Creation of Tenancy in Public Housing

People living in public housing who are not named on the tenancy agreement can be summarily evicted when the tenancy agreement comes to an end, for example by the death of the tenant. The Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic) allows such people to apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) for an order that they be made a tenant at the premises. However VCAT has consistently refused such applications, giving much weight to the ‘orderly administration’ of the public housing waiting list, rather than the human rights of the person being evicted from their home. The enactment of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic), which includes the right to home and the right to protection of the family unit, has forced VCAT to consider the human rights involved in applications for creation of a tenancy agreement.