General tenancy agreement (Form 18a)

Important: The RTA is going paperless and will cease bulk printing of all forms and publications from 1 January 2020.

The General tenancy agreement is used when renting a house, unit, apartment, townhouse or houseboat. 

A written agreement must always be used when renting, even if the person renting is family or a friend.

It is the property manager/owner’s responsibility to organise the agreement and give a copy to the tenant before they pay any money or commit to the tenancy.

A tenancy agreement must include:

• the name and address of the tenant and property manager/owner
• the start and end date of the agreement (or state that it is periodic)
• how the tenant should pay rent and how much is to be paid
• standard terms (what the tenant and the property manager/owner can and cannot do)
• any special terms  (these should be agreed in advance, e.g. a dog is allowed but must be kept outside)

On, or before, the day the tenant occupies the property, they must:

• sign the agreement
• return the agreement to the property manager/owner within 5 days of receiving it

The property manager/owner must:

• sign the agreement
• return a copy to the tenant within 14 days