mandate the upgrading of heating systems to all-electric, it’s essential that the more than half a million households that are Victorian rentals are not left behind in the switch to affordable renewable energy. Rental properties are some of the most inefficient and expensive homes to run in terms of energy management, populated by some of the most financially stressed people in the state.

Please take a moment today to email the Victorian Planning Minister, Treasurer and Energy Minister. Urge them to implement improvements to rentals to help them get off gas and switch to renewable electricity powering efficient houses.

Write respectfully (of course) and in your own words, and feel free to use any of the recommendations that we have already offered to the State Government in our Saving Rental Energy report and our submission to the rental energy reforms.

Please send all emails to:

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

And cc to:

[email protected]

so I can keep track of your emails and use your points in direct negotiations with the relevant ministers!

Also feel free to email [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.