Host - Belinda Heit – Communication and Education – RTA 

Guest – Cassie Chow – Education - RTA 

Host: Queensland tenancy laws began to change on 6 June 2024, with further changes commencing on 30 September 2024 and 1 May 2025. If you're a property manager, owner or tenant, it's important you understand what these changes mean for you. Today's expert from the RTA is Cassie Chow. Welcome, Cassie.

Guest: Thank you, Belinda. It's great to be here.

Host: Now we've got you back by popular demand. Can you tell us about your role at the RTA and what you're responsible for?

Guest: I'm a Senior Community Education Officer in the Housing Legislation Implementation Team. I organise and facilitate activities to educate the community about recent and upcoming changes to Queensland's tenancy laws, including in-person events, webinars and podcasts.

Some of my past roles at the RTA have included working in the quality and training team and in the Customer Experience division providing service to our customers.

Host: So the next group of changes to Queensland tenancy laws commence on 30 September 2024. What is changing there?

Guest: Yes, that's right, Belinda. So starting 30 September this year, there'll be changes to the legislation relating to:

• the maximum amount of bond that can be taken for residential tenancies and rooming accommodation and
• claims on the bond made by a managing party.

The state will also see the introduction of new requirements relating to rent payment options, timeframes for utility bills, and the calculation of reletting costs after a tenant breaks lease.

Finally, there will be some updates to the legislation which extend compliance requirements relating to false and misleading information to include information provided to the RTA, such as on forms or other documentation, and the ability for the RTA to share information with other government agencies and departments.

Host: Okay, so let's discuss each of the key changes, starting with maximum bond amounts. I know that there are currently maximum amounts for bonds already specified in the legislation. So what's going to be different?

Guest: Well, the maximum bond amount for a general tenancy or rooming accommodation agreement will be the equivalent of 4 weeks rent, regardless of the weekly rent amount for the property or room. Currently there's no limit if the weekly rent is more than $700 per week for a general tenancy and $500 per week for rooming accommodation.

The maximum bond that can be taken for a movable dwelling agreement will remain as it is now, at the equivalent of 2 weeks rent, or if electricity is supplied in the lessor's name and is individually metered, then the equivalent of 3 weeks rent.

Host: Alright, so that seems pretty easy to understand. Now you mentioned there's another change that relates to claims on the bond by a managing party.

Guest: Yes there is. The change introduces the requirement for a managing party to provide a tenant or resident with supporting evidence within 14 days of making a claim on a bond and penalties apply for failure to do so. The purpose of the evidence is to show a tenant why a claim has been made and how the managing party determined the amount.

For bonds lodged with the RTA before 30 September 2024, a 12-month transition period applies, allowing people to prepare for this change. We do, however, encourage managing parties to use the transition period wisely, so all their processes and systems are operating smoothly and effectively when this requirement for evidence does become mandatory for all bond claims or disputes.

For bonds lodged with the RTA after 30 September 2024, they'll require supporting evidence to be provided to the tenant or resident when the managing party makes a claim on the bond or disputes it.

Host: All right, so the message I take from that is to use the 12 months from 30 September to get in the habit of providing evidence to a tenant so that by the time this rental law change is applicable to all bonds, it's part of your normal routine.

Guest: Yes, exactly. Perfect.

Host: There we go. Now, I'm interested in the changes to rent payment options. Can you tell us about the new laws relating to this?

Guest: Absolutely. From 30 September 2024, a tenant must be offered at least 2 ways to pay rent. One of those must not incur more than the usual bank costs, as well as be reasonably available to the tenant.

Host: So just to make sure I understood that correctly, one of those methods of paying rent must meet both the specified criteria.

Guest: Yes, that's correct. You listen very well.

Host: Alright, I got it. So let's talk about utility bills. What's new about the legislation relating to passing these on?

Guest: Utility charges, including water, must be passed on to a tenant within a 4-week timeframe. Otherwise, the tenant does not need to pay.

Previously the legislation did not specify a time frame and we saw some cases at the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, also known as QCAT, where tenants were being asked to pay several months of utilities bills all at once.

Host: Oh, well that sounds like a good reason to make sure utility charges are passed on in a timely manner and definitely within the 4 week time frame. So you said there's also a change relating to reletting costs in a break lease situation. What's happening with this?

Guest: Reletting costs will be calculated based on the remaining time on an agreement and whether the agreement is greater or less than 3 years in length. The legislation now specifies a formula for calculating the re-letting costs.

And it's important to note here too that if the matter is taken to QCAT, the adjudicator will not be able to make an order for an amount that is more than allowed in their legislation.

This doesn't include orders about costs not relating to ending the agreement early though, such as damage to the property or inclusions that are caused by the tenant, or unpaid rent up to the date the tenant vacates the property.

Host: Oh okay, well thanks for that Cass. Are there any other changes starting on 30 September that it's important to be aware of?

Guest: Yes there are. There are some changes that will help with driving compliance and greater enforcement outcomes. This includes changes that enable the RTA to share information with other government agencies and departments.

It's also important to be aware that it's an offence for anybody involved in a tenancy to provide false or misleading information to the RTA, whether this is on a form or other documentation.

Host: That's definitely good to know. Now, there are also some changes to come on another date. What are those?

Guest: There will be more changes commencing on 1 May 2025. These include a new standardised application process and framework for requesting and providing supporting documentation, changes to entry timeframes, the introduction of a legislative process for requesting fixtures and structural changes, and new timeframes for the destruction of documents.

I'll add here too that the Queensland Government is yet to announce the commencement date for changes for a portable bond scheme, code of conduct for the rental sector and framework for requesting modifications that are required for safety, security or accessibility. The RTA will be sure to share the announcement dates once known.

Host: So if listeners would like further information about the changes, where can they find it?

Guest: The RTA website is a great source of up-to-date information. This includes pages specifically dedicated to information about the recent and upcoming changes to tenancy laws, frequently asked questions, short videos, fact sheets, webinars, and of course, podcasts.

There'll also be future podcasts discussing the changes I've outlined today in more detail, so I'd encourage people to subscribe to the Talking Tenancies podcast if they haven't already. To stay up to date with news and useful information, listeners can also subscribe to the RTA News via our website.

Host: Yes, there's so much information and many resources on our website. And thank you for encouraging people to subscribe. Thank you, Cassie, for joining us today to provide us with an overview of the tenancy law changes starting on 30 September 2024.

Guest: You're welcome. Thanks for having me, Belinda.

Host: Thank you for listening to the Talking Tenancies Podcast. For more information about the Residential Tenancies Authority, visit rta.qld.gov.au.