Host - Belinda Heit – Communication and Education – RTA 

Guest – Jessie Andrell – Quality and Training – RTA 

Host: Queensland tenancy laws changed on 6 June 2024. The new laws affect rent and rent increases, bond lodgements and bond refunds, as well as other changes.

In this episode, we'll be providing an overview of these new tenancy laws. Today's expert from the RTA is Jessie Andrell. Welcome, Jessie.

Guest: Thanks, Belinda.

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

Guest: I am the Senior Quality and Training Officer on the Housing Legislation Amendment Program. The program is responsible for the implementation of the new tenancy laws and my role is to oversee the training in our Contact Centre and ensure that our service is of the highest quality.

Host: And high quality you do deliver, Jessie. So on 6 June 2024, a range of tenancy law changes came into effect. What were those changes?

Guest: Yeah, that's right, Belinda. Some of those key changes include:

• bans on rent bidding

• the minimum 12-month rent increase frequency limit now being attached to a property or room, rather than a tenancy or rooming agreement

• greater clarity around bond lodging requirements for rooming accommodation

• changes to the bond refund process if there is a bond loan involved, or if a bond dispute is dismissed by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT).

These changes affect residential tenancies, rooming accommodation and movable dwellings. There are also some other changes.

Host: Now, I'm interested in hearing more about the changes relating to rent bidding. What are some of the important points to know?

Guest: Well, firstly, it's now required that a room as well as a property must be advertised for a fixed amount. Failing to do so is an offence under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (the Act). A property manager, owner or other person involved in the rental process must also not invite, solicit or accept offers of higher rent than advertised.

This also applies to rent in advance. A person must not invite, solicit or accept offers of rent in advance at the start of a tenancy agreement that exceed one month for a fixed term tenancy agreement or two weeks for a periodic tenancy agreement, other rooming accommodation or movable dwelling. Exceeding these maximum amounts is an offence under the Act with a maximum penalty of 50 penalty units.

Host: Now, I'm keen to know, Jessie, if a person can't accept more rent in advance than what is set out in the legislation, what can tenants do if they prefer to pay, for example, more than one month's rent in advance for a rental property?

Guest: Great question, Belinda. The changes about accepting offers of rent in advance only apply at the start of the tenancy.

After the tenancy has commenced, the tenant may negotiate how much rent they would like to pay in advance throughout the tenancy. It is important to note that the managing party cannot require the tenant to do this.

Host: Alright, so what does it mean when you say the rent increases are now attached to a property or room rather than a tenancy or rooming agreement?

Guest: It means that there must be 12 months between rent increases for the property or room.

Host: So let me get this right. That means even if the property is sold, then the new owner must not increase rent until it has been 12 months since the current rent became payable for the property.

Guest: Yes, that's correct.

Host: That's good to know. So if a tenant already signed a tenancy agreement that commences after 6 June 2024, agreeing to a rent increase earlier than 12 months for the property, does that still apply?

Guest: Well, I'm glad you asked. The changes relating to the rent increase frequency limit apply to all existing and new tenancies. In this instance, because the tenant and managing party have signed an agreement that commences after 6 June 2024, it therefore doesn't comply with the new legislation.

The RTA would encourage managing parties who are in this situation to communicate with the tenant as soon as possible to discuss issuing a new tenancy agreement that does comply with the minimum 12-month timeframe. The new tenancy agreement would replace the previous agreement.

Host: Thanks for explaining that, Jessie. Now, how would a tenant know whether it's been 12 months since the last rent increase for the property?

Guest: Well, the legislation requires the managing party to include the date of the last rent increase on all tenancy and rooming agreements entered into from 6 June 2024.

Also, a tenant can make a written request to the managing party asking for evidence of the date of the last rent increase. It is an obligation under the legislation for the managing party to provide evidence within 14 days.

The RTA has updated the general tenancy and rooming agreement forms on our website to capture this information.

Host: Well, this is great information to be aware of. What type of documents could a managing party provide to the tenant as evidence?

Guest: Some examples might be a copy of the previous tenancy agreement for the property, the last written notice of rent increase for the property, or the rent ledger for the property.

Importantly though, any evidence that's provided must have information about any other person removed or de-identified.

Host: Yeah, that's really important. We need to protect people's privacy. Now, can you tell us more about the change to bond lodgements and refunds?

Guest: Yeah, absolutely. Let's start with bond lodgments. It's already a requirement under the legislation that bonds for boarders and lodgers be lodged with the RTA within 10 days.

Now, the legislation clarifies that it's also a requirement that a bond taken by a person who lives in a premises and has 3 or less rooms rented out or available for rent is lodged with the RTA. This includes student accommodation and bonds for boarders and lodgers in rooming accommodation.

For bond refunds, there are two changes. Firstly, the RTA will be able to release a bond according to the original refund request if a bond dispute is dismissed by QCAT.

Secondly, there is greater clarity about what is to happen with a bond refund if there is a bond loan involved. If the bond loan was supplied by the Department of Housing, then the tenant's share of the refund will be refunded to the department up to the amounts still owing on the tenant's loan before any refund is issued to the tenant.

If the loan was supplied by any other lender, then the tenant's agreed share would be paid directly to the tenant and any outstanding amounts on the loan would be a matter to sort out with the lender.

Host: Well that's good to know. So what are some of the other changes that commenced on 6 June 2024?

Guest: There are some changes to terminology used in the legislation. Greater clarity around ending a short-term movable dwelling, new grounds for entry to a room for the installation, repair or maintenance of a smoke alarm and a revised process for managing goods left behind.

Some penalty provisions have been added also, while others have been increased.

Host: Are there more changes to come later?

Guest: Yeah, there are other changes that have not yet taken effect. These key changes include

• a prescribed application form

• changes relating to methods of paying rent

• a requirement for evidence to be provided by the managing party to the tenant if a claim is made on the bond

• changes to maximum bond amounts

• a prescribed time frame for providing utility bills to a tenant, and

• changes to the minimum notice required for entry and reletting costs based on the remaining time of the agreement.

Host: Sounds like there's quite a bit to be aware of. If listeners would like to learn more, where can they find further information to help understand what the changes mean for them?

Guest: On the RTA website. We have a lot of resources. This includes short videos, information sheets and frequently asked questions, with further details to help people understand the changes and ensure they are aware of their rights and responsibilities.

We've also updated our forms to encompass the changes that have commenced, so I do encourage everyone to visit the RTA website to download the latest forms and read the most up-to-date information.

Host: There is so much information on our website, so head on over to rta.qld.gov.au for more information. Thanks, Jessie, for providing us with an overview of the changes to Queensland tenancy laws that commenced on 6 June 2024.

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