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Kooky
Builder of Shaka, the payment router that pays every agent their commission on closing date.
About Kooky and Shaka →The Residential Tenancies Authority said on 22 June 2026 that it is supporting "Small changes, big difference", a campaign led by Queenslanders with Disability Network (QDN) about home modifications in rental properties. With the announcement, the RTA set out again how a tenant asks for a modification and what a property manager or owner must do with the request.
The campaign is aimed at people with disability who rent, and at the owners and managers of the homes they live in. Its argument, as the RTA reports it, runs both ways: a modification can give a resident more freedom, independence and confidence, and it can also leave the property safer, more functional and better prepared for future tenants.
Who is behind the campaign
QDN is a Queensland organisation of people with disability. According to the RTA, it developed the campaign with people who have lived experience of disability, with industry representatives, with the Department of Housing and Public Works and with peak bodies including the Real Estate Institute of Queensland. The involvement of the REIQ matters: the material was written with the people who manage rentals, and not only for them.
The campaign has been building for a month. The department's own page on it was created on 26 May 2026 and lists four audiences: tenants, landlords, property managers and body corporate groups. QDN held an online launch on 29 May, and the Queensland Government's newsroom published the material on 2 June, noting that the resources were funded by the Queensland Government.
Those resources come in three parts, according to the newsroom notice: one on renting and home modifications in general, one for renters on how to ask, and one for property owners and managers on the benefits and their obligations. QDN describes a set of co-designed videos that take on common myths about renting, and posters built around the accounts of renters with disability.
Related readBrisbane vacancy holds at 0.9 per cent as the national rate risesThe RTA makes a point the campaign shares: accessible homes do not only serve people with disability. Its announcement lists older Queenslanders, parents with young children, carers and visitors among those who benefit. The department adds that modifications can reduce the amount of support a person with disability needs at home.
The right to ask, and the form
Under Queensland tenancy law, a tenant may ask to attach a fixture or make a structural change at any time during a tenancy, the RTA says, and may ask for the work to be completed before moving in. The department's page puts it in one line: all renters have the right to ask for home modifications.
The law deals with two kinds of change, and the RTA's guidance on fixtures and structural changes gives examples of each.
| Kind of change | What it means | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Fixture | An item attached so that it becomes part of the building | Shower grab rails, hooks, locks, air conditioners, clotheslines |
| Structural change | A permanent alteration to the property itself | Access ramps, moving or removing a wall, changing a window |
Residential Tenancies Authority, guidance on fixtures and structural changes.
Either way, the request is made in writing on the RTA's Form 23, "Request for approval to attach fixtures or make structural changes". The RTA's guidance says a separate form is needed for each request, so a rail in the bathroom and a ramp at the front step are two forms. The RTA's advice on filling it in is practical:
- describe the modification clearly and say where in the property it will go
- say whether it is permanent or can be removed at the end of the tenancy
- explain how it will help with daily living, independence or the amount of support needed
- attach supporting documents, such as an occupational therapist's recommendation, a diagram, photos or a link to the product.
A request that answers those points gives the owner what they need to decide. It also shortens the exchange: an owner who can see the product, the location and the reason has less to ask.
What the owner or manager must do
The RTA's statement is short on this point: property managers and owners must be reasonable when making their decision.
There is also a deadline. Since 1 May 2025, according to the RTA's summary of rental law changes, a tenant's written request for fixtures or structural changes must be answered in writing within 28 days. The same round of changes brought the standard rental application form and lengthened the minimum notice for entry from 24 to 48 hours.
Related readBrisbane asking rents up 8.3 per cent in a year, SQM data showsThe written answer has required contents. The RTA's guidance says it must state whether the request is approved, describe the fixture or structural change, and set out any conditions of approval, including whether body corporate approval is needed.
- The tenant asks in writingForm 23 describes the change, its location and whether it is permanent, with supporting documents attached.
- The owner or manager respondsThe decision must be reasonable, and the written response is due within 28 days.
- If they disagreeThe RTA offers free conciliation. If that fails, the tenant can apply to QCAT for a decision.
Approval can come with conditions, and the RTA's flow chart for the process says those conditions must themselves be reasonable. The guidance gives examples: that the fixture be professionally installed, that the tenant maintain it in a particular way, that the tenant may or may not remove it when the tenancy ends, and that the tenant repair any damage caused by removing it. Those conditions are where most of the practical questions are settled, including what happens to a rail or a ramp when the tenant leaves.
Apartments and townhouses add a step. Where the property is in a body corporate scheme and the scheme's approval is needed, the owner or manager must pass the approved request to the body corporate within 28 days. The RTA notes that the law sets no deadline for the body corporate's own answer.
No answer within 28 days is not an approval
The RTA's guidance says that if a request is refused, or no written response arrives within 28 days, the tenant does not have permission to go ahead. Making the change anyway is a breach of the agreement. The next step is dispute resolution.
The RTA's announcement does not list the grounds on which a request can be declined, or say who pays for a modification. Those points depend on the request and the agreement reached between the parties.
When the answer is no
A refusal is not the end of the road. The RTA encourages the two sides to talk first. If that does not settle it, the authority runs a free dispute resolution service in which a conciliator helps them reach their own agreement. Conciliators do not decide who is right. If an agreement is reached it is signed; if not, the RTA issues a notice of unresolved dispute and the tenant can apply to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which can make a decision.
Related readBrisbane house rents reach $700 a week while unit rents stay flatThe RTA's guidance lists what the tribunal may weigh. The list is a fair summary of what makes a request strong or weak:
- whether the change improves safety, security or accessibility
- whether it can be removed
- whether it adds value to the property
- whether building approvals are required
- the qualifications of the tradesperson who would do the work
- whether body corporate approval is needed
- the extent of the modification.
Conciliation works more often than not. In its 2024-25 annual report, the RTA said it conciliated 23,408 disputes that year and resolved 77.5 per cent of those in which both parties agreed to take part. Those figures cover every kind of tenancy dispute; most were about bond refunds, and the report gives no separate count for modifications.
If a tenant has gone ahead without written approval, the owner or manager has choices too. According to the RTA, they may waive the breach, accept the change as an improvement to the property, or treat it as a breach to be remedied.
Why it matters to both sides
For a tenant with a disability, the alternative to modifying a rental is often moving, and moving is costly for everyone involved. A tenant who can stay is a tenancy that continues. The RTA's announcement makes the same point from the owner's side: common modifications can support tenants to stay in their homes.
For owners, the campaign's argument is that many modifications are modest and some add to the property. The RTA describes them as a way to future-proof a rental. A well-installed rail or a step-free entry suits older tenants and families with prams as much as the person who asked for it, and "adds value to the property" is one of the things the tribunal is asked to consider.
For property managers, the announcement is a reminder of process more than a change in the law: a written request on the right form, a reasonable decision, conditions spelled out, and an answer in writing inside 28 days. The manager is usually the one who receives the form, explains it to the owner and, in a unit, sends it on to the body corporate. Clear requests make that job easier, which is why the campaign spends as much effort on how to ask as on the right to ask.
QDN's website carries the campaign material, and the RTA's own pages explain the form and the process.
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.
