Victorian rooming house operators licensing scheme commences

Victorian rooming house operators licensing scheme commences
Staff reporterDecember 7, 2020

Rooming house operators in Victoria will have to comply with a brand new licensing scheme, which will determine whether each applicant is deemed to be a “fit and proper person”, as defined in the Rooming House Operators Act 2016.

Current registered operators have until 24 August 2017 to apply to the Business Licensing Authority for a licence in order to continue to legally operate.

Only housing associations and housing providers registered under the Housing Act 1983 will be exempt from this requirement.

After submitting a licence application, operators can continue to run their rooming house until the BLA makes its decision about their application. Those who are uncertain about their eligibility for a licence have been advised to seek independent legal advice.

The licensing requirement is in addition to existing legal obligations, including to register a rooming house with the local council and to comply with minimum standards for rooming houses.

Meanwhile, individual rooming house managers will not need to be licensed, but will be assessed as part of the operator’s licence application. Managers will need to meet the same ‘fit and proper person’ requirements as operators.

Operators and managers will also be considered ‘relevant persons’ under the Rooming House Operators Act, in addition to any officers of the body corporate, or real estate agency directly engaged to manage their rooming house.

There is a fee for each ‘relevant person’ nominated in a licence application. Because of this, operators have been advised to ensure their estate agent limits the number of people who take part in management of their rooming house.

All relevant persons will be required to provide certified copies of identity documents and a signed consent form, authorising Consumer Affairs Victoria to conduct the required checks to enable the BLA to assess whether the applicant is a ‘fit and proper’ person to hold a licence.

More information about licence eligibility and the disqualification criteria is available on the Rooming house operators section of the Consumer Affairs Victoria website.

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