Host - Belinda Heit – Communication and Education – RTA  

Guest – Kristin Spruce, Chief Regulatory and Assurance Officer - RTA  

Host: Queensland tenancy laws have undergone a series of changes over the past 4 years, with more to come in 2025. In this episode, we take a look at the rental reform journey from 2021 through to upcoming changes on 1 May 2025.  

Here to walk us through the timeline of reforms is Chief Regulatory and Assurance Officer, Kristin Spruce. Welcome and thanks for joining us. 

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

Host: Now, before we get into today's topic, can you give us an overview of your role at the RTA? 

Guest: Sure. I lead a lot of RTA's corporate back office functions, including finance, governance, risk, compliance, legal and government relations. Additionally, I also lead the regulatory function of the RTA and the project team that implements the legislative change. 

I joined the RTA almost 17 years ago in a customer-facing role as senior conciliator, and have spent just over half of my time at the RTA in corporate roles. 

Host: Well, firstly, congratulations on almost 17 years at the RTA. You would have seen a lot of changes, no doubt, in the sector during your career, which makes you the perfect person to take us through the timeline of reforms today.  

Now, let's begin with the first suite of changes known as Stage 1, which began on 21 October 2021. 

Guest: Stage 1 was the Housing Legislation Amendment Act 2021, which introduced domestic and family violence provisions. These provisions support tenants experiencing domestic and family violence to end a tenancy quickly, or if they choose, to remain in the rental property safely. 

The second part of Stage 1 reforms were introduced the following year on 1 October 2022. These reforms provided a framework for negotiating renting with a pet, expanded on approved reasons to end a tenancy and introduced repair orders. 

Host: Then in 2023, the sector saw the introduction of minimum housing standards. Can you tell us about those and what they are for? 

Guest: Sure. Minimum housing standards were designed to ensure all Queensland rental properties are safe, secure and functional. These standards started for new or renewed tenancies on 1 September 2023 and for all remaining tenancies on 1 September 2024.  

Minimum housing standards specify that rental properties must: 

• be weatherproof and structurally sound
• be in good repair with functioning locks
• be free from vermin, damp and mould
• have adequate plumbing, drainage and flushable toilets
• have a functioning cooktop if a kitchen is provided, and
• include curtains or window coverings for privacy in rooms such as bathrooms and bedrooms. 

Host: And do the standards apply to all types of tenancies as well? 

Guest: Yes, minimum housing standards are now in effect for all types of tenancies, including general tenancies, movable dwellings, and rooming accommodation agreements. You can find more information about them on our website. 

Host: Excellent. Now, 2024 was a big year. Not only did minimum housing standards commence for all tenancies, but it also saw further rental reforms introduced. Can you take us through those next? 

Guest: Certainly. Many of our listeners will be familiar with the ongoing reforms, as they've driven most of the recent changes we've seen. There's a lot to unpack in this round of rental reforms, so we'll break it down into three parts.  

The next phase of reform started on 6 June 2024 and included changes to rent and other payments, changes to the rental bond process, and the introduction of new regulations and enforcement. 

The 6 June changes introduced banning rent bidding, capping amounts for rent in advance, limiting the rent increase allowed to not less than a 12-month period, ensuring a property is advertised at a fixed price, updates to the process for refunding commercial bond loans, and providing a framework for managing parties to contact former tenants if goods are left behind, just to name a few. 

Host: And our listeners can find a full list of the ongoing reforms on our website, if I'm correct. 

Guest: Absolutely. You can learn all about our rental law changes on the RTA's homepage. 

Host: Now, we've also recorded dedicated podcast episodes for these topics too, which you can search for on our website. Now, are we ready to go through the second round of ongoing changes? 

Guest: Yes, let's go through the changes that began on 30 September 2024. The second round of reforms introduced further updates, as well as outlining new regulations and enforcement options for the RTA. 

These changes include new ways to calculate reletting costs, ways to pay rent that are offered to the tenant, the introduction of a maximum bond amount, evidence required for bond claims, the ability for the RTA to share information with other government agencies and departments, and finally, consequences for providing false or misleading information to the RTA.  

Remember, you can find further details about these rental law changes on our website. 

Host: Yes, now, looking ahead to 2025, what changes can we expect as part of the third phase of ongoing rental law changes? 

Guest: Well, Belinda, on 1 May 2025, additional reforms will come into effect that will mainly cover balancing privacy and access, the rental application process, and requests for fixtures and structural changes. 

Host: Now that's a good overview of the upcoming reforms in May. We'll explore these changes in more detail with a dedicated episode to be released shortly. Thank you for taking us through the timeline of rental law reforms, Kristin. 

Guest: Thank you for having me, Belinda. 

Host: Remember, you can find out more about everything we've discussed today on our website at rta.qld.gov.au and keep an eye out for our upcoming episode where we take a deep dive into the 1 May changes.  

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