Renting a home in Queensland is governed by one law, the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (the Act), and one government body, the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA). The RTA holds your bond (the security deposit) for the length of the tenancy, publishes the standard forms, and runs a free dispute resolution service. If a dispute is not settled there, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) decides it.
Queensland uses its own vocabulary. The landlord is the lessor, and the person who manages the property for the owner is the property manager or agent. A "general tenancy" is an ordinary lease on a house or unit. "Rooming accommodation" covers renting a room in a shared arrangement, such as a boarding house, where a provider rents rooms to residents. Some rules differ between the two, and this article flags the differences where they matter. Most rules below apply to general tenancies.
The main points for a newcomer are these. The maximum bond is four weeks’ rent. Rent can rise only once every 12 months, with two months’ written notice. Landlords must give notice before entering. Tenants must request approval to keep a pet, and the landlord must answer within 14 days. Ending a lease early costs money, but the cost is capped. Figures can change when the law changes, so check the RTA’s pages before you sign or give notice.
Applying for a rental and paying the bond
Most rentals start with a rental application, which is a form the agent asks you to complete before the owner decides whether to offer you the property. The RTA’s standard application is Form 22 (Form R22 for rooming accommodation). If you plan to keep a pet, declare it here. The RTA explains that the formal pet approval process applies during a tenancy, so the application is where you raise a pet before the agreement is written. The tenancy agreement should then record that a pet is allowed, the number and type of animals, and any special terms.
How much bond you can be asked for
From 30 September 2024, the maximum bond for a general tenancy is four weeks’ rent, whatever the weekly rent is. The RTA’s excess bond page states that this limit covers every bond taken under the agreement, however it is labelled. A separate "pet bond" cannot push your total above four weeks. Moveable dwellings (caravans and similar) have a maximum bond of two weeks’ rent, or three weeks if electricity is provided.
Before that date, the four-week limit applied only to rents of $700 a week or less, and higher-rent properties had no cap, according to the RTA’s podcast on maximum bond amounts. Older listings and advice may still describe that rule.
If your tenancy was renewed after 30 September 2024 and your bond is now more than four weeks of current rent, you can ask the RTA to refund the excess on Form 4b. The RTA sets several conditions:
- The form is signed and submitted after the renewed tenancy starts.
- The tenancy has not ended, and you are not moving to a new property.
- Every person who contributed to the bond has signed.
The form is lodged by post, and the RTA cannot process it without all contributors’ signatures. If more than three people contributed, you need more than one form. Changes to who contributed use Form 6.
Lodging the bond
You pay the bond to the agent or lessor, who must lodge it with the RTA within 10 days and give you a receipt straight away, according to the RTA’s bond fact sheet. The lodgement uses a Bond lodgement form (Form 2), and the RTA’s general bond fact sheet notes that a paper form can be posted with a cheque or money order. The form records the signatures of the tenant and the lessor or agent, and the RTA checks those signatures before it refunds the bond. Keep your receipt and a copy of the form.
Getting the bond back
At the end of the tenancy, you apply to the RTA for the bond. The lessor can claim part of it if the property is not left clean, rent is owed, damage occurred or the agreement was breached, as Tenants Queensland explains. If you and the lessor agree on how to split the bond, you can both sign a Refund of Bond (Form 4) and lodge it. If you apply on your own, the RTA contacts the landlord, who has 14 days to object. A disagreement then goes to the RTA’s dispute resolution service.
Your best protection is the entry condition report, which records the property’s condition when you move in. Landlord Start Guide says the tenant has seven days to return a marked-up copy. Photograph any marks, stains or damage on the day you move in, and add them to your return.
How rent increases work
Queensland has no cap on how much a landlord can raise the rent, but it limits how often and how suddenly. Rent can rise no more than once every 12 months, and the count runs from the last increase or from when the property was first rented. A reduction in between does not restart the count.
The 12-month rule belongs to the property
Since 6 June 2024, the 12-month period attaches to the property and not to the tenant. Landlord Wise explains that a landlord cannot reset the clock by signing a new lease with a new tenant or by renewing an existing one. Keyfacts gives an example: after an increase on 25 June 2024, the next one could take effect on 26 June 2025 at the earliest. A landlord may give notice during the 12 months, as long as the new rent starts only after the period ends.
Notice and what it must say
For a general tenancy, the landlord must give at least two months’ written notice before the new rent applies, and the day you receive the notice is not counted. Keyfacts gives this example: notice received on 20 December allows a new rent from 21 February at the earliest. If the notice period ends on a weekend or public holiday, it runs to the next business day, according to PropAlly. Rooming accommodation needs only four weeks’ notice.
The notice must state the new rent, the day it starts and when the rent was last increased. If you doubt the last-increase date, ask the property manager in writing for proof. Keyfacts reports that the manager must provide it within 14 days, unless the lessor is exempt or the property is being rented for the first time.
During a fixed-term lease (one with a set end date), the rent can rise only if the agreement provides for an increase and states the new amount or how it is worked out. The 12-month limit and notice period still apply, as Bond Cleaning Service summarises. When a fixed term ends and you sign a new agreement at a higher rent, no notice period applies, because you are agreeing to the price. If you sign nothing and stay, the tenancy continues as a periodic agreement, which has no end date, and any increase needs written notice.
Challenging an increase
Keyfacts states plainly that "Queensland sets no fixed limit or percentage on the size of an increase." You can still ask the RTA for free dispute resolution, and the request should be made within 30 days of receiving the notice and before a fixed term ends. If the dispute is not resolved, the RTA issues a notice that lets you take the matter to QCAT. QCAT can review an increase it considers excessive, looking at rents for comparable homes nearby, the home’s condition and inclusions, and how long it has been since the last increase, as PropAlly outlines. Landlord Wise adds that a tenant is not obliged to pay an increase that does not comply with the Act.
For evidence, the RTA publishes median rents for recent new leases, which you can compare against your proposed rent. Free advice is available from QSTARS on 1300 744 263 and from Tenants Queensland.
Entry, inspections and repairs
A landlord owns the property, but you have the right to live there without interruption. Entry rules say when and why the landlord or agent can come in. Repair rules say what the landlord must fix.
When the landlord can enter
For a general tenancy, a routine inspection needs at least seven days’ written notice on an entry notice (Form 9). It can happen no more than once every three months unless you agree otherwise, according to Recording Law. Entry for repairs or maintenance needs 48 hours’ notice, and Rental 360 dates that period from 1 May 2025. Showing the property to a prospective buyer or tenant also needs 48 hours’ notice, with a reasonable interval between showings. If the owner plans to sell, the landlord must first give a Notice of Intention to Sell (Form 10).
Entry is limited to 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, Monday to Saturday. The landlord cannot enter on a Sunday or public holiday without your written consent. The notice should be in writing, state the reason and give the proposed date and time. Aussie Rent Laws adds that emergency entry needs no notice when there is immediate risk to people or property, such as a burst pipe or a gas leak. Entry without notice or a valid reason is not permitted.
Rooming accommodation has its own timings. The RTA’s entry notice Form R9 sets 48 hours for inspections, smoke alarm checks, routine repairs, pest control, showings and valuations. Common areas can be entered without notice. If you dispute the grounds for entry, first try to resolve it with the person who issued the notice, then use the RTA’s dispute resolution service. The 48-hour inspection figure belongs to rooming accommodation. A house or unit tenant gets the longer seven-day notice.
What the landlord must repair
The Act sets the landlord’s repair obligations, and the property owner is personally responsible even when an agent handles day-to-day management, as Landlord Start Guide notes with reference to section 185. Routine repairs must be done within a reasonable time. The law sets no fixed number of hours for emergency repairs. The landlord should respond immediately, or as soon as they learn of the problem. Emergency repairs include work needed to meet a minimum housing standard.
Report every repair in writing, by email or letter, and keep a copy. A written record shows when the landlord learned of the problem and matters if the issue goes to the RTA or QCAT.
Arranging an emergency repair yourself
If an emergency repair is needed and you cannot reach the landlord or agent, you may authorise a suitably qualified person to do it. The cost is limited to four weeks’ rent. You then give the landlord written notice and a copy of the receipt as soon as practicable, and the landlord must reimburse you within seven days of receiving both, according to Rental 360 and Landlord Start Guide. Contact the landlord or agent first, since the self-help route is available only when they cannot be reached.
Keeping a pet
Queensland’s pet rules took effect for all tenancies on 1 October 2022. Tenants Queensland confirms they cover general tenancies, moveable dwellings and rooming accommodation. A blanket "no pets" policy is no longer allowed, according to Your Investment Property, but you still need approval for each animal.
Making the request
You ask using the Request for approval to keep a pet in a rental property (Form 21), with a separate form for each pet, according to the RTA’s pets page. The property manager or owner must respond in writing within 14 days of receiving it, by the date in item 6 of the form. If you post the request, allow extra time for the mail. The response must say whether the request is approved or refused, and give any conditions of approval or the reasons for refusal.
If there is no response within 14 days, or the response does not meet those requirements, the request is taken to be approved. Keep a dated copy of your request so you can prove when it was sent. Keeping a pet other than a working dog without approval is a significant breach of the agreement, as the RTA’s fact sheet explains.
When a landlord can refuse
The landlord can approve the pet with reasonable conditions agreed with you. The landlord can refuse only on grounds set out in the law. Tenants Queensland lists them:
- The request exceeds a reasonable number of animals.
- The premises are unsuitable, for example because of missing fencing or open space.
- The pet poses a health and safety risk, such as a venomous animal.
- Likely damage could not practically be repaired for less than the rental bond.
- The pet would break a law or body corporate by-law.
- The pet would cause a nuisance such as noise.
A refusal must give reasons. Other rules still apply: body corporate by-laws, house rules, park rules and local council laws can limit pets, and a body corporate may need to approve the animal.
Your responsibilities after approval
You are responsible for nuisance or damage caused by an approved pet, and pet damage does not count as fair wear and tear at the end of the tenancy. Approval lasts for the life of the approved pet, even if the agreement is renewed or extended or the manager or owner changes. Assistance, guide and hearing dogs, and corrective services and police dogs, are exempt from the approval process, although the RTA recommends telling the property manager or owner.
Ending a tenancy
A tenancy ends only for a reason the Act allows, with the correct notice period on the right form, according to the RTA’s ending a tenancy page. A landlord uses a Notice to leave (Form 12), and a tenant uses a Notice of intention to leave (Form 13). The rooming accommodation equivalents are Form R12 and Form R13. If both sides agree to end the tenancy, there is no RTA form, but the RTA recommends that everyone sign a written agreement stating the end date, any compensation and the reason.
On a periodic agreement, a tenant gives two weeks’ written notice on Form 13 and owes no reletting costs, according to Landlord Wise.
Leaving a fixed-term lease early
Ending a fixed-term agreement early breaks the agreement, and the RTA says you will probably need to pay compensation. The RTA’s break lease page gives you four routes:
- Reach a written agreement with the landlord to end on a specific date.
- Give Form 13 and leave, which will probably carry compensation.
- Transfer your interest in the tenancy to someone else with the landlord’s approval, using Form 6 if a bond was paid.
- Apply to QCAT on grounds of excessive hardship, with evidence.
Whichever route you take, tell the property manager or owner in writing. You may be asked to pay reletting costs, which are the costs of finding a new tenant, based on how much of the lease has expired. The landlord must keep these costs low and start reletting as soon as possible.
For agreements made from 30 September 2024, reletting costs are capped. Tenants Queensland sets the cap by the share of the agreement already expired: 4 weeks’ rent if less than 25% has passed, 3 weeks’ if between 25% and 50%, and 2 weeks’ if between 50% and 75%. The old guidance of one week’s rent plus GST no longer applies to these agreements. The RTA says agreements made before 30 September 2024 with a compliant reletting-cost term will still apply at the end date.
If you leave without proper notice, you risk a listing on a tenancy database, which can make later rental applications harder, as Urban Renters warns. The same page says a tenant can end a lease within the first seven days of moving in with at least 14 days’ written notice if the premises are unfit, not in good repair or fail minimum housing standards.
When the landlord ends the tenancy
A Notice to leave must be in writing, on the correct form, and state a reason the Act allows, the handover day and the correct notice period, as Tenants Queensland describes. A landlord can also apply to QCAT for a termination order. If a landlord wants to break a lease, you do not have to move out without a QCAT order ending the tenancy.
Property sales have their own rules. If the property is advertised for sale or shown to buyers in the first two months of your tenancy and you were not told in writing before you signed, you may end the tenancy. You have until two weeks after those first two months to advise. If the landlord ends the tenancy to sell, the landlord must not let or offer the property for six months after the handover date.
Leaving because of domestic and family violence
A tenant experiencing domestic violence can give a Notice Ending Tenancy Interest (Form 20) with seven days’ notice and supporting evidence. According to the Tenants Queensland toolkit, you remain liable for rent until the seven days end, though you may leave earlier. You are not liable for break-lease costs, costs for goods left behind or reletting fees. If there are co-tenants, the tenancy continues for them, and the landlord may send a Continuing Interest notice 7 to 14 days after Form 20 ends, which tells the remaining tenants whether they must top up the bond.
Key Takeaways
- Check the bond limit: The maximum bond is four weeks’ rent for general tenancies, including any pet bond, and the landlord must lodge it with the RTA within 10 days. If a renewal left you above the cap, claim the excess back on Form 4b.
- Count the 12 months by the property: Rent can rise once every 12 months with two months’ written notice, and a new lease does not reset the clock. There is no cap on the size of an increase, so dispute a high one with the RTA within 30 days.
- Put repairs and pet requests in writing: A dated record of repair reports and Form 21 pet requests protects you, because a pet request not answered within 14 days is taken to be approved.
- Expect notice before entry: Routine inspections need seven days’ notice and repairs 48 hours, within set hours, except in emergencies. Rooming accommodation has its own notice periods.
- Plan the exit before signing: Breaking a fixed term usually costs compensation, though reletting costs are capped at 4, 3 or 2 weeks’ rent for agreements from 30 September 2024. Use the correct form, and keep the RTA’s dispute service and QCAT in mind if talks fail.
