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Five Victorian real estate agencies are set to appear in court next month for wrongly advertising rental properties and violating Victoria’s rental bidding laws.
Investigations by Consumer Affairs Victoria’s renting taskforce have shed light on five real estate agencies across the state which have allegedly violated the state rental bidding laws.
Under fire are: Wyndham Realty Pty Ltd, trading as Barry Plant, Werribee; AAM Realtor Pty Ltd, trading as Ray White, Point Cook; White Lotus Property Group, Truganina; Yousales Pty Ltd, Docklands, and Smart Six Corporation Pty Ltd, trading as PRD, Mildura.
The taskforce alleges that all five agencies failed to include the fixed rental price when advertising properties on realestate.com.au and domain.com.au.
Instead, the agencies were using a price range or phrases such as “Contact agent”, which is considered rental bidding, which Consumer Affairs Victoria said increases renter pressure, often leading to inflated prices.
In Victoria, rental pressure has been felt across the state as landlords sold their investment property, with the number of rentals in Victoria falling by 24,700 in 2024.
Over the March quarter, PropTrack data showed that the median advertised rent across all Melbourne rentals rose to $575 a week, up from $560 at the end of December, while unit rents surged 3.6 per cent to $570.
The five agencies were issued infringements but opted to contest the fines in court instead of paying them.
Rental bidding was banned under the 2021 rental law reforms, and since the taskforce’s inception, over 40 agencies have been fined for failing to use fixed prices in their listings.
In Victoria, rental bidding can result in a fine of up to $2,371 for individuals and $11,855 for companies, with a maximum penalty exceeding $59,000 per offence for companies.
The five cases, which will be heard in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court and Mildura Magistrates’ Court in July, follow a series of new rental laws passed in the state over the last couple of years.
In 2024, the Victorian rental taskforce received an extra $4 million to crack down on rental providers who break tenancy laws, focusing on offences like false advertising, substandard properties, and bond lodging failures.
Earlier on, in March 2025, Victoria passed new rental laws aimed at strengthening tenant protections by banning no-fault evictions, prohibiting rental bidding, extending notice periods for rent increases and vacating, and banning fees charged by rent tech platforms.
The legislation also increases oversight of real estate agents and property managers by requiring registration, ongoing training, and stricter privacy compliance, while raising penalties for breaches such as underquoting and false advertising.
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