Every year, about 350,000 phone calls are answered by the RTA’s customer Contact Centre team.

From these calls, RTA team members identify trends and themes in customer questions and requests, which are used to help us better respond to customers’ enquiries and improve our services and educational resources. 

Below, we share the top four reasons why customers from both sides of the tenancy relationship – tenants and property managers/owners – called the RTA.

1. Checking in about your bond 

In 2023, 1 in 4 RTA customers called about general bond information, the refund process and the progress of a refund.

A rental bond is a security deposit paid at the start of the tenancy.

If the property manager/owner takes a bond, they must give the tenant a receipt and lodge it with the RTA within 10 days. It is an offence not to do so.

The bond is paid back to the tenant at the end of a tenancy, provided no money is owed for rent, damages or other costs.

Tenants or property managers/owners can submit a bond refund form online using RTA Web Services or the paper-based Refund of rental bond (Form 4) on or after the tenancy end date or handover date has occurred.

2. Updating customer details 

Almost 50,000 calls in 2023 were about updating customer details such as contact information or bank account details.
RTA's Update Your Details Web Service is the quickest and easiest way to keep your details up to date, and a paper form version is also available if needed.

To use RTA Web Services, you will need to verify your digital identity through the Queensland Government’s secure QGov service.

3. Ending a tenancy

The combined calls from tenants and property managers/owners makes ending a tenancy the third most common reason customers called the RTA in 2023.  

At the end of a tenancy agreement, the tenancy can be ended, or it can continue as either a fixed term or periodic agreement. 

A tenancy agreement is a legally binding agreement that can only be ended in certain ways. 

There are rules and timeframes that must be followed when ending a tenancy. A notice to end a tenancy can be issued by a tenant or a property manager/owner. 

4. Resolving disputes 

Resolving tenancy disputes starts with self-resolution and good communication. 

When agreement cannot be reached after you discuss the issue directly with the other person, the RTA’s dispute resolution process can assist you to try to resolve the issue.  

In 2023, the RTA helped resolve 3 in 4 disputes where parties agreed to participate in the process. 

The RTA’s dispute resolution service is free and our conciliators are impartial. Unresolved matters can be heard at the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT).