Melbourne’s property industry has hit back at Lord Mayor Nick Reece’s plan to crack down on vacant and derelict buildings, with developers rejecting accusations of laziness and pointing to policy failures as the root cause.

The City of Melbourne unanimously voted at its September 2025 Future Melbourne Committee meeting to explore stronger enforcement measures against property owners, including differential rates, special charges and expanded demolition powers.

“We’re putting lazy landlords on notice. We’re exploring new powers so that if you don’t clean up your act, we’ll do it for you,” Reece says.