Property managers/owners must offer tenants/residents at least two options to pay rent. One of these options must not exceed reasonable transactional costs (costs beyond standard transaction fees), and it must be reasonably accessible to the tenant/resident.

When rent is paid electronically, it is the tenant/resident's responsibility to arrange for the money to leave their account on a certain day. The rent is considered paid on the day it leaves the tenants/resident's account, and they must not do anything to stop or delay the payment to a later day.

Rent cards are increasing in popularity, however a tenant does not have to agree to pay rent this way.

Rent cards allow rent payments to be processed by a third party (e.g. REConnect oneCard, DEFT Card, LJ Hooker Priority Card).

The tenant is usually charged a monthly service fee and may be liable for a range of other fees and charges (e.g. dishonour fee).

If the property manager/owner would like the tenant to use a rent card they must also offer the tenant two other approved ways to pay the rent (e.g. by cheque, EFTPOS or direct debit).

The RTA does not get involved in disputes between the rent card company and a tenant.

The property manager/owner must ensure the tenant is fully aware of all charges, fees and rules associated with rent cards. The tenant should make sure they understand this detail before signing the tenancy agreement or rent card contract.

The RTA does not provide conciliation for any dispute between a rent card provider and a tenant.

Property managers/owners must offer tenants/residents at least two options to pay rent. One of these options must not exceed reasonable transactional costs (costs beyond standard transaction fees), and it must be reasonably accessible to the tenant/resident.

Fees charged by third-party rent platforms may exceed transaction fees usually paid by tenants/residents for the same transaction and would therefore not be considered reasonable in this instance.

This means that if a third-party rent platform charges fees to tenants/residents for paying their rent using the platform, another method of paying rent must be offered by a property manager/owner that is:

• a platform that does not cause a tenant/resident to incur costs (beyond standard transaction fees); and
• reasonably accessible to a tenant/resident, (the circumstances of each case dictates what is considered reasonably accessible).

There are two options for either a property manager/owner or a tenant/resident to change rent payment methods during a tenancy.

1. Option one – changes to payment methods by agreement:
   • a property manager/owner or tenant/resident provides written notice to the other party requesting a change to rent payment methods
   • the other party reviews the proposed changes and agrees in writing
   • the new rent payment methods are then used going forward, replacing the methods in the original tenancy agreement.
2. Option two – changes to payment methods without agreement:
   • a property manager/owner provides written notice to a tenant/resident offering at least two new payment methods
   • one method must not exceed reasonable transaction costs to the tenant/resident and must be reasonably accessible to the tenant/resident
   • a tenant/resident must adopt one of the new methods provided within 14 days after receiving the notice.

Both options one and two, require a property manager/owner to:

• provide written notice to a tenant/resident outlining any costs associated with the new rent payment methods offered. This is because property managers/owners should be aware of costs associated with the offered payment methods, especially if these costs are not reasonably known by a tenant/resident.
• From 1 May 2025, disclose any financial benefits they may receive if a tenant/resident uses a specific rent payment method.

A property manager/owner can ask a tenant to pay rent in advance.

The maximum rent in advance that can be asked depends on the type of tenancy agreement:

Prior to 6 June 2024, tenants could offer to pay more than the advertised rent or pay more in advance than requested by the managing party, however, from 6 June 2024 a property manager/owner cannot, at the start of a new tenancy, solicit, accept or invite you to pay more rent in advance than what is allowed under tenancy law, or accept rent greater than this amount.

Note: throughout the course of a tenancy, a tenant may negotiate how much rent in advance can be paid.

Example: The tenancy agreement states the tenant must pay $400 rent a fortnight. Before the tenant moves in, they pay $400 'rent in advance'. The tenant moves into the property and lives there for two weeks. At the end of that two weeks their next $400 rent payment is due as the 'rent in advance' has been used up.

If the tenant pays rent in cash, or requests a receipt when paying by cheque, the property manager/owner must provide a receipt; it is an offence not to do so.

The property manager/owner must keep an accurate record (ledger) of rent paid by the tenant and retain it for 1 year after the tenancy has ended. The tenant can ask for a copy of the rent record at any time and it must be provided within 7 days.