As Victoria’s housing market continues to grapple with rising rents and dwindling rental stock, the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) has issued a timely and urgent plea: reduce the tax burden on rental providers and stop penalising those who are keeping the rental market afloat. 

But instead of heeding the call, the Allan Labor Government is doing the opposite—hitting landlords, small business owners and short-stay providers with wave after wave of new or higher levies in a desperate bid to plug a $188 billion black hole in the State Budget.

This week, the REIV released a submission ahead of the 2025–26 Victorian Budget urging major property tax reform. 

Their request is simple but critical: reduce stamp duty and land tax for rental providers, create incentives for long-term leases, and rein in red tape that’s pushing investors out of the market. 

Their data shows the consequences of government inaction are already being felt. Between March and September 2024, Victoria lost 24,000 rental bonds. That’s not a minor fluctuation—that’s a mass investor exodus. And it’s tenants who are victims.

REIV CEO Kelly Ryan summed it up perfectly: “At the heart of our submission is the need to ensure a more balanced tax and regulatory regime that includes adequate incentives for rental providers.” 

Ryan also called for alignment with international rental markets by supporting longer-term leases, which would benefit both renters and investors with added security and certainty.

But while the REIV is offering sensible, balanced reform ideas, the Victorian government is proving once again that it’s more interested in cash grabs than meaningful solutions. 

Since 2023, we’ve seen an aggressive ratcheting up of land taxes, the introduction of new taxes, an ongoing expansion of compliance obligations, and now—another levy, this time under the guise of funding emergency services.

From July, landlords will be hit with a higher version of the new Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund levy—effectively replacing the old Fire Services Levy but applying higher rates to landlords than to owner-occupiers. 

This comes on top of the 7.5 per cent short-stay accommodation tax that began in January and a land tax regime that’s already the most punitive in the country.

The state’s land tax threshold was quietly dropped from $300,000 to $50,000, dragging hundreds of thousands of everyday Victorians—including Airbnb hosts, home-based businesses and retirees—into the tax net for the first time. 

These aren’t major corporations. These are teachers renting a room on Airbnb, retirees running consulting businesses from a home study, and families listing a property while working overseas.

According to tax experts at Mills Oakley, even earning just $30,000 from a garage-based side business can now trigger a tax bill that previously didn’t exist. The State Revenue Office is retrospectively combing through tax records, hitting unsuspecting homeowners with bills going back five years. 

This is not reform—it’s a cash grab. And its brutal for ordinary people who are trying to find ways to pay their bills.

And what’s the government’s response? Treasurer Jaclyn Symes—who insiders say had to be asked to avoid using “economic terms” in briefings because she “doesn’t understand them”—has arrogantly stated that landlords “can afford to pay more.” 

That’s the level of economic sophistication we’re working with.

Look up the term “out of touch” and you’ll see a photo of Jaclyn Symes.

The real-world consequences are clear. Property investors are selling up, thereby reducing rental stock, and those who remain are compelled to pass on these increased costs to tenants. 

As rental supply falls, prices climb. Some renters are now facing $200-a-week increases, according to Suburb Advice. And yet the Victorian Treasurer remains oblivious, insisting it’s fair and necessary.

Meanwhile, short-stay hosts and home-based business owners are also feeling the squeeze. 

Luke Achterstraat from the Council of Small Business Organisations said:

“This cynical ‘bottom of the barrel’ approach to revenue raising will only punish mum and dads seeking to innovate and provide their families a living.”

It’s no surprise that Victoria has recorded a 12.8 per cent decline in rental stock over the last decade. Investor confidence has been shattered by a decade of anti-landlord policies, with no sign of relief on the horizon. What we’re seeing now isn’t just short-term economic mismanagement—it’s a structural dismantling of the private rental market.

The Allan Government talks a big game about affordability, supply and fairness, but their actions tell a very different story. 

Every new tax, every additional compliance cost, and every ideological jab at rental providers pushes Victoria further from the housing targets outlined in its own Housing Statement.