Rent increases in Queensland: how often, how much notice, what to do

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Kooky

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A letter announcing a rent increase is one of the most stressful pieces of mail a tenant receives, and one of the most routine a property manager sends. Both sides are better off knowing exactly what Queensland law allows. The rules are short, and since 6 June 2024 they have been stricter than many people realise.

This guide covers how often rent can go up, how much notice is required, why the limit follows the property and not the tenant, what a valid notice contains, how fixed-term and periodic agreements differ, and the path a tenant can take if an increase looks excessive. It describes the general rules published by the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) and the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT). It is not advice on any particular tenancy.

Residential Tenancies Authority, rent increase rules in force in Queensland.

How often rent can increase

Rent cannot be increased unless at least 12 months have passed since the current amount of rent became payable. That is the core rule, set out by the RTA under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008.

The 12 months is a minimum gap, not a schedule. Nothing obliges an owner to raise the rent each year, and many do not. The rule only says that two increases cannot fall closer together than a year.

Breaking the limit is an offence. The RTA gives the maximum penalty as 20 penalty units.

The limit covers general tenancies, which is the legal term for the ordinary lease of a house, unit or townhouse, and it covers rooming accommodation and moveable dwellings as well. For a moveable dwelling, such as a caravan on a rented site, the RTA says the limit applies whether the last increase was for the dwelling, for the site or for both.

The limit follows the property

This is the part of the rules that changed most on 6 June 2024, and the part most often misunderstood. In the RTA's words, rent increases are limited to once in 12 months and are attached to the property instead of the tenancy.

Before that date, the clock was tied to the agreement. A new tenant or a new lease could reset it. That is no longer so. The RTA spells out that the 12-month limit applies even if the last increase related to a different tenancy agreement, and regardless of a change of tenant, agent or owner.

In practice, three situations that people assume restart the clock do not:

• A new tenant moves in. If the rent was last increased eight months ago for the previous tenant, the home cannot be let to the next tenant at a higher rent until the 12 months are up.
• The lease is renewed. The RTA says a higher rent can be agreed in a new fixed-term agreement with the same tenant only if 12 months have passed since the last increase.
• The property is sold or changes agent. The date of the last increase travels with the premises to the new owner or manager.

How much notice is required

A rent increase always needs written notice. The length depends on the kind of agreement, and the RTA gives two periods.

The two requirements run together. An increase is valid only if the notice period has been given and the 12 months have passed by the day the new rent starts.

A worked example, with invented dates, shows how the two fit. Suppose the rent on a unit last went up on 1 September 2025. The earliest day a new increase can take effect is 1 September 2026. To start on that day, written notice has to reach the tenant no later than 1 July 2026, two months before. Notice given on 1 August 2026 could not take effect before 1 October 2026. Notice given in March 2026 for an increase in June 2026 would fail the 12-month test, however much warning it gave.

The RTA publishes separate guidance on allowing time when notices are served, because a notice sent by post is not received the day it is sent. A manager who cuts the dates fine risks a notice that falls short.

What the notice must say

The RTA lists three things a rent increase notice must include:

1. the increased amount of rent
2. the day the increase takes effect
3. the date the rent was last increased for the premises.

The third item arrived with the 2024 changes and is what makes the 12-month rule checkable. A tenant holding the notice can count the months without asking anyone.

The date of the last increase must also be written into the tenancy agreement itself, the RTA says. The same date is asked for when a bond is lodged, unless the property is being rented for the first time or the lessor is exempt.

Fixed-term and periodic agreements

A fixed-term agreement has an end date. A periodic agreement runs on from week to week or month to month with no end date, which is what a fixed term becomes if it expires and nothing new is signed. The rules on increases differ between the two.

During a fixed term, rent can be increased only if the agreement provides for it. The RTA sets four conditions:

1. the agreement states that the rent will be increased
2. the agreement states the new amount, or how it will be worked out
3. the tenant is given separate written notice, with the full notice period
4. at least 12 months have passed since the last increase.

If the agreement is silent on increases, the rent stays where it is until the fixed term ends.

During a periodic agreement, no clause is needed. The owner or manager gives written notice with the required period, and the 12-month gap applies. The RTA notes that when a fixed term rolls into a periodic tenancy, an increase can take effect from the start of the periodic tenancy if proper notice has been given.

At the end of a fixed term, the parties are free to negotiate a new agreement at a new rent. This is where the property-based limit bites: the new agreement can carry a higher rent only if 12 months have passed since the last increase.

Asking for proof of the last increase

A tenant does not have to take the date on trust. The RTA says a tenant may ask in writing for evidence of the date of the last rent increase, and the property manager or owner must provide it within 14 days. Failing to do so is an offence.

The RTA adds that evidence held by an agent satisfies the requirement, which matters when a property has changed hands or changed managers and the current owner did not set the earlier rent.

For owners and managers, the practical consequence is record-keeping. The date and amount of every increase need to be kept with the property's file and handed on at a sale or a change of agency, because the next person to raise the rent will be asked to prove it.

Who is exempt

The rules name a group called exempt lessors, to whom some of these requirements do not apply. The RTA's pages refer to the definition in the legislation without listing every member. A lessor who believes they are exempt, or a tenant told that their lessor is, should check the definition in the Act and Regulation or ask the RTA.

There is also a narrow exception to the 12-month gap itself. The RTA says a property owner can apply to QCAT for permission to increase the rent within less than 12 months on the grounds of undue hardship. The example it gives is an owner who had been letting the home at a discounted rent to friends or family. The tribunal decides; the owner cannot simply rely on the exception.

Rules that sit beside the limit

Several other rules that began in 2024 work alongside the limit on increases, according to the RTA's summary of rental law changes.

• Rent bidding is banned. Since 6 June 2024, a manager or owner cannot invite rent bids or accept an offer above the advertised rent, and rooming accommodation must be advertised at a fixed price.
• Rent in advance is capped. A tenant cannot be asked for more than two weeks' rent in advance on a periodic agreement or a rooming agreement, or one month on a fixed-term agreement.
• The bond can follow the rent, with its own limits. If rent increases, the bond may be increased too, but only if at least 11 months have passed since the bond was last set, and with at least one month's written notice. The bond can never exceed four weeks' rent for a general tenancy.

An illustrative example on the last point: if rent rises from $600 to $640 a week, the maximum bond rises from $2,400 to $2,560, so the most a tenant could be asked to add is $160.

For a sense of scale, the RTA's 2024-25 annual report put Queensland's median weekly rent at $600, up 3.4 per cent on the previous year. That is a median of rents on newly lodged bonds across the state. It says nothing about what any one increase should be.

When an increase looks excessive

Queensland law does not cap the amount of a rent increase. It limits how often rent can rise and how much notice is needed, and it gives the tenant a way to challenge an increase that is excessive.

The first step costs nothing and is often enough: a conversation. A tenant who thinks the new rent is out of line with similar homes nearby can say so, with examples, and ask the owner or manager to reconsider. Some increases are settled this way, and an owner who values a reliable tenant has a reason to listen.

If that fails, the tenant can dispute the increase. According to the RTA, the time limit is 30 days:

• for an increase during an existing agreement, 30 days from receiving the notice
• for a higher rent in a new agreement, 30 days from signing it.

QCAT's guide to tenancy time limits gives the same 30 days for objections to a rent increase.

The RTA says that when the tribunal decides whether an increase is excessive, it considers matters including:

• the range of market rents for comparable homes
• the state of repair of the property
• how long the tenancy has run
• how long it has been since the last increase.

A tenant preparing a challenge therefore needs evidence on those points: advertisements for similar homes in the same area, photographs or repair requests showing the condition of the property, and the rent history.

The dispute path through the RTA and QCAT

A dispute about a rent increase is what QCAT calls a non-urgent tenancy matter. That means it cannot go straight to the tribunal. It has to pass through the RTA's dispute resolution service first.

Some features of the RTA's service are worth understanding before starting.

It is voluntary. Each side decides whether to take part, and the RTA cannot compel an owner or a tenant to conciliate. If one side declines, the dispute is treated as unresolved and the tenant can go on to QCAT.

Conciliators do not decide. The RTA says its conciliators do not determine who is right or wrong and do not advocate for either party. Their job is to help the two sides reach their own agreement, with the tenancy laws explained to both.

It usually works when both sides turn up. In its 2024-25 annual report, the RTA said it conciliated 23,408 disputes in the year and resolved 77.5 per cent of those in which both parties agreed to participate. Those figures cover every kind of dispute, most of them about bonds, and the report gives no separate rate for rent increases.

QCAT is the last step. It is a tribunal, and its decision is binding. Its jurisdiction in tenancy matters is limited to $25,000. QCAT's website names services that help tenants prepare at no charge, including Tenants Queensland, the QSTARS advice service, Legal Aid Queensland and community legal centres.

One practical point is not answered in the pages this guide relies on: what rent is payable while a dispute is under way. A tenant in that position should ask the RTA or a tenant advice service before the new rent is due, and should not simply withhold the difference.

What each side should keep

Most arguments about rent increases come down to dates and paper. A short list covers nearly all of them.

For tenants:

• the tenancy agreement, which should show the date of the last increase
• every rent increase notice, with the date it was received
• any written request for evidence of the last increase, and the reply
• examples of comparable rents collected at the time of the notice.

For owners and property managers:

• the date and amount of every increase for the premises, kept across tenancies
• proof of when and how each notice was given
• for a fixed term, the clause that provides for the increase and the amount
• the evidence that would be handed over within 14 days if a tenant asked.

An increase that respects the 12 months, gives the full notice, states the three required items and reflects the market for the home is lawful, and most are never disputed. The rules exist for the others, and they give both sides the same calendar to count from.

Kooky, from Shaka

Kooky edits Queensland Estate and builds Shaka, the payment router he made for Queensland property professionals. One payment comes in, and every agent, agency and party in the deal receives their signed share on closing date.

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