Host - Belinda Heit – Communication and Education – RTA  

Guest – Cassie Chow – Education - RTA  

Host: From 6 June 2024, changes came into effect for all new and existing tenancies, attaching the 12-month frequency limit for rent increases to a property or room rather than the tenancy or rooming agreement. Today's expert from the RTA is Cassandra Chow. Welcome Cassandra.

Guest: Thanks Belinda.

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

Guest: Yes, certainly. I'm currently a Senior Community Education Officer in the Housing Legislation Implementation Team. As part of my role, I organise and facilitate activities to educate the sector about the recent changes to tenancy laws, such as this very podcast. Previously, I've also worked in the RTA Quality and Training Team and in the Contact Centre.

Host: And you are so skilled at what you do, which is why you're here with us today. Now, we've had a lot of questions around rent increases, so we're going to cover some of those today. But first of all, can you tell us what has changed relating to rent increases?

Guest: Yes, absolutely. For a bit of background, Queensland Parliament passed legislation that attaches rent increases to a property or room, whereas previously they were attached to an individual tenancy. These changes came into effect on 6 June 2024 and they apply to all new and existing tenancies.

What this means is that any rent increase from 6 June 2024 will only be valid if it's been at least 12 months since the last rent increase for the property in general tenancies or the room in rooming accommodation.

This continues to apply if there is a change of tenant or resident, property owner or managing party. It also applies whether the rent increase occurs at the start of a new tenancy or during an existing tenancy.

It's really important to note here that it's an offence under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (the Act) to increase the rent more frequently than once every 12 months for the property or room.

Host: Well, that's definitely good to be aware of. So what happens if a tenant signs a new tenancy agreement before 6 June 2024, agreeing to a rent increase that is less than 12 months after the last increase for the property, but the start date of the tenancy is on or after 6 June 2024. Does that still apply?

Guest: That's a really great question. We've been hearing a lot of this type of scenario. The key consideration in this particular instance is the start date of the new tenancy agreement. If the tenancy is commencing on or after 6 June 2024, then it must have been at least 12 months since the last rent increase for the property and therefore the rent increase in this scenario is not valid.

We would encourage tenants and managing parties who are in this situation to speak to each other as soon as possible, remembering that open, early and clear communication is often the key to resolving an issue before it turns into a dispute.

One option would be for the property manager or owner to issue the tenant with a new agreement that does comply with the 12-month minimum time frame and this would replace the previous agreement.

Host: Gotcha. So can the rent be increased earlier than 12 months if there's a new property manager or owner?

Guest: No, it can't. A change of property manager or owner does not impact the 12-month frequency limit. That 12-month limit applies even if the property is sold to a new owner.

Host: That makes sense. I'm curious to know if rent can be increased during a tenancy if it has been 12 months since the last increase.

Guest: Yes, it can. 

Host: Yeah.

Guest: As long as some particular steps are followed, which are specified in the legislation. So firstly, the rent increase must take effect at least 12 months after the last rent increase for the property, and the agreement must state in the special terms that the rent will increase during the agreement period. It must also state what the new amount will be or how it will be worked out.

Next, there's a requirement to issue a separate written notice about the rent increase at least 2 months before the rent increase is due to occur, and this needs to be issued after the agreement has already commenced. The reason for that is that it's all very good to have things written into a tenancy agreement, but if something's not going to come into effect for a few months, then obviously we're not going to rely on everyone having memorised their tenancy agreement to remember when the new rent date is coming in. So that's where that notice period of 2 months for general tenancies is really important, just to remind people that it's coming.

Host: So does that mean then that rent can be increased during the first 2 months of the new agreement?

Guest: If rent is going to increase during the middle of the agreement, then that's correct, because of the requirement to provide 2 months notice after the agreement has already commenced.

Host: Okay. So how would it differ if the rent can be increased at the start of the tenancy agreement?

Guest: Well, the legislation around increasing rent at the start of an agreement is a little bit different. There's still a requirement for the rent increase to occur at least 12 months after the last rent increase for the property. However, there's no requirement for a notice period or a separate written notice. 

So effectively, the rent can be increased at the start of the agreement as long as the 12-month minimum period between rent increases has been met, the increased rent is included in the tenancy agreement and also all parties have signed it.

Host: All right, I got that now. That makes sense. So can you tell us a bit more about when and how rent can be increased for a periodic agreement?

Guest: Yes, absolutely. From 6 June 2024, rent for a periodic agreement can again only be increased at least 12 months since the last rent increase for the property or room. And the managing party needs to give the tenant at least 2 months written notice if it's a general tenancy or 4 weeks notice for room accommodation.

Host: So what about if parties mutually agree to a rent increase earlier than 12 months after the last rent increase for the property? Is that okay?

Guest: Wow, that's a very good question, Belinda. A tenant and managing party must not agree to a shorter time frame than the minimum period between rent increases, as parties are not able to make agreements that are inconsistent with the legislation.

It's important to remember that increasing the rent in less than 12 months for the property or room is an offence and penalties may apply.

Host: Well, thank you for clarifying that. Now, if someone's listening and has questions or would like to find out more about how the rent increase frequency limit for a property or room will impact them, where can they go?

Guest: A great place to start is the RTA website. There's a lot of information on our website with changes and examples of different scenarios, frequently asked questions and short videos explaining the changes.

Customers can contact us on 1300 366 311 to talk through their individual situation if they need to with one of our friendly Contact Centre team and the information and options that might be helpful for resolution.

Host: There's a lot there to consider when it comes to rent increases. Thank you so much, Cassandra, for helping us to get a greater understanding of what we need to know when it comes to rent increases and their frequency during a tenancy in Queensland.

Guest: 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.