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Paying rent

Approved ways of paying rent

The Act sets out the following approved ways that rent can be paid.

• cash
• cheque
• deposit to a financial institution account nominated by the lessor
• credit card
• an EFTPOS system
• deduction from pay, a pension or other benefit payable to the tenant
• another way agreed on by the lessor and tenant.  

If a provider wants rent to be paid in a way that is not listed in the Act (e.g. Rentcard, money order) they must give the resident the option to pay in at least two other approved ways that are listed (e.g. cash or direct deposit). The provider must also tell the resident of any extra charges (such as a 'joining fee' or service fee that is not the rent) that may be payable by the resident.

The provider/agent should:

• not ask the resident for more than two weeks rent in advance
• give the resident a receipt every time they pay their rent in cash or keep a written record of rent taken from the residents bank account
• only raise the resident's rent if they give four weeks written notice, if the resident is on a periodic agreement
• only raise the rent during a fixed term agreement if they included information about a rent increase in the Rooming Accommodation Agreement - form R18 (PDF 152kB) which must be signed by the resident at the beginning of the agreement
• include in the agreement infromation about how much of their rent is for each service they may be receiving e.g. accommodation $100 + meals $80 = $180 per week
• reduce the rent during a resident's absence in the following circumstances: if the resident is being charged for a personal care service that they are not receiving during their absence, or if the resident is being charged for a food service they are not using. This only applies if the resident is absent from the rental premises for a continuous period of more than two weeks
• keep copies of documents for at least one year after the agreement ends.

What the resident should do

• pay their rent on time
• keep receipts and records in a safe place
• pay rent in the way that was agreed by them and the provider/agent (e.g. two weeks rent in cash every second Wednesday)
• agree in writing with the provider/agent if they want to change the way they pay their rent (e.g. start paying by cheque instead of cash)
• negotiate a rent decrease for periods they are absent from the accommodation so they aren't paying for personal care services they don't receive or food services they aren't using. This only applies to food services, if the resident is absent from the rental premises for a continuous period of more than two weeks
• apply to a tribunal for an order decreasing the rent by a stated amount, if the provider/agent refuses to agree to reduce the rent by the amount of personal care and/or food services they don't use because of absence (e.g. during hospitalisation).

If either the resident or the provider/agent do not do any of the above things, they may be breaking the agreement.    

More information

• If things go wrong
• Rent fact sheet