Rooming houses or residential accommodation are required to be registered under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 and under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008.
Rooming houses or shared accommodation are premises such as a:
- boarding house
- motel/hotel
- hostel
- holiday camp.
The Residential Tenancies Act 1997 describes a rooming house as a building where:
- one or more rooms are available for rent, and
- the total number of people who may occupy those rooms is four or more, and
- each resident pays rent.
Before commencing a rooming house you need to meet legal requirements associated with the following departments within Council, in the following order:
- Statutory Building
- Statutory Planning
- Environmental Health
| Number of Proposed Occupants |
Statutory Planning |
Building Services |
Environmental Health |
| Less than four persons |
No approval required |
No approval required |
No approval required |
| Four or more persons with 10 or less habitable rooms |
No approval required* |
Approval may be required -
contact relevant service area |
Approval may be required -
contact relevant service area |
| Four or more persons with 11 or more habitable rooms |
Approval may be required -
contact relevant service area |
Approval may be required -
contact relevant service area |
Approval may be required -
contact relevant service area |
* Our Planning team may need to be consulted depending on the planning zone.
In addition to permits from the City, there are criteria which must be met and are managed by Consumer Affairs Victoria.
It is recommended that you liaise with a Building Surveyor in the early design stages of your project.
Under the Building Regulations shared accommodation buildings (not including short-term holiday accommodation) are Class 1b. Council considers a Class 1b building to be:
- A building that accommodates or is intended to accommodate, on payment of rent, between two and 12 people and any of the people being or intended to be accommodated are non-family related and they do not share other verifiable close relationship among them or
- Where individual or joint residents occupy a room or rooms on payment of rent to the exclusion of any other occupier(s) or
- Council determines that between two and 12 unrelated people are being accommodated or are intended to be accommodated, on payment of rent, based on inspection of the building and any other reliable evidence.
Building permits
A building permit is required for the construction of all new Class 1b building/s. A building permit is also required to change the use from one building classification to any other building classification.
Building permits are issued by Registered Building Surveyors. An Occupancy Permit or Certificate of Final Inspection is issued by the Building Surveyor after the building work required by the building permit has been inspected and approved.
The Occupancy Permit must always be displayed in the building. The position in which it is displayed is nominated by the Building Surveyor.
A planning permit may be required for a rooming house depending on:
- how many habitable rooms are within the building
- the number of persons accommodated within the building and
- the total floor area of the building.
A habitable room is defined as “any room of a residential building other than a bathroom, laundry, toilet, pantry, walk-in-wardrobe, corridor, stair, lobby, photographic darkroom, clothes drying room and other space of a specialised nature occupied neither frequently nor for extended periods”.
View the Rooming House provisions under the Greater Geelong Planning Scheme.
Under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 a Rooming House must register with us as a 'Prescribed Accommodation' and comply with the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009.
The Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009 aim to prevent overcrowding in prescribed accommodation, ensure reasonable standards of hygiene, sanitation and maintenance, and reduce the risk of spreading communicable diseases.
The Environmental Health Department are unable to process any application until both building and planning requirements are met, including obtaining the appropriate Occupancy permit.
Registration process
The application form should be submitted with a copy of the floor plans of the premises, so we can assess that they comply with standards. You will be invoiced for the application.
Our Environmental Health Officer will carry out an inspection to assess compliance with the standards. When we are satisfied that the premise complies and payment has been made, then a certificate of registration will be issued and the rooms can then be rented out.
Once registered, our Health Department will undertake annual inspections of the property to ensure standards within the rooming house are being appropriately maintained.
General set up requirements
- Overcrowding - Owners/proprietors must comply with regulations in relation to the maximum number of people permitted to reside in each bedroom. A room must not be permitted to be used as a bedroom if it has a floor area of less than 7.5 square metres.
- Maintenance - All bedrooms, toilets, bathrooms, laundries, kitchens, living rooms and any common areas provided with the accommodation must be maintained in good working order; in a clean, sanitary and hygienic condition and in a good state of repair.
- Water supply - A continuous and adequate supply of water must be provided to all toilet, bathing, kitchen, laundry and drinking water facilities and hot water to all bathing, laundry and kitchen facilities.
- Toilet and bathing facilities - At least one toilet, one bath or shower and one wash basin for every 10 persons must be provided for persons occupying the accommodation.
- Register of occupants -A register recording names and addresses of persons occupying the accommodation and dates of their arrival and departure must be retained for at least 12 months after the date of the last entry in the register.
The Residential Tenancies Act 1997 also sets out a range of rights and responsibilities for rooming house landlords and tenants.
Further information regarding the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 can be obtained from the website or by contacting the Barwon South West Office at Level 5/30A Little Malop Street, Geelong.
Consumer Affairs Victoria licensing requirements
The rooming house operators licensing scheme, established under the Rooming House Operators Act 2016, came into effect on 26 April 2017.
All rooming house operators (except those that are registered housing associations or housing providers under the Housing Act 1983) must apply for a licence prior to legally operate their rooming house(s).
The Business Licensing Authority (BLA) within the Department of Justice and Regulation will be responsible for granting licences to applicants who are 'fit and proper persons'. More information can be obtained from the Consumer Affairs Victoria website or by contacting BLA on 1300 135 452.
Failure to register
If Council becomes aware of shared accommodation facilities that breach building, public health and planning laws, we will coordinate investigation and enforcement activities to achieve compliance.
We would initially seek to work with owners/proprietors to achieve compliance. However, where necessary, we may use a number of enforcement options available.
This includes issuing of orders/notices to upgrade safety measures of the building, prohibit occupation and remedy any breaches of standards under the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations and the Planning Scheme.
We may also serve an infringement notice for offences, including operating an unregistered business.