Rooming houses: a guide for residents and operators - NWHN

Rooming house operators must meet minimum health,wellbeing and fire safety standards. Residents have a rightto be safe and secure in their accommodation.What are minimum standards?Operators must ensure their propertiesmeet minimum standards.Minimum standards for rooming housesare set out in the:• Residential Tenancies Act 1997• Building Regulations 2006• Part 5 of the Public Health andWellbeing Regulations 2009(Prescribed Accommodation).New minimum standards may beintroduced in the future so it is importantfor operators to keep up with the law.Operators can viewthe laws mentionedin this guide atlegislation.vic.gov.au.Building safety standardsThe essential safety measures for roominghouses are set out in the BuildingRegulations 2006. An operator must ensurethere is no danger to the safety of residentsor anybody else using the building.Operators must install and maintainessential safety systems and servicesfor an existing building. They must alsokeep documentation, including recordsof maintenance, and complete annualessential safety measures reports.The maintenance of essential safetymeasures is:• set out in Part 12 of the BuildingRegulations• listed on the occupancy permit(if one is required).Essential safety measures may also bedetermined by an MBS or PBS followingbuilding work where an occupancypermit is not required.The MBS or PBS will be able to telloperators what essential safety measuresthey need to install and maintain.9