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Rental law reform

Working together for a better renting future

The Queensland Government is committed to working towards a better renting future for Queenslanders. The priority is to provide a strong, balanced approach that protects renters and rental property owners while improving stability in the rental market.

The Queensland Government is stabilising rents by reducing rent increase frequency to once a year from 1 July 2023 as an immediate action to address the cost of living pressures for Queensland households and the challenging conditions in Queensland’s private rental market.

Limiting rent increase frequency will help improve consumer protections while Stage 2 Rental Law Reform is progressed to build on the Queensland Government’s record of strong, balanced rental law reform delivered in Stage 1.

  • Stage 1 reforms implemented

  • Options Paper

  • Develop proposed reforms

  • Legislation in Parliament

  • Legislation passed

  • Stage 2 reforms implemented

Stage 2 rental law reforms

We want to hear what is important to Queensland renters, rental property owners and managers, and all Queenslanders to improve rental experiences across five key legislative reform priorities to inform the development of Stage 2 Rental Law Reform.

We've developed an Options Paper to seek feedback on policy options to change Queensland's rental laws and identify their impacts.

The 5 key legislative reform priorities included in the Options Paper are:

  • installing modifications
  • making personalisation changes
  • balancing privacy and access
  • improving the rental bond process
  • fairer fees and charges.

Read the options paper (PDF, 843.23 KB)

You can have your say until 29 May 2023 by:

  • taking an online survey
  • making a written submission responding to the consultation questions in the Options Paper and providing any other feedback by uploading your submission, email to rentinginqld@chde.qld.gov.au, or by post to:
    Renting in Queensland
    Housing and Homelessness Services
    Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy
    PO Box 690
    BRISBANE QLD 4001

To give your feedback and for more information, visit qld.gov.au/rentinginqld or call 13 QGOV (13 74 68).

Submissions close 5pm on Monday, 29 May 2023.

What happens next?

Your feedback on the Options Paper will inform future policy decisions made by the Queensland Government to ensure we get rental law reforms right.

Help and advice

If you need help with your tenancy, contact the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA):

You can also:

Stage 1—What's happened so far

The Housing Legislation Amendment Act 2021 (HLA Act) amended the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 to progress Stage 1 of Queensland’s rental law reform.

The amendments delivered rental law reforms to improve safety, security and certainty for the Queensland rental market and:

  • ended without grounds evictions, providing more certainty about how and when a tenancy can end
  • strengthened protections for renters against retaliatory actions, such as eviction and rent increases, if they try to enforce their rights
  • set minimum housing standards to ensure rental properties in Queensland are safe, secure and functional
  • made it easier for renters to have a pet
  • gave renters experiencing domestic and family violence the right to end their interest in a tenancy with limited liability for end of lease costs.

Most of these reforms have commenced, with minimum housing standards set to apply to new tenancies entered from 1 September 2023 and to all tenancies from 1 September 2024. This longer transition period for Minimum Housing Standards will support rental property owners to plan and budget for any work required for their rental property to comply with the new legislation.

What changed

Expand all

Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) protections

From 20 October 2021

The temporary regulatory measures that were introduced under the COVID-19 residential tenancies response for domestic and family violence became permanent.

Renters experiencing DFV:

  • can leave immediately (after giving 7 days notice) and access any bond contribution they made
  • are not liable for property damage caused by DFV
  • are not liable for costs relating to reletting the premises
  • any remaining co-renters can be asked to top-up the bond by the property owner or manager
  • can change the locks to the property without requiring the owner’s consent to ensure their safety
  • must provide documentation to support their claim and property owners, managers and their employees must not disclose this information (except where permitted) and may be subject to penalties if they do so.

Ending tenancies fairly

From 1 October 2022

Changes under the ending tenancies fairly reforms include:

  • removal of ‘without grounds’ as a reason to end a tenancy
  • new grounds for property owners to end tenancies, including the end of a fixed-term agreement, need to undertake significant repair or renovation, change of use or sale or preparation for sale of the rental property requires vacant possession
  • new grounds for renters to end tenancies, including the property is not in good repair, or does not comply with the Minimum Housing Standards.

Renters can continue to end an agreement ‘without grounds’ and both renters and property owners must provide appropriate notice for the ground (reason) they are using to end the agreement.

Property owners can seek an order from the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) to terminate the tenancy for significant or serious breach of the lease by a tenant.

Renters can apply to QCAT for an order to set a notice to leave aside if they believe it has been issued in retaliation for them enforcing their rights.

Renting with pets

From 1 October 2022

Changes making it easier for renters to have a pet include:

  • a renter can seek the property owner’s permission to keep a pet, and property owners can only refuse a request on identified reasonable grounds, such as keeping the pet would breach laws or by-laws
  • the property owner must respond to a request for a pet in writing within 14 days, or consent is implied
  • the property owner’s consent may be subject to reasonable conditions such as the pet has to be kept outside. A rent increase or a pet bond are not reasonable conditions.

Minimum Housing Standards

From 1 October 2022

Strengthened repair and maintenance obligations commenced from 1 October 2022 to support the staggered introduction of Minimum Housing Standards from 1 September 2023.

Tenants (residential tenancies) will have 7 days to complete and return the entry condition report and tenants and property managers can authorise emergency repairs up to the equivalent of 4 weeks rent.

Minimum Housing Standards will apply to new leases entered into from 1 September 2023 and all tenancies from 1 September 2024.

Renters can have confidence their rental property is safe, secure and functional through prescribed Minimum Housing Standards which require:

  • the premises to be weatherproof and structurally sound
  • fixtures and fittings to be in good repair and not likely to cause injury to a person
  • locks on windows and doors
  • the premises to be free of vermin, damp and mould
  • privacy coverings
  • adequate plumbing and drainage
  • functioning kitchen and laundry facilities (where supplied).

How did we get here?

In September 2018, we launched the Open Doors to Renting Reform Consultation (PDF, 3670.53 KB). Over 137,000 responses were received which saw renters, property owners and property managers provide feedback about their experiences of living in, owning or managing a rental property, and how it could be improved.

This was followed up in 2019, by the release of the Better Renting Future Reform Roadmap (PDF, 2049.76 KB), which outlines a two-stage reform approach to address feedback received during the Open Doors consultation. Over 15,000 responses were received providing community feedback on detailed Stage 1 reform options, outlined in the Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement (C-RIS) (PDF, 2950.22 KB), across 5 priority renting issues:

  • ending leases fairly
  • Minimum Housing Standards
  • domestic and family violence protections
  • renting with pets
  • minor modifications.

What we heard through consultation is that all parties want greater fairness and better balancing of renter and property owner rights. Most renters, property owners and managers want greater transparency around ending a lease and support changes that assist renters experiencing Domestic and Family Violence (DFV). Renters and property owners agreed they want a better relationship and support to resolve tenancy issues that may arise without needing to access dispute resolution or decision-making services.

In 2020, we prioritised responding to the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to implement, adjust and extend temporary regulatory measures to support the residential rental sector manage COVID-19 impacts on residential leases.

We have undertaken comprehensive analysis of the regulatory and economic impacts of proposed first stage reforms. The Decision Regulatory Impact Statement (PDF, 4822.12 KB) describes consultation feedback received on Stage 1 reform options tested through the C-RIS in 2019 and provides a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of the recommended reforms. Deloitte Access Economics has analysed the economic impacts of recommended Stage 1 reforms (PDF, 1647.13 KB) and found they are negligible.

An updated analysis of economic impacts (PDF, 1421.54 KB) was prepared with the costs related to minor modification reforms removed as these are no longer progressing as part of Stage 1 rental law reforms. Removing these costs resulted in a minor reduction in the economic impact of Stage 1 rental law reforms. The analysis was also updated for current market conditions following COVID-19 impacts on the housing market.

If you have trouble accessing any of these documents, you can request an alternative version by contacting rentinginQld@chde.qld.gov.au.

Last updated: 
18 April 2023