MELBOURNE'S private rooming house operator, the Victorian Accommodation Centre, is under investigation by the State Government.
The investigation comes as a number of questionable rooming houses run by the VAC have been discovered in the south-east suburbs.
Earlier this year, the Journal reported that the VAC ran two rooming houses, one in Oakleigh East and the other in Mulgrave, without the necessary council registration.
Earlier this month, questions were raised about another two rooming houses - one in Clayton South and the other in Oakleigh East, both of which were run by the VAC.
Last week, Opposition housing spokeswoman Wendy Lovell informed the Journal about 13 potentially unregistered rooming houses in Monash suburbs.
An investigation uncovered that 11 appeared to be operating outside council guidelines. Nine of these are in nine in Clayton and two in Oakleigh East. At least two are run by the VAC, according to tenants.
A Monash Council spokeswoman said none of the 11 properties was registered with the council.
Under health regulations passed by the State Government last year, rooming houses with four or more residents have to be registered with the council. Councils have the power to require operators to comply with standards or face prosecution.
But Ms Lovell said the legislation failed to address the issue because it required operators to register their own properties, which many did not.
"The State Government has failed to invest over the past 10 years in providing housing for vulnerable families in Victoria and therefore they're willing to go soft on people who are exploiting these tenants.
"That is not good enough.
"Rogue rooming houses are slipping through the cracks in legislation and residents are too scared to report operators because they are desperate for accommodation and they know if they make a report to Consumer Affairs Victoria, the houses will be closed down and they will have nowhere to live.
"The State Government is failing to provide protection to some of Victoria's most vulnerable families."
A State Government spokesman confirmed it was investigating the VAC, but could not comment on any action to be taken at this stage.
He said tenants were encouraged to report operators in breach to CAV, which investigated and enforced residential tenancies law.
The spokesman said the Government's strengthened legislation meant rooming houses had to be registered.
Councils had the power to inspect the properties and enforce minimum standards in rooming houses across a number of areas. Minimum standards included room size, number of tenants per room,
maintenance, cleanliness, supply of drinking water, discharge of sewage and waste water, refuse, and the ratio of toilet and showers.
A Consumer Affairs spokeswoman said it had received more than 10 complaints and about 20 inquiries relating to the VAC since November 2007.
Last year, the CAV recorded about 430 inquiries and 30 complaints about rooming houses in Victoria.
The complaints included reports of violence, theft and poor conditions.
VAC representatives did not return calls from the Journal.
Last week, the Journal reported that HomeGround Services chief executive Stephen Nash called on the State Government to investigate the VAC.
He has not specifically asked the State Government to investigate the VAC.
In clarification, Mr Nash said the VAC was only one of many organisationsprofiting from the affordable-housing crisis. He said any investigation should be part of a wider reform and that focusing on individual operators would not make rooming houses safe for residents or address broader issues.
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