A person who resides at premises but who does not have exclusive possession may be a 'licensee'. This is a contractual right to occupy, which generally can be revoked at will. A licensee is not a tenant and has no rights under the RTA.

For example a person generally will not have exclusive possessikon of presmises if the person to whom they pay rent also resides there. Such a person may be called a lodger or boarder.

Disputes between parties not covered by the RTA may be heard and determined by the Civil List of the VCAT. (For further information visit the VCAT website at www.vcat.vic.gov.au.)

Co-tenants share the right of exclusive possession over the premises.

At common law, co-tenants are jointly and severally liable for their responsibilities under the tenancy agreement. This means that any one or all of the tenants can be pursued for any loss or damage that the landlord suffers as a result of a breach of the tenancy agreement or the RTA by any one of the tenants. For example, if three tenants enter a tenancy agreement and one tenant fails to pay their share of the rent, all three tenants could be evicted. The landlord could also pursue any one of the tenants for the unpaid rent, regardless of whether or not it was that particular tenant who failed to pay.

This position has been modified by Part 4AA of the Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic). The VCAT can apportion liability between tenants where the landlord makes any claim for economic loss or damage to property in an action for damages.

Generally the RTA does not cover disputes between co-tenants. However, the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic) ("FVPA") permits a co-tenant to apply to the VCAT for an order varying the parties to a tenancy agreement in the event of family violence (see: "Application for reduction of a fixed-term agreement" and "Application for creation of tenancy agreement", below).

This is when a tenant transfers part, but not all, of their interest under a lease to another person. The original tenant is called the head tenant and the second tenant is called the sub-tenant. The agreement between them is called a sub-lease.

Tenants who are considering sub-letting should be aware that they would become the sub-tenant’s landlord. This means that they have the same legal obligations to the sub-tenant as their landlord has to them; such as providing rent receipts and/or ensuring repairs are carried out. (See also: "Sub-letting", under "Starting a tenancy", below.)

A person living in a rooming house is referred to in the RTA as a "resident". A rooming house resident is defined as a person who occupies a room as his or her main residence (s.3). The rights of rooming house residents under the RTA differ from those of tenants.

It is sometimes difficult to determine whether someone is living in a rooming house or whether they are simply a licensee or boarder. This issue will depend on whether the premises can be defined as a rooming house according to the definition in the RTA. Section 3 of the Act defines a rooming house as, "a building in which there is one or more rooms available for occupancy on payment of rent: in which the total number of people who may occupy those rooms is not less than four…".

Rooming houses must be registered with the relevant local Council under the  Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 (Vic), and are subject to the health and safety obligations set out in the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009 (Vic) (see: "Minimum standards", below).

To be covered by the caravan park provisions, a person staying in a caravan park (a "caravan park resident") must have either the written agreement of the caravan park owner to occupy the site as their main residence, or have occupied the site as their main residence for at least 60 consecutive days (s.3). The rights of caravan park residents under the RTA differ from those of tenants.

A caravan park is defined to mean, "an area of land on which movable dwellings are situated for occupation on payment of consideration …".

"Protected tenants" are tenants who have been living in the same rented premises (known as "prescribed premises") since 1 January 1956, and are covered by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1958 (Vic) (Part V) rather than the RTA.

This is a complicated area of tenancy law. There are few protected tenants left in Victoria. Contact the Tenants Union for further information (see: "Advice and contacts", at end of this chapter).

Premises or rooms that are part of a motel or premises licenced under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 (Vic) are not covered by the RTA if subject to certain exceptions (s.20).

Premises ordinarily used for holiday purposes (s.10) are not covered.

Premises that are let to the tenant for the purposes of agricultural activity or "ordinarily" or "for the time being" used for grazing or farming (s.11) are not covered.

Premises used as a school or for education or training purposes, or those situated in such an institution such as a boarding school, are not covered by the RTA (s.21(1)(a)). Premises formally affiliated with an educational institution are similarly excluded (s.21(1)(b)).

The RTA does not cover premises that are provided as temporary crisis accommodation on a not-for-profit basis for a period of less than 14 days (s.22).

Premises let for the purpose of a trade, profession or business will not be covered by the RTA, even if a tenant resides in part of the building (s.8). However, if a tenant can show that the premises are used primarily for residential purposes then the Act will apply (s.9).

A squatter is a person who occupies premises without the owner's consent. The RTA does not apply to squatters. Contact the Tenants Union (see: "Advice and contacts" at the end of this chapter) or your local community legal centre for advice and referral (see: Chapter 2*4 Advice Directory for a listing of centres).

For information on squatter’s rights you can visit the City is Ours website at www.melbournecio.org. The City is Ours is a direct action housing group that campaigns around homelessness and provides practical assistance and legal information to squatters.

A real estate agent is often employed by the landlord to manage the property on their behalf. The agent acts on behalf of the landlord, not the tenant. Tenants should be cautious about acting on the advice of an agent.

A person can make a complaint against a real estate agent by contacting the Estate Agents Resolution Service (EARS) at Consumer Affairs Victoria (see: "Advice and contacts" below).