Are your locks compliant?

Locked up: New minimum standards for Victorian rental properties

Victoria’s rental law reforms came into effect on 29 March 2021. The reforms (delayed by Covid) were among 130 amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act that passed in the Victorian Parliament in 2018.

The reforms extend the obligations of residential landlords and offer additional protections for residential tenants. They are designed to make renting fairer and safer in the State of Victoria.

It means that tenants don’t have to ask their landlords for permission to make small changes to their properties, including adding picture hooks to walls, installing security systems and energy-efficient LED lights.

Also introduced was the requirement for a rented property to meet minimum standards, like having fitted heaters, hot and cold water, and kitchens with functioning sinks.

Among the dozens of minimum standards there are recommendations about deadlatches on all external entry doors. (There are a number of exemptions where this doesn’t apply, such as when a different type of lock or device is required under another Act or law or if the property is protected by a Heritage Overlay.)

“The Act has always called for a deadlatch. What it’s never done is given any further definition. The minimum standards, released by Consumer Affairs Victoria, provide some clarity,” explains Andrew Williams, ASSA ABLOY’s Director of Innovation, who says he has already seen changes in buying behaviour.

The recommendations about locks differ to what has been practiced says Williams. “To put it simply, the new regulations don’t recommend double cylinder deadlocking – that is, a lock that can be configured so that it needs a key to be opened from the inside.”

“Over the years, many products have been developed with the end goal of being able to provide the additional security of locking the door from the inside. So this reform is changing the suite of products that people need to be using.”

ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions has a product that is uniquely suited to meet these requirements – the Lockwood 002 Single Cylinder Deadlatch. It’s perfect for various applications where free egress is required at all times.

Like the Lockwood 001 Double Cylinder Deadlatch – ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions’ iconic rim lock – the 002 is a market leading product that offers exceptional performance and reliability.