Fairer fees and charges
The Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 received Assent on 6 June 2024. Changes to the law will come into effect in stages. Current rental laws apply until the changes come into effect.
Read more about changes to Queensland’s rental laws.
Fee-free option to pay rent
Previously, renters may have been required to pay rent using payment options that either weren’t convenient or incurred costs in addition to bank fees or other account fees that are usually payable for transactions.
From 30 September 2024, renters must be offered a fee-free option to pay rent that can be easily accessed. This reform makes paying rent fairer, more affordable and more convenient.
Provide renters with utility bills promptly
Rental property owners can pass on some service charges to renters, such as for water consumption, if certain criteria are met.
Previously, renters could receive multiple bills at once, often when their tenancy ended, which could be a large and unexpected cost and also prevented renters from monitoring and managing their usage.
From 30 September 2024, rental property owners and managers must provide renters with utility bills that the renter is responsible for paying under the tenancy agreement within 4 weeks from the rental property owner receiving the bill from the relevant authority.
The renter is not required to pay the utility bill if it is not provided within the required timeframe. This reform makes fees and charges fairer.
Cap reletting costs
Renters who want to end a fixed-term agreement early may be required to pay the reasonable costs incurred by the rental property owner in reletting the property. Previously, the rental laws provided little guidance about what are considered reasonable costs.
Reletting costs are a barrier to renters moving to more suitable or affordable housing, and may deter renters from entering into long-term tenancy agreements if they do not know the cost of ending the current tenancy.
From 30 September 2024, reletting costs are limited based on the amount of time left on a lease.
Limiting reletting costs to a prescribed amount alleviates some of the costs incurred by renters, while continuing to compensate property owners for costs involved in reletting the property.
Disclosure of financial benefits
Some rental property owners or property managers offer rent payment methods because they receive a financial incentive for doing so.
From 1 May 2025, rental property owners and property managers will need to declare any financial benefits they receive from a particular rent payment method. This change makes fees more transparent.