Regional rate tops metro Victoria in 2026 survey
Regional Victoria recorded a higher share of at-risk private rental tenancies than metropolitan Victoria in 2026 research from the Tenancy Skills Institute.
Property managers in regional Victoria identified 7.58% of nearly 3,500 tenancies as at risk of failure. Metro property managers identified 5.64% of more than 6,500 tenancies.
If those tenancies fail, those households may leave the private rental market and become vulnerable to homelessness.
The findings come from the Tenancy Skills Institute paper “Two Tides of Homelessness: Can we change course from surging to receding tides?”
That research uses data from what the institute describes as Australasia’s only tenancy sustainment survey of property managers. Those managers collectively oversee more than 125,000 tenancies.
Survey partners included the Real Estate Institute of Victoria and Mitchell PT: Training and Coaching Experts for Property Managers.
Cross Victoria, the state average sat just under the national average by 0.39%.
Compared with the Tenancy Skills Institute’s 2025 survey, Victoria was the only locality in the Australasian survey to record a decrease, apart from an early intervention trial in Queensland.
Rental arrears and low stock lift risk
In Victoria, rental arrears were the main contributing factor. Property managers linked arrears to more than 44% of at-risk tenancies.
Meanwhile, properties being sold and a lack of rental stock accounted for more than 37%. That was the second-highest result among all localities surveyed.
The survey aims to capture property managers’ views on the risk of households exiting private rentals into homelessness. It also looks at how the real estate sector can intervene early to help sustain tenancies.
Jacob Caine, president of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria, said the findings matched the institute’s own data, analysis and market feedback.
“The broad description of a Victorian rental market in which both renters and rental providers are under considerable pressure reflects the REIV’s data, analysis and market feedback,” he said.
The Tenancy Skills Institute published the research on 1 September 2026.
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