Further reforms to rent bidding in NSW

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31 August 2023

In the latest issue of ‘Property Matters’, the NSW Government has outlined the progress it has made in strengthening the rules around rent bidding in the state.

Two significant updates to the rent bidding laws started on Thursday 3 August 2023: 

  • Advertisements for residential rental properties must have a fixed price.

  • It is unlawful for anyone, including landlords and digital rental application providers, to invite or ask for offers of rent for residential premises higher than the advertised price. 

NSW Fair Trading reports further on the issue:

The NSW Government has progressed reforms to improve protections against solicited rent bidding in NSW.

Two updates to laws started on Thursday 3 August 2023: 

  • Advertisements for residential rental properties must have a fixed price.

  • It is unlawful for anyone, including landlords and digital rental application providers, to invite or ask for offers of rent for residential premises higher than the advertised price. 

These changes improve protections for renters. They have applied to real estate agents since 17 December 2022.  

To give landlords and other third parties (not real estate agents) time to adjust to the changes, NSW Fair Trading will take an educational approach to compliance until 3 October 2023.

Guidance on the rent bidding rules                 

We have received some queries from people in the industry and are sharing our response here to clarify the rental advertisement and rent bidding rules. 

  • Rental advertisements must have a fixed price – you cannot refer to a price range in rental advertisements or use terms such as: ‘Price on application’, ‘negotiable’, ‘contact agent for price’ or ‘deposit taken’. This applies across all advertisements, including on social media, online rental platforms and on printed documents. 

  • Terms describing the status of a property can be used in an advertisement’s heading only if the fixed price is also included. For example, ‘deposit taken’ could be written as: $800 per week, deposit taken. 

  • Advertisements listing a property as ‘leased’ show that the property is no longer available for rent, and therefore do not need a fixed price. 

  • Signs placed on or near a rental property that advertise the property is available to rent are also exempt from requiring a fixed price.