On-campus student accommodation isn’t covered by the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (the Act), the legislation administered by the RTA.

If you pay a rental bond, it must still be lodged with the RTA. The RTA can help with bond enquiries but may not be able to help with general questions about this type of accommodation. 

A lot of the information on this webpage may not apply to you if you live in on-campus student accommodation.

Privately owned student accommodation is often a type of rooming accommodation. This means you will have your own room, and share other facilities such as kitchens, bathrooms and living areas. Rooming accommodation is different to living in a share house.

You may need to prove you are a student to live in this type of accommodation.

Options include:

• renting a room in an existing share house as part of a co-tenancy or sub-letting
• renting a property with friends as part of a co-tenancy
• renting a property on your own.

These involve renting a room in a private home, usually with a family in the local area. Meals and other services may be provided as part of the rent. Homestay programs are similar to boarder/lodger arrangements and they aren’t covered under the Act. If you pay a bond, it must be lodged with the RTA.

Information about how to contact the RTA is available in 27 different languages. You can also request an interpreter when you call.

The RTA’s Pocket guide for tenants – houses and units (Form 17a) answers commonly asked questions about tenancies including repairs, rent payments, lease agreements and rental bonds. It is available in 8 languages other than English at Pocket guide for tenants – other languages.

Your property manager/owner can access the Free Interpreting Service (FIS) provided by Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) to help discuss your tenancy.

If you identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, you can access Songlines, the RTA’s dedicated phone service for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander customers. Calls are answered by staff trained to provide a culturally appropriate, sensitive and respectful service when answering questions about renting in Queensland.

The new tenant checklist is a list of things to consider at the start of your tenancy. If you’re living in rooming accommodation, you may also find the resident checklist for starting a tenancy helpful.

Once you find a place you like and have been approved by the property manager/owner, you will usually be provided with a tenancy agreement. The agreement could be:

• a general tenancy agreement – for houses, units and townhouses or
• a rooming accommodation agreement – for rooming accommodation, including off-campus student accommodation.

Read the agreement carefully before you sign it or pay any money. Ensure you understand:

• how much the rental bond is
• rent payments – including the amount, how to pay and when to pay
• the date of the last rent increase
• what is included such as furniture, internet or other services
• any service charges or water charges that you are responsible for
• any special terms in the agreement
• whether the agreement is fixed-term (has a specific end date) or periodic (no set end date).

There can be penalties for ending a fixed-term agreement early. If the length of the lease isn’t right for you and your study plans, try to negotiate a change before you sign the agreement.

If you’re signing an agreement with other people as co-tenants, you are jointly responsible for meeting the agreement terms, including paying the rent in full and on time.

In addition to your tenancy agreement, you must also be given:

• a copy of the house rules for rooming accommodation
• a copy of the by-laws for units/townhouses in a body corporate
• the Pocket guide for tenants – houses and units (Form 17a) if the agreement is a general tenancy agreement
• a receipt for any money paid, such as rent or your bond.

For general tenancy agreements, the property manager/owner must give you a signed copy of the entry condition report for you to complete. For rooming accommodation, if you paid a bond you must also be given a condition report to complete.

A step-by-step guide for completing the report is available on the entry condition report page.

If you pay a rental bond, it must be lodged with the RTA. You can lodge the bond with the RTA directly or it can be lodged on your behalf by your property manager/owner.

The easiest way to lodge a bond yourself is to use the Online Bond Lodgement Web Service.

During a tenancy, you have responsibilities to:

• pay rent and other bills, as specified in your tenancy agreement
• keep the place clean
• follow the house rules for rooming accommodation
• follow the body corporate by-laws for units and townhouses
• carry out maintenance specified in your agreement, such as for lawns, gardens and trees
• report any other repair or maintenance issues to your property manager/owner.

You must request permission from the property manager/owner for tenancy or property changes such as:

• getting a pet
• adding fixtures or making structural changes
• changing tenants
• sub-letting the property.

There may be routine inspections by the property manager/owner to check the accommodation. The property manager/owner must follow the rules of entry, giving you notice before they enter your home or room.

In rooming accommodation, the property manager/owner does not need to give notice before entering common areas, such as shared kitchens and living rooms.

During the tenancy it’s important to pay your rent on time. There are limits to how late a payment can be before your property manager/owner can ask you to leave due to non-payment of rent.

A property manager/owner can only increase the rent for a property once every 12 months. Your tenancy agreement should include the date of the last rent increase. If you think a proposed rent increase is excessive, you may wish to talk to the property manager/owner to see if it can be negotiated. If not, you may be able to dispute the increase.   

Visit the rent increases page for more information. 

There are steps you can take to work through any issues that affect you, the tenancy or the property with your property manager/owner. Examples include:

• if you experience a break-in or property crime
• if your quiet enjoyment of the property is being disrupted
• if you are experiencing domestic and family violence
• if a natural disaster has impacted the property.

If there is an issue between you and your property manager/owner during your tenancy, possible options are:

• talk to your property manager/owner to try to resolve the issue together
• ask for help from the RTA through our free dispute resolution service
• receive or issue a breach notice.

If you believe an offence has taken place you can request an investigation.

The RTA can only help with disagreements between a tenant/resident and a property manager/owner. If you are having problems with other tenants, it’s best to have a conversation and be proactive, calm and respectful when trying to resolve the issue. Read our tips for self-resolution.

If you live in rooming accommodation, you may also find the resident checklist for during and ending a tenancy helpful.

If you stop being a student, your entitlement to live in student accommodation may be affected. You should talk to your property manager/owner about your circumstances.

You may be asked to move out with one month’s notice. Alternatively, you can give your property manager/owner one month’s notice using a Notice of intention to leave (Form 13), or Notice of intention to leave (Form R13) for rooming accommodation, and selecting ‘ending of entitlement to student accommodation’ as the reason.

In some circumstances, your property manager/owner may request a copy of your enrolment status or end of study documents as proof.

When you are approaching the end of your tenancy agreement you can:

• talk to your property manager/owner about extending or renewing the tenancy
• give notice to end the tenancy
• receive notice from your property manager/owner ending the tenancy.

A valid reason must be given to end a tenancy agreement and notice periods apply. You may have to pay reletting costs if you end an agreement early.

You can use our step-by-step guide on the vacating a property page to help you prepare for moving out. If you live in rooming accommodation, you may also find the resident checklist for during and ending a tenancy helpful.

Either you or the property manager/owner can request a bond refund once the tenancy has ended. Bonds are refunded into Australian bank accounts only. International money transfers and cheques will not be issued.

Under the National Code, a student accommodation provider may be required to relocate a tenant or resident. While there is nothing explicit in the Act about relocating a tenant or resident, a provider may:

• seek mutual agreement from the tenant/resident to relocate them with a new agreement
• immediately terminate a resident’s rooming accommodation agreement on the grounds of a serious breach if they have put another person in danger.

Under the National Code, student accommodation providers must ensure that tenants/residents complete mandatory training on gender-based violence. While there is nothing explicit in the Act about mandatory training for tenants/residents, a provider may:

• implement training as part of an onboarding process for the property
• include a compliant special term in the tenancy agreement requiring a tenant/resident to complete the training, and where a tenant/resident fails to do so, a provider may issue them with a breach notice. 

Under the National Code, student accommodation providers may need to enter a room or property without notice if a gender-based violence disclosure has been made.

While the Act does not specifically include gender-based violence as grounds for entry, it does allow providers to enter a room/property with no notice in an emergency. A gender-based violence disclosure would be appropriate grounds for an emergency entry.

Where a student accommodation provider has acted in line with the National Code, the RTA may receive an investigation request if a tenant/resident believes it was an offence under the Act.

The RTA understands that following the National Code helps protect the safety of residents. We will consider this and whether the provider has acted in the public interest when assessing the investigation request.

Domestic and family violence is a type of gender-based violence. If a tenant/resident is experiencing domestic and family violence, the National Code and the domestic and family violence provisions in the Act both apply.

For more information about the domestic and family violence provisions in the Act, see domestic and family violence in a rental property.