Management Rights in Victoria and Melbourne: How the Rules Differ
How management rights work in Victoria and Melbourne: owners corporation law, the three-year developer contract cap, licensing and the short stay levy.
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Management Rights Victoria · Owners Corporations · Short Stay Levy
Management rights do exist in Victoria, but they run under owners corporation law, not Queensland's regulation modules. Here is what changes for a Melbourne buyer: contract terms, licensing, short stay rules and how a lender reads the deal.
Quick Answer
Management rights do exist in Victoria, but they run under owners corporation law rather than Queensland's purpose-built regulation modules, so contract terms, licensing and short stay rules all read differently. The business is the same shape; the paperwork around it is not, and that is what a lender funding management rights finance in Melbourne reads first.
Also called: management rights Melbourne, caretaker and letting rights Victoria, building management rights Victoria. Victoria's law speaks of owners corporation managers and caretakers, not the caretaking service contractors of Queensland law.
Do management rights exist in Victoria?
Management rights do exist in Victoria, though the market is smaller than Queensland's and good complexes come up less often. Listings tend to concentrate in Melbourne's CBD, Southbank, Docklands and St Kilda, and in coastal holiday towns where apartments are let to visitors.
The business itself is the same shape as anywhere else: a caretaking role for the owners corporation, letting appointments from owners who want their apartment managed, and usually a manager's unit or office to run it from. Our explainer on what management rights are covers the model in full, so this post does not repeat it.
What changes is the law around the business. In Queensland, the contracts sit inside regulation modules written with management rights in mind, as our insight on what the caretaking agreement says shows. In Victoria, they sit inside general owners corporation law that was never built around this kind of business. In our own files, that is why the first question on a Victorian deal is rarely the price. It is what the agreements actually say, because there is no module to fall back on when they are silent.
How does Victorian owners corporation law treat caretaker and letting agreements?
Victorian owners corporation law treats caretaker and letting arrangements as contracts with the owners corporation or with individual owners, under the Owners Corporations Act 2006, with no regulation module setting how long they run. The term, the renewal options and what happens on a sale come mostly from the agreements themselves.
There are two rules a buyer meets early, and both concern the developer. Consumer Affairs Victoria's guidance on developers' obligations says a manager the developer appoints before the first meeting of the owners corporation has the contract expire at that first meeting. It also says other contracts relating to the owners corporation that benefit the developer must not run for more than three years. That is the three-year cap on developer contracts, at the time of writing.
The same guidance carves one category out: hotel and resort management contracts sit outside the cap. So the label on a contract, and how the complex actually trades, can matter a great deal in a newer building. How those short stay complexes earn and borrow differently is covered in resort and hotel management rights.
What do the developer rules mean for a buyer?
The developer rules mean a buyer of rights in a newer Victorian building needs to know who put each agreement in place and when. A caretaker or letting contract the developer signed before the first meeting may not carry the term the sales material suggests. Letting appointments from individual owners are separate again, because each owner decides whether to appoint the manager for their own apartment.
Whether a particular agreement is caught by these rules, and whether it is enforceable as written, is a question for your solicitor. This post describes the rules; it does not apply them to any contract.
Victoria or Queensland: what changes for a management rights buyer?
The business is the same in both states, but Victoria swaps Queensland's purpose-built modules for general owners corporation law, adds limits on developer contracts, routes the letting through estate agent licensing and taxes short stay bookings. The table sets the two side by side.
| Question | Victoria | Queensland |
|---|---|---|
| Governing law | Owners Corporations Act 2006, with Consumer Affairs Victoria guidance | Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 and the scheme's regulation module |
| How long agreements run | No module sets a term. Contracts benefiting the developer are capped at three years, with hotel and resort management contracts excepted; otherwise the agreement's own term applies | Up to 25 years under the Accommodation Module, up to 10 years under the Standard Module |
| What happens at the first meeting | A manager the developer appointed before the first meeting has the contract expire at that meeting | Set by the module and the engagement; confirm with a Queensland solicitor |
| Who approves a transfer | No statutory transfer process in the sources read; the agreement's assignment clause governs, so read it with a solicitor | The body corporate decides within 30 days of having the information it needs and cannot unreasonably withhold approval |
| Licence for the letting | An estate agent licence, or an agent's representative working for a licensed estate agent | An appropriate property licence, commonly a resident letting agent licence |
| Short stay rules | A levy on stays under 28 days, and owners corporations can ban short stay use of lots that are not a principal place of residence | No Victorian-style state levy in the sources read; holiday letting is common under the Accommodation Module |
| How many lenders know the deal (indicative) | Fewer, and appetite varies by lender | The established market, with more lenders holding policy for it |
Sources: Consumer Affairs Victoria, Developers' obligations, last updated 19 September 2019; Consumer Affairs Victoria, Making rules to ban short stay accommodation, last updated 7 January 2025, and Agents' representatives, last updated 11 August 2026; State Revenue Office Victoria, Short stay levy applies 1 January 2025, last updated 2 December 2025; Queensland Government, Engaging a service contractor and Transferring an engagement, both last updated 1 April 2026. Read 13 October 2026.
The Queensland column is a one-line summary only. Our Queensland lender view explains how those modules shape a deal, and the management rights guide walks through the Queensland agreements, approvals and licence in depth. New South Wales runs on a third model again, set out in management rights in Sydney and New South Wales.
Does an onsite manager letting apartments in Victoria need an estate agent licence?
An onsite manager who lets apartments for other owners in Victoria is doing estate agency work, so there needs to be a licensed estate agent behind the letting, either the manager holding the licence or an agency the manager works for. The caretaking side is a services contract with the owners corporation; the licence question attaches to the letting.
Consumer Affairs Victoria describes an agent's representative as someone who works for a licensed estate agent and can act as a salesperson or property manager, but cannot operate an estate agency business. For a buyer, that distinction is the whole point. Working as a representative under someone else's licence is not the same as owning the letting business you are paying for.
- Who holds the licence on settlement? If it is not the buyer, the structure needs to show how the letting income stays with the business being bought.
- Who signs the owners' letting appointments? The appointments should sit with the licensed party the buyer controls, not with a third agency that could walk away.
- Has the regulator been asked? Confirm the licensing path with Consumer Affairs Victoria before you sign, not after.
A lender reads the licence as a condition, not a formality. Letting income that depends on a licence nobody in the deal holds is income the lender cannot count with confidence.
How do Victoria's short stay rules affect Melbourne management rights?
Victoria's short stay rules affect Melbourne management rights in two ways: a levy on short stay bookings, and a power for owners corporations to ban short stay use of lots. Both landed on 1 January 2025, and both bite hardest on complexes that earn a large share of their income from stays under 28 days.
How does the short stay levy work?
The short stay levy works as a flat charge on total booking fees for stays under 28 days. The State Revenue Office sets it as the 7.5 per cent short stay levy, at the time of writing. Where a stay is booked through a platform, the platform pays it; otherwise the owner or tenant does. A principal place of residence is exempt, and so are stays in hotels, motels or similar accommodation.
Whether a strata apartment let through an onsite manager's letting pool counts as similar accommodation is not answered on the State Revenue Office page. Do not assume it is exempt. That question goes to your accountant before the figures are relied on, because it changes what the short stay income is worth.
Can an owners corporation ban short stays?
An owners corporation can ban short stays: since 1 January 2025 it can make rules banning short stay use of lots, meaning stays under 28 days, by special resolution, which needs 75 per cent. The rule cannot apply to a lot that is the owner's or occupier's principal place of residence, and it can be given a future start date.
For a holiday-let complex, that means a by-law risk a permanently let building does not carry. Read the owners corporation minutes for any proposed rule, and ask how much of the letting income comes from stays under 28 days. In deals I've seen, that one split, short stay against permanent, is what changes the conversation once these rules are on the table. Owners weighing their own apartment, rather than the business, will find the investor side in our serviced apartment finance guide.
How do lenders assess a Victorian management rights purchase?
Lenders assess a Victorian management rights purchase on the same core inputs as any management rights deal, verified net profit, the agreements and the manager's unit, but fewer lenders hold settled policy for a Victorian deal, so the documents carry more of the weight. A lender that funds Queensland complexes every month may have no settled view on a Melbourne building.
Most of the price of the rights is goodwill, and the business is bought as a going concern, so the lender is lending against income it has to be able to prove. The Victorian points it reads are these:
- How the agreements are documented. The term, any renewal option, and whether the developer rules could cut it short.
- The licence. Who holds it on settlement, and whether the letting appointments sit with that party.
- The manager's unit. Whether it is on its own title, or the office is held on a leasehold basis from the owners corporation.
- Letting history and short stay exposure. Typically two or more years of figures that tie back to bank statements and tax returns, with the short stay share shown separately.
- The deposit. Typically larger than on a home loan, and it varies by lender; our lender read on management rights finance covers sizing, valuation and deposits.
A Victorian file that arrives with the agreements, the licence position and the letting records already organised gets a straight answer far sooner than one that arrives with a sales memorandum and a promise. The accommodation document pack lists what to gather. Where the deposit falls short, private capital for a deposit gap explains how a second funder can sit behind the main lender, and our note on using a broker or going direct covers why lender choice matters more on a deal fewer lenders know.
How do you buy management rights in Melbourne?
To buy management rights in Melbourne, start with the agreements and the licence, then the letting records, then the finance. Price comes last, because what the business is worth depends on the first three.
- Read the agreements. Who signed each one, when, and whether the developer rules could cut the term short.
- Settle the licence. Who holds the estate agent licence on settlement, and who signs the owners' letting appointments.
- Check the letting records. Figures that tie back to bank statements and tax returns, with short stay income shown separately.
- Line up the finance. Test the deal with a lender that has policy for Victorian complexes.
- Then talk price. What the business is worth depends on the first four.
In the sweet spot
- Agreements with a clear term and renewal path
- No developer contract the cap could cut short
- A licence plan settled before contracts are signed
- Mostly permanent letting, or short stay with no ban proposed
- Figures that tie back to bank statements and tax returns
Outside it
- A developer-made contract that may be caught by the cap
- No one in the deal holding the estate agent licence
- Heavy short stay income with a ban motion in the minutes
- Cash income that cannot be verified
- An owners corporation in dispute with the manager
Outside the sweet spot is not a dead end; it is a list of problems to price and solve before you commit. If you are comparing a Melbourne building with one on the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast, the Queensland column of the table above shows the other side. If a seller offers to carry part of the price, our note on whether vendor finance is legal in Victoria clears up a common myth. When you are ready to test the numbers, check eligibility or browse the accommodation finance hub for related reads.
Management rights in Victoria are the same business as in Queensland, run under different law. Victorian owners corporation law has no regulation modules, limits contracts that benefit the developer, and ends a developer-appointed manager's contract at the first meeting. The letting needs a licensed estate agent, short stay income now carries a levy and a by-law risk, and fewer lenders know the deal, so the agreements and the records have to do the persuading.
Key takeaway: read the agreements, settle the licence and split out the short stay income before you talk price on a Melbourne complex.Frequently Asked Questions
Management rights are available in Victoria, mainly in Melbourne apartment buildings and coastal holiday complexes, though the market is smaller than Queensland's. They run under Victorian owners corporation law rather than regulation modules, so the agreements need a closer read. Our management rights glossary entry gives the one-line definition.
Before buying management rights in Melbourne, check the caretaker and letting agreements, who holds the estate agent licence, how much of the income comes from short stays, and whether the trading figures verify. Read the owners corporation minutes for any proposed short stay rule as well. The accommodation document pack lists what a lender asks for.
Management rights outside Queensland work on the same model, a caretaking role, letting appointments from owners and usually a manager's unit, but under each state's own strata law. In Victoria that means owners corporation law, estate agent licensing and Victoria's own short stay rules, so the term and the licence read differently. Our Queensland lender view covers the Queensland rules for comparison.
A Melbourne owners corporation can ban short stay use of lots, including Airbnb-style stays under 28 days, by special resolution under rules in force since 1 January 2025. The ban cannot apply to a lot that is the owner's or occupier's principal place of residence. Investors weighing their own apartment can read our serviced apartment finance guide.
A caretaker contract in Victoria has no module-set term the way Queensland's do, so its length comes mostly from the agreement itself. Contracts that benefit the developer are capped at three years, except hotel and resort management contracts, and a manager the developer appoints before the first meeting has the contract expire at that meeting. Our lender read on management rights finance explains why the remaining term matters to a lender.
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