If you rent your home in Victoria, a significant change to the rules landed on 25 November 2025. Landlords can no longer end a periodic tenancy simply by giving notice without a reason. This is general information to help you understand what's changed, not legal advice, and Nhanya isn't a legal service. For advice about your specific situation, the right place to go is Tenants Victoria.
What changed on 25 November 2025
Before this reform, a landlord could end a periodic (ongoing, month-to-month style) tenancy by giving a "no reason" notice to vacate. As long as the correct notice period was given, they didn't have to explain why. From 25 November 2025, that's no longer allowed. Landlords generally need to provide a valid, specified reason to end a periodic tenancy, rather than just giving notice without cause.
Why this matters for housing stability
A "no reason" eviction sounds neutral, but in practice it gave landlords a lot of power and left renters with very little. Many people didn't feel safe raising a repair issue, questioning a rent increase, or asking for their bond back properly, because they worried it might lead to a notice to vacate with no explanation at all. Removing that option is meant to reduce this kind of retaliation risk and give renters more confidence to exercise rights they already had on paper.
What renters should know now
If you're on a periodic lease and receive a notice to vacate, it should now state a specific, legally recognised reason. This is a genuine shift, but it doesn't mean tenancies can never end, or that every notice you receive will be invalid. Whether a particular notice is valid, whether it's been given correctly, and what your options are if you think it isn't, are all things that depend on the details of your situation. That's exactly the kind of question Tenants Victoria or Consumer Affairs Victoria can help you work through properly.
Rooming houses and added uncertainty
Victoria has the highest proportion of people living in rooming houses of any Australian state. Rooming house residents often have less certainty about how tenancy protections apply to them, which makes understanding your rights especially important if this is your living situation. If you're not sure whether you're covered as a renter under the Residential Tenancies Act, or what protections apply to your specific type of agreement, Tenants Victoria can clarify this for you.
Where to get advice or raise a dispute
For advice about your own tenancy, including whether a notice you've received is valid, Tenants Victoria offers free tenancy advice and advocacy. If you and your landlord or agent disagree about something and need to resolve it formally, Consumer Affairs Victoria runs a dispute resolution service for exactly this purpose. Neither Nhanya nor this article can tell you how the law applies to your specific notice or dispute, those services can.
Financial help if you're at risk
If a change in your tenancy has put you at risk of homelessness, financial support may be available. The Private Rental Assistance Program (PRAP) is a Victorian government program that can help eligible renters with bond loans, relocation costs, or arrears assistance. It's worth checking your eligibility early, before a situation becomes urgent.
How Nhanya can help alongside these services
Nhanya isn't a law firm or a tenancy tribunal, and we don't provide legal representation. What we can do, through our Advocacy and Service Navigation and Accommodation Support services, is help you understand your options, work out which service you actually need, gather the documentation a process might require, and follow through on referrals so things don't stall. If you're dealing with a tenancy issue alongside disability support needs, family safety concerns, or broader housing instability, that's the space we work in every day. We'll point you to Tenants Victoria or Consumer Affairs Victoria for the legal specifics, and support you with the practical steps around it.
If you'd like help understanding your housing options or navigating a tenancy issue, get in touch with Nhanya at nhanya.org.au/contact or call 03 8595 9012.