The burden of pre-sale building and pest inspections would shift from prospective buyers to sellers under legislation the Victorian Labor government plans to introduce to parliament in 2027, if it wins re-election in November.
Under the proposal, sellers would be required to organise and pay for the reports before putting a property on the market and make them available to all potential buyers.
Must buyers currently arrange and pay for their own inspections while competing for the same property, and costs can snowball if they miss out at auction or negotiations fall through.
Premier Jacinta Allan compared the mandate to the requirement for motorists to organise a roadworthy certificate before selling their vehicle.
"The same approach needs to be taken for interested buyers looking at buying a home," she told reporters on Thursday.
"Many people are having to purchase multiple building and pest inspections that can add up to thousands and thousands of dollars."
Building and pest inspection reports can cost between $500 and $600 combined, according to research from the Consumer Policy Research Centre cited by the state government.
About half of all buyers pay for multiple inspections before buying a home, while one in six pay for seven or more at a cost of up to $4200, the research found.
Inspections can be pivotal in purchasing decisions, with 11 per cent of buyers having decided not to place an offer after viewing a report.
The government plans to consult with industry stakeholders and its counterpart in the ACT, the only Australian jurisdiction where owners are required to pay for inspections reports.
Vendors in the capital territory must arrange pest and building inspection reports three months before a sale, except for certain kinds of properties including new builds.
The reports must meet certain standards and vendors can recover the costs from a successful purchaser after a contract is signed.
It is yet to be decided if certain buildings will be exempt from the Victorian scheme or if sellers will be reimbursed.
Real Estate Institute of Victoria chief executive Toby Balazs backed the policy but suggested it must be accompanied by broader reforms to strike a balance between the interests of prospective buyers and vendors.
"This means government avoiding a heavy-handed approach that places an excessive regulatory burden on vendors, while not adequately protecting their fundamental right to achieve the best possible sale price," he said.
The government has promised safeguards to prevent low-quality or biased reports.
Buyers can still commission their own reports if hold concerns about conflict of interest or independence.
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said the coalition would wait for more detail before deciding whether it would support the "big promise".
"I don't understand why the government is holding this up as a big cost-of-living relief exercise if they're not intending to implement it for Victorians now," she said.
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