27 July 2022

Since October 2021, the Queensland Government has been making incremental changes to tenancy laws. The changes have been rolled out in phases, with the first phase being implemented on 20 October 2021 - the introduction of greater domestic and family violence protections for tenants and residents.

The next phase will be coming into effect on 1 October 2022. The changes will include updates to legislation concerning renting with pets, ending a tenancy, and repair orders.

The final phase of changes will address minimum housing standards. Minimum housing standards will commence for new tenancies from 1 September 2023, and for all tenancies from 1 September 2024, aiming to ensure all Queensland rental properties are safe, secure, and functional.

The Queensland Government has released the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Amendment Regulation 2022 which provides further information about the tenancy law changes.

Changes from 1 October 2022 will include:

providing tenants and property owners/managers with a wider range of specific reasons to end a tenancy with the appropriate notice periods
introducing a framework to support negotiations about renting with pets
introducing repair orders as an additional pathway for tenants to have repairs addressed in a timely manner.

See more information about the rental law changes on the RTA's website

The QLD Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) has advised that more information and resources on these changes will be available in the coming weeks.

RTA webinar series

The RTA has launched a webinar series to help agents and other relevant parties learn about the new laws and processes associated with ending a residential tenancy. The first webinar will address the new rules around ending tenancies and will take place on 12 August 2022.

Ending tenancies – October 2022 rental law changes webinar:

Date: Friday 12 August 2022
Time: 10.00am–10.30am
Location: Online via Zoom (can be accessed via any web browser)