Rental law reform

From 1 September 2023, rental properties must comply with Minimum Housing Standards when a new lease is entered into.

From 1 September 2024, all rental properties must comply with Minimum Housing Standards.

Working together for a better renting future

The Queensland Government is working towards a better renting future for Queenslanders. The Homes for Queenslanders plan outlines our commitments for further rental law reform to strengthen renters’ rights and stabilise rents.

The priority is to provide a strong, balanced approach that protects renters and rental property owners while improving stability in the rental market.

  • Stage 1 reforms implemented

  • Options Paper

  • Develop proposed reforms

  • Legislation in Parliament

  • Legislation passed

  • Stage 2 reforms implemented

On 21 March 2024, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Planning and Minister for Public Works introduced the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024  to Queensland Parliament.

The Bill proposes amendments to Queensland’s rental laws that respond to community concerns about the impact of current housing market conditions and cost-of-living pressures on Queensland's renting households.

The amendments have been informed by:

The Bill is not yet law and has been referred to the Housing, Big Build and Manufacturing Parliamentary Committee for detailed consideration and report by 10 May 2024. Read more about:

Read about the proposed reforms in the Bill.

How did we get here?

The Queensland Government has been working with the residential rental sector and the community to improve rental experiences in Queensland. Read about the activities we have undertaken to progress rental law reform.

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Open Doors to Renting Reform

In September 2018, we launched the Open Doors to Renting Reform Consultation (PDF, 3670.53 KB). We received more than 137,000 responses from renters, property owners and property managers about their experiences of living in, owning or managing a rental property, and how it could be improved

Safety, security and certainty (Stage 1) reforms

We received more than 15,000 responses providing community feedback on detailed reform options  outlined in the Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement (C-RIS) (PDF, 2950.22 KB), across these 5 priority renting issues:

  • ending leases fairly
  • Minimum Housing Standards
  • domestic and family violence protections
  • renting with pets
  • minor modifications.

Consultation told us that:

  • all parties want greater fairness, and better balancing of renter and property owner rights
  • most renters, property owners and managers want greater transparency around ending a lease, and they support changes that assist renters experiencing domestic and family violence
  • renters and property owners want a better relationship and support to resolve tenancy issues that may arise, without needing to access dispute resolution or decision-making services.

In 2020, we prioritised responding to the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. We implemented, adjusted and extended temporary regulatory measures to help the residential rental sector manage COVID-19 impacts on residential leases.

We comprehensively analysed the regulatory and economic impacts of proposed Stage 1 reforms. The Decision Regulatory Impact Statement (PDF, 4822.12 KB):

  • describes consultation feedback received on Stage 1 reform options tested through the C-RIS in 2019
  • provides a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of the recommended reforms.

Deloitte Access Economics analysed the economic impacts of recommended Stage 1 reforms (PDF, 1701.35 KB) and found them negligible.

An updated analysis of economic impacts (PDF, 1421.54 KB) was prepared, with the costs related to minor modification reforms removed as they were no longer progressing as part of Stage 1 rental law reforms.

Removing these costs reduced the economic impact of Stage 1 rental law reforms. The analysis was also updated for current market conditions following COVID-19 impacts on the housing market.

In 2022, the Housing Legislation Amendment Act 2021 amended the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 to progress Stage 1 reforms.

Read more about Stage 1 reforms.

Strengthening renters’ rights and stabilising rents

From 1 July 2023, Queensland rental laws limited the frequency of rent increases to once a year for all tenancies to stabilise rents in the private rental market.

Queenslanders were asked to have their say on a proposed reform in a discussion paper (PDF, 379.85 KB)to apply the limit on rent increases to the rental property rather than individual tenancies.

We received submissions from rental property owners, managers, renters and the Queensland community providing feedback on this proposal.

The Stage 2 Rental Law Reform options paper (PDF, 843.23 KB) outlined detailed reform options across 5 key legislative reform priorities, including:

  • installing modifications
  • making personalisation changes
  • balancing privacy and access
  • improving the rental bond process
  • fairer fees and charges.

Submissions on the options paper have now closed and the Queensland Government has introduced the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 proposing amendments to Queensland’s rental laws to strengthen renters’ rights and stabilise rents, including applying the annual rent increase frequency limit to the rental property, not the tenancy.

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