Today, the Queensland Government announced the start dates for new rental laws commencing on proclamation under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024.

Changes to rental laws will commence in two parts over the coming months:  

• Proclamation part one: 30 September 2024
• Proclamation part two: 1 May 2025.

These build on rental law changes that commenced on 6 June 2024.

Rental law reforms commencing under part one of proclamation

• Maximum bond amount – capped at no more than four times the weekly rent amount.
• Re-letting costs – calculated on the remaining time on an agreement (where an agreement is greater or less than three years).
• Rent payments – tenants must be offered two ways to pay rent, including a way that does not incur more than usual bank costs and is reasonably available to a tenant.
• Utility bills – a tenant must receive utility bills within a four-week timeframe unless the property manager/owner has a reasonable excuse, otherwise the tenant does not need to pay.
• False and misleading information – making it an offence for anyone involved in a tenancy to provide false or misleading information to the RTA.
• Information sharing – creating new abilities for the RTA to share information with other government agencies and departments to drive greater compliance and enforcement outcomes for the sector.
• Evidence for bond claims – when making a bond claim or disputing a bond, the property manager/owner must provide the tenant with supporting evidence within 14 days of lodging a claim or dispute. For bonds lodged with the RTA before the proclamation date, a 12-month transitional period from 30 September 2024 will apply, allowing the sector to prepare for this change. Bonds lodged after the proclamation date 30 September 2024 will require supporting evidence to be provided when the property manager/owner claims or disputes the bond.

Other remaining reforms, including a new standardised application form, changes to notice and entry periods, requests for fixtures and structural changes, will commence on 1 May 2025 under part two of proclamation.

The Queensland Government is yet to announce commencement dates for reforms established under a Head of Power, including a portable bonds scheme, sector code of conduct and framework for applying to make modifications for safety, security and accessibility. We will share these commencement dates once known.

Please read the RTA’s rental law changes webpage for the full list of changes commencing on proclamation, a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions and for reforms that have commenced since 6 June 2024.