Host - Belinda Heit – Communication and Education – RTA  

Guest – Cassie Chow – Education - RTA  

Host: Further changes to Queensland's tenancy laws will commence on 30 September 2024. These include changes relating to maximum bond amounts, supporting evidence for claims or disputes on a rental bond by a managing party, rent payment methods, utility bills, re-letting costs and compliance changes. 

Today's expert from the RTA to step us through the changes relating to methods of paying rent is Cassie Chow. Welcome, Cassie. 

Guest: Hi Belinda and thank you for having me. 

Host: Welcome back. Now, can you tell us about your role at the RTA and what you're responsible for? 

Guest: Sure can. I'm a Community Education Officer in the Housing Legislation Implementation Team. In my role, I'm responsible for organising and delivering activities to educate the community about recent and upcoming changes to tenancy law.  

I've also worked in other roles within the RTA, such as in our Contact Centre, assisting our customers with their inquiries, and our in-house staff training team. 

Host: So what's changing in the legislation relating to rent payment methods? 

Guest: Well, there are a few changes that are being made. Firstly, from 30 September 2024, a managing party must provide a tenant with at least two rent payment options. One of these options should not incur more than the standard transaction costs and should be reasonably available to the tenant. 

In addition, a managing party must provide written notice about the fees or costs associated with the rent payment methods they have offered, and there will be a couple of legislative processes for changing the method of paying rent. 

Then, from 1 May 2025, additional changes will commence that require a managing party to disclose to a tenant any financial benefits that are received by them if the tenant chooses a particular payment method. 

Host: So does that mean one option for paying rent must meet both criteria, that is, not incur more than the usual bank transaction costs and be reasonably available to the tenant? 

Guest: Yes, that's correct. 

Host: Okay, good to know. So what does standard transaction fees mean? 

Guest: Good question. The legislation doesn't define what standard transaction fees are. However, it does offer some guidance that they might include bank fees or other account fees, usually payable for transactions, such as fees for direct debits or other account fees like cash advance fees for credit card transactions.  

Fees that may not be defined as standard transaction fees include fees charged to a tenant by an online rent payment platform provider. That is not a usual bank transaction fee. 

Host: Well, that all makes sense. I'm interested in the term reasonably available. Can you give us a couple of examples to explain what that means? 

Guest: Yes, of course. Similar to transaction fees, the legislation doesn't specify what reasonably available means. What may be reasonable for one tenant might be impractical for another, depending on their unique situation. 

For example, cash might be considered reasonably available to a tenant who lives close to somewhere from which they can take out cash. However, it may not be considered reasonably available for a tenant who needs to make frequent long trips out of town to get cash for their rent payments. 

As another example, a direct transfer via internet banking might be considered reasonably available for a tenant who has access to reliable internet and a computer or smartphone, but it may not be considered reasonably available for a tenant who lives in, say, a very isolated remote location with limited or unreliable internet.  

Therefore, what's considered reasonably available needs to be considered on a case-by-case basis. And we would encourage parties to communicate with each other if there is any uncertainty or disagreement. 

Host; Yeah, absolutely. So I know there are some managing parties who ask tenants to pay their rent through a third party platform. Can this still be used as one of the rent payment options? 

Guest: Well, yes, it can. However, if a third party rent platform charges fees to the tenant, then the managing party must also offer the tenant another method that does not incur fees that are more than the usual bank costs and is reasonably available to the tenant. 

Host: Gotcha. That's interesting. So what if either party wants to change the method of paying rent during the tenancy? Can they do that? 

Guest: They certainly can. But they do need to follow the steps outlined in the legislation, which from 30 September 2024, will provide two ways for either the managing party or the tenant to change the rent payment method during the tenancy. 

The first option is to change the way rent is paid by mutual agreement. Using this option, either the managing party or the tenant gives written notice to the other party about changing how rent is paid. And the other party agrees in writing to the new way of paying rent. The method specified in the notice will then be used for rent payments instead of what was originally specified in the tenancy agreement. 

The second option is to change the way rent is paid without agreement. Using this option, if a managing party wishes to change how the rent is paid after signing a tenancy agreement, they must provide a written notice to the tenant offering at least two alternative payment methods. At least one of these methods must not incur costs more than the standard transaction fees and be reasonably available to the tenant. So we've heard that before. The tenant must choose one of these methods and begin paying rent via that method within 14 days of receiving the notice. 

Host: Okay, we've discussed a lot today about the new laws relating to rent payment methods. Tell me, what actions could a tenant take if there is a disagreement at any stage? So for instance, they don't agree that a particular method of paying rent is reasonably available to them or they don't like either of the options presented to them at the start of or during their tenancy. 

Guest: Like with most other issues, the RTA encourages parties to communicate with each other if there's a disagreement. For instance, perhaps the managing party isn't aware of the tenant's situation, and after the tenant explains, another option can be identified and agreed upon. 

Remember that self-resolution is often the quickest way to sort out an issue and may help parties build or sustain a positive relationship. 

We do understand that sometimes parties need help though, and sometimes attempts to self-resolve may not be successful. So if that's the case, then the RTA's free dispute resolution service may be of assistance. 

Host: Yes, attempting to self-resolve is always a good first step. Now, if our listeners today would like some more information, where can they go to find it? 

Guest: I recommend heading to the RTA website as a great starting point. On there, they can find lots of information about the rental law changes. There's a series of short videos, fact sheets and webinars. And more resources will continue to be added over the coming months too. 

Host: Yes, we know the RTA website is definitely a great source of information. Thanks, Cassie, for joining us today and helping us to better understand the rental law changes relating to rent payments. 

Guest: My pleasure. Thanks, Belinda. 

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