Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Residential Tenancies Act 1997 - SECT 3

Definitions

3. Definitions



(1) In this Act-

A rating, in relation to an item has the same meaning as it has in SAA MP
64-1995 Manual of assessment procedure for water efficient appliances as
amended from time to time by Standards Australia for that item;

Authority means the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority established under
this Act;

bond means-

   (a)  an amount paid or payable by a tenant to secure his or her performance
        and observance of the tenancy agreement or any of the provisions of
        this Act relating to the tenancy agreement; or

   (b)  an amount paid or payable by a resident to secure his or her
        performance and observance of any agreement relating to the residency
        or of any of the provisions of this Act relating to the residency;

Building Appeals Board means the Building Appeals Board under the
Building Act 1993;

business day means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday;

caravan means-

   (a)  a movable dwelling; or

   (b)  an immovable dwelling situated in a caravan park- but, except in
        Part 14, does not include such a dwelling occupied in pursuance of a
        contract of employment;

caravan park means an area of land on which movable dwellings are situated for
occupation on payment of consideration, whether or not immovable dwellings are
also situated there;

caravan park owner means any person who is (either wholly or partly) the owner
of a business which operates a caravan park;

caravan park provisions means any provisions of this Act to the extent to
which they apply to a caravan park, a resident of a caravan park, a caravan
park owner, a caravan owner, a caravan park mortgagee or a caravan mortgagee,
but does not include Part 14;

common area means any area in which facilities are provided for the use of
tenants or residents otherwise than as part of the rented premises, room or
site;

determination in relation to the Tribunal-

   (a)  includes order, direction, decision or declaration; and

   (b)  if a determination is varied under this Act, includes that
        determination as varied;

Director means the Director within the meaning of the Fair Trading Act 1999;





Director of Housing means the Director of Housing incorporated under the
Housing Act 1983; domestic partner of a person means-

   (a)  a person who is in a registered relationship with the person; or

   (b)  a person to whom the person is not married but with whom the person is
        living as a couple on a genuine domestic basis (irrespective of
        gender);

dwelling means any structure that is designed to be used for human habitation
and that is capable of being so used, and includes a motor vehicle or trailer
that is so designed and capable; exclusion condition means an exclusion
condition included-

   (a)  in a family violence safety notice under section 29 of the
        Family Violence Protection Act 2008; or

   (b)  in a family violence intervention order under section 82 of that Act;
        exclusive occupancy right, in relation to a room or rooming house,
        means a residency right of a kind set out in section 92A;



facilities means-

   (a)  land or buildings intended for use for storage space or car parking;

   (b)  laundry facilities;

   (c)  cooking facilities;

   (d)  recreational areas;

   (e)  lifts;

   (f)  garbage storage and disposal facilities;

   (g)  bathroom, toilet and washing facilities;

   (h)  appliances for heating or cooling premises;

   (i)  communications facilities;

   (j)  lawns, gardens and outhouses;

   (k)  stairways;

   (l)  any area designed or set aside for common use by tenants or residents-
        provided for the use of a tenant or resident otherwise than as part of
        the rented premises, room or site; family violence intervention order
        and family violence safety notice have the meanings given by the
        Family Violence Protection Act 2008;





fixed term tenancy agreement means a tenancy agreement for a fixed term;

guarantee includes indemnity;

health or residential service means-

   (a)  a residential care service, State funded residential care service,
        health service establishment, denominational hospital or public
        hospital within the meaning of the Health Services Act 1988; or

   (b)  premises used for an approved mental health service within the meaning
        of the Mental Health Act 1986; or

   (c)  premises used for a residential service within the meaning of the
        Disability Act 2006;

   (d)  premises used for a secure welfare service within the meaning of the
        Children, Youth and Families Act 2005; or

   (e)  premises where accommodation is provided by a service agency for the
        purpose of delivering support services by that agency to a client of
        that agency;

* * * * *



hiring charge means the amount paid by a resident to a caravan owner to occupy
a caravan;

invalid in relation to an agreement or guarantee, means void;





landlord means-

   (a)  the person by whom premises are let under a tenancy agreement; or

   (b)  the person by whom the premises are to be let under a proposed tenancy
        agreement;

motor vehicle means a motor vehicle within the meaning of the
Road Safety Act 1986;

movable dwelling means a dwelling that is designed to be movable, but does not
include a dwelling that cannot be situated at and removed from a place within
24 hours;

owner in relation to rented premises, means the owner in fee simple of the
premises;

partner of a person means the person's spouse or domestic partner;



periodic tenancy agreement means a tenancy agreement other than a fixed term
tenancy agreement;

personal documents means-

   (a)  official documents; or

   (b)  photographs; or

   (c)  correspondence; or

   (d)  any other document which it would be reasonable to expect that a
        person would want to keep;

principal registrar means principal registrar of the Tribunal;



public statutory authority means an office or body corporate or unincorporate
established by or under an Act for a public purpose and includes a municipal
council;

* * * * *



rent means-

   (a)  in relation to a tenancy agreement, the amount paid to a landlord by a
        tenant to occupy rented premises and use facilities and services; or

   (b)  in relation to the residency of a rooming house, the amount paid to a
        rooming house owner by a resident to occupy a room and use facilities
        and services; or

   (c)  in relation to the residency of a caravan park, the amount paid to a
        caravan park owner by a resident to occupy a site and use facilities
        and services- but does not include any amount for which a tenant or
        resident is liable under section 52, 57, 108, 109A or 162;

Rent Special Account means the Rent Special Account established under section
485;

rented premises in relation to a tenancy agreement to which this Act applies
means the premises let under the tenancy agreement;





residency right means-

   (a)  in relation to a room or rooming house, a right conferred by section
        92; or

   (b)  in relation to a site or caravan in a caravan park or a caravan park,
        a right conferred by section 143;

resident means-

   (a)  in relation to a rooming house, a person who, with the agreement of
        the rooming house owner, occupies a room as his or her only or main
        residence; or

   (b)  in relation to a caravan park, a person who occupies a site in the
        caravan park as his or her only or main residence and-

   (i)  who has obtained the prior written agreement of the caravan park owner
        to do so (whether that agreement was given in respect of that site or
        another site in the caravan park); or

   (ii) who has so occupied any site in the caravan park for at least 60
        consecutive days;

Residential Tenancies Fund means the Residential Tenancies Fund established
under this Act;

room means a room in a building, where the room is occupied or intended to be
occupied for the purpose of a residence by a person having a right to occupy
the room together with a right to use in common with others any facilities in
the building but does not include a self-contained apartment; room capacity
means the number of persons who may be accommodated in a room;



rooming house means a building in which there is one or more rooms available
for occupancy on payment of rent-

   (a)  in which the total number of people who may occupy those rooms is not
        less than 4; or

   (b)  in respect of which a declaration under section 19(2) or (3) is in
        force;

rooming house owner in relation to a rooming house which is leased to a person
who conducts the business of operating the rooming house, includes the lessee;

rooming house provisions means any provisions of this Act to the extent to
which they apply to a room, a rooming house, a resident of a room in a rooming
house, a rooming house owner or a rooming house mortgagee;

self-contained apartment means a portion of a building which forms a
self-contained residence, including kitchen and bathroom and toilet
facilities, under the exclusive possession of the occupier;

separately metered means that there is, in respect of rented premises, a room
or a site, a meter-

   (a)  that has been installed or approved by the relevant supplier of the
        utility; and

   (b)  that measures, in relation to those premises or that room or site
        only, the quantity of a substance or service that is supplied to, or
        used at, those premises or that room or site; service agency means a
        disability service provider within the meaning of the
        Disability Act 2006;

services includes the provision to a resident by a rooming house owner of
meals, linen or room cleaning services; shared room means a room that is
occupied by one or more residents with shared room rights;

shared room right means a residency right of a kind set out in section 92B;



site means a site in a caravan park;

spouse of a person means a person to whom the person is married;



support services means-

   (a)  assistance with one or more of the following-

   (i)  bathing, showering or personal hygiene; or

   (ii) toileting; or

   (iii) dressing or undressing; or

   (iv) meals; or

   (b)  physical assistance for persons with mobility problems; or

   (c)  assistance for persons who are mobile but require some form of
        supervision or assistance; or

   (d)  development of independent living skills; temporary crisis
        accommodation means accommodation provided on a non-profit basis for a
        period of less than 14 days;



tenancy agreement means an agreement, whether or not in writing and whether
express or implied, under which a person lets premises as a residence;

tenant means-

   (a)  the person to whom premises are let under a tenancy agreement; and

   (b)  the person to whom premises are to be let under a proposed tenancy
        agreement;

this Act includes the regulations;

trailer means a trailer within the meaning of the Road Safety Act 1986;

Tribunal means Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal established by the
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998;





urgent repairs means any work necessary to repair or remedy-

   (a)  a burst water service; or

   (b)  a blocked or broken lavatory system; or

   (c)  a serious roof leak; or

   (d)  a gas leak; or

   (e)  a dangerous electrical fault; or

   (f)  flooding or serious flood damage; or

   (g)  serious storm or fire damage; or

   (h)  a failure or breakdown of any essential service or appliance provided
        for hot water, water, cooking, heating or laundering by-

   (i)  a landlord in rented premises; or

   (ii) a rooming house owner in a rooming house; or

   (iii) a caravan park owner or a caravan owner in a caravan park or caravan;
        or

   (i)  a failure or breakdown of the gas, electricity or water supply to
        rented premises, a rooming house or a caravan; or

   (j)  an appliance, fitting or fixture provided by a landlord, rooming house
        owner, caravan park owner or caravan owner that uses or supplies water
        and that is malfunctioning in a way that results or will result in a
        substantial amount of water being wasted; or

   (k)  any fault or damage that makes rented premises, a rooming house, a
        room or a caravan unsafe or insecure; or

   (l)  a serious fault in a lift or staircase; or

   (m)  any damage of a prescribed class;

Valuer-General means the Valuer-General under the Valuation of Land Act 1960;

visitor in relation to-

   (a)  a tenant, means a person on rented premises or premises in which the
        rented premises are situated with the permission of the tenant; and

   (b)  a resident of a rooming house, means a person in a room or rooming
        house with the permission of the resident; and

   (c)  a resident of a caravan park, means a person on a site or in a caravan
        or caravan park with the permission of the resident.

(2) In this Act, a reference to a landlord or a tenant is a reference to a
landlord or a tenant under a tenancy agreement to which this Act applies.

(3) For the purposes of the definition of domestic partner in subsection (1)-

   (a)  registered relationship has the same meaning as in the
        Relationships Act 2008; and

   (b)  in determining whether persons who are not in a registered
        relationship are domestic partners of each other, all the
        circumstances of their relationship are to be taken into account,
        including any one or more of the matters referred to in section 35(2)
        of the Relationships Act 2008 as may be relevant in a particular case.

(4) Nothing in this Act prevents a rooming house from consisting of more than
one building.