News – Tenants Queensland

Alternatives Needed to Evicting and Excluding Public Housing Tenants

Media Release

16th June 2025
Tenants Queensland (TQ) is calling for caution regarding the introduction of the public housing ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy, announced by the Housing Minister on Saturday.

TQ notes there are already legislated provisions to allow the eviction of social housing tenants after ‘one strike’ if the issue concerned is serious enough.

A common problem with many of these polices is they reduce the standard of proof required to determine an alleged breached, which is the case in the current law. Further, they often extend the responsibilities for social housing tenants beyond those of other renters, extending them to include the actions of people on neighbouring properties if they invited the onto the premises. Given most social housing tenants experience high levels of disadvantage and vulnerability, this is unreasonable.

TQ CEO, Ms Penny Carr, said, “Whilst we’re pleased to hear that there will be support where needed, the risk is that some social housing tenants will be evicted for behaviours that relate to the reasons they were originally housed, for example poor mental health, disability and social exclusion”.

‘Further’, Ms Carr said, ‘to think that those evicted from social housing will be able to gain and sustain private rental for periods of up to two years is challenging‘. Those excluded are highly like to find themselves homeless and in need of support and temporary housing from other community services.

These sort of polices have the potential to end up in a revolving door for the most vulnerable in our community. TQ calls for consultation on any changes to housing policy and procedure as well as direct and early information to public housing tenants.-

-ENDS-

About Tenants Queensland:
Tenants Queensland, established in 1986, provides a range of tenancy advisory and advocacy services including: a statewide telephone advice service for renters, publications, a tenancy law training program, and tenancy law research and policy development.

The Rental Report

A performance report on the progress of A Better Deal for Renters

In August 2023 National Cabinet met and agreed to deliver on a range of priorities for Australians, with a focus on more secure and affordable housing. This also included the Better Deal for Renters to ‘harmonise and strengthen renters’ rights across Australia’.

This report assesses the progress of the Better Deal for Renters by each State and Territory.

In the past 12 months States and Territories have been responding to the National Cabinet Better Deal for Renters with a range of rental reforms. This has included proposing and adopting legislation, as well as undertaking consultation for further reforms. While States and Territories have been consulting within their jurisdictions on rental reforms, the overall process of engagement nationally on the Better Deal for Renters has not been open and transparent.

The process is driven through the Housing and Homelessness Ministerial Council Meetings and senior officials, and has not engaged directly with peak bodies, advocates, and the sector more broadly. There has not been publicly availably timeframes about how and when States and Territories will report their progress on the Better Deal for Renters.

This report provides an assessment from experts in the application of residential law. Collectively NARO resources, co- ordinates or directly provides advice regarding more than 80, 000 tenancy issues each year. Further detail on the assessment process is on Page 3 of this report.

Read the report here

Recent flooding

If you are a renter who has been affected by the recent flooding in North Queensland, we have useful information on our website about your rights, including:
• If you need to leave
• If your landlord wants you to leave
• Paying rent
• Getting repairs done
• Mould

You can view our factsheets here.

If you need further information, you can also contact our free tenancy statewide advice service on 1300 744 263, open from 9-5pm Monday to Friday (with evening advice 5–7pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays).

Staying Cool Without Breaking the Bank: New Free Program for Queensland Renters

Are your power bills stopping you from turning on your fan or air conditioner this summer? You’re not alone – and help is here.

Starting this month, Queensland renters can get free help to stay cool and save money on power bills. The new EmPowering Renters program helps renters understand their energy use and bills better.

Through the program, Tenants Queensland (TQ) aims to help Queensland renters with their cost-of-living pressures. TQ will help them understand their energy bills, access concessions and rebates, find better energy deals, and make their homes more comfortable while reducing energy costs.

“Many renters are already trying to be as energy efficient as possible but still struggle to stay comfortable in their homes because of high energy bills,” says Penny Carr, CEO of Tenants Queensland. “While renters can’t make structural changes to their homes, this program offers information on what can be done to make renting more energy efficient for those of us who rent our homes.”

The EmPowering Renters project received grant funding from the Queensland Government as part of the Enable Grants Program. Tenants Queensland is working in collaboration with Energetic Communities Association Incorporated to help Queensland renters reduce their energy use.

“There are lots of simple things we can do around our homes to feel more comfortable,” says Luke Reade, President of Energetic Communities. “Our energy experts understand Queensland’s unique climate challenges and we’re here to help renters learn about their options.”

The EmPowering Renters Team can help renters with:

Practical energy saving tips for your home
Help finding cheaper times to use appliances
Help understanding your power bills
Checking your eligibility for concessions and rebates
Providing one-on-one consultations focused on energy use and efficiency
Offering energy literacy workshops for renters
Providing home energy assessments
Offering a referral support for energy hardship
A website focused on energy efficiency dedicated to Queensland renters

If you rent and want to stay cool without the bill shock, visit www.empoweringrenters.org.au today. Fill out the simple contact form, and the team will get in touch. You will also find helpful tips on the website.

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About EmPowering Renters:

The EmPowering Renters project received grant funding from the Queensland Government as part of the Enable Grants Program.

The Enable Grants Program supports non-government organisations (NGOs) to provide energy efficiency advice and activities that will help reduce energy bills for Queenslanders experiencing vulnerability.

Tenants Queensland is delivering this program in conjunction with Energetic Communities Association Incorporated.

Contact details for energy efficiency information:

07 347 35010

empoweringrenters@tenantsqld.org.au

New Government for Queensland

Tenants Queensland (TQ) congratulates our new Premier, David Crisafulli, for the election of the Liberal National Party at the state election on October 26. TQ looks forward to working with the LNP to achieve our joint housing goals.

TQ assists tens of thousands of renting households across the state every year to maintain safe and stable housing. We support renters to exercise their rights and act on their responsibilities and advocate their concerns to government and the community. We hope to meet with the new government soon to explain our important work and better understand their vision for renters so that we can help them deliver on it.

What do we know about the Crisafulli Government’s policies for renters?

In the publicly released documents there is limited information from the LNP directly addressing policies for renters. However, TQ wrote to all political parties in the lead up to the State Election, asking questions on specific topics. On the three topics we have campaigned for change on, we know the LNP have announced a solar for renters program (The Supercharged Solar for Renters plan), which supports our call for energy efficiency standards for rental properties. Currently however, they do not support limiting the amount that rents can rise, nor ending arbitrary eviction for renters at the end of their fixed term agreement.

TQ also asked if the LNP had any plans for changes to tenancy laws. The LNP responded with the following:
“The Labor state government recently introduced some reforms to tenancy laws to the Queensland Parliament. Changes to tenancy laws are a complex issue. The LNP carefully and respectfully reviewed the proposed laws and did not oppose the rental reform changes which have now passed through the Parliament. These laws now need to be monitored to ensure they do not have adverse impacts that reduce the supply of rental accommodation or put additional upward pressure on prices”.

Outside of the answers to our direct questions, most of the publicly available housing policy statements focus on supply and home ownership, some with ‘trickle down’ impacts for renters.

The LNP acknowledges the problem of rental affordability and see their strong focus on housing supply as the way to address it.

The LNP committed to a similar target put in place by the Labor government last year:

“….‘Securing our Housing Foundations’ plan….which will deliver one million more homes by 2044, including 53,500 social and community homes. Increasing housing supply will provide more options for renters in both the price point and types of properties available.”

The following is also from the LNP’s publicly available information on housing issues.

In the first month we should see confirmed goals and KPIS for Ministers and Heads of Departments.

By the end of this year, there is a commitment to allow recipients of the First Homeowner Grant to rent out a room without penalty, with which they expect to ease the pressure on renters. Additionally, the LNP will aim to unlock church and charity-owned land for the Community Housing Sector.

In the first 100 days, the LNP has committed to establishing a Cabinet Housing Ministerial Taskforce. The LNP will also begin to abolish stamp duty on new builds for first home buyers and will commence work to expand home ownership opportunities in Queensland’s Indigenous communities.

These are the starting points for our work with the new government. TQ looks forward to using our expertise to support the LNP’s housing agenda and exploring ways to work together to improve the situation for renters across Queensland and make renting fairer.

Overview of the 30 September 2024 Tenancy Law Changes – What you need to know

Vector image in yellow with image of building and law scales behind it.

Recent changes to tenancy law were passed by Queensland Parliament on 23 May 2024 and will impact your tenancy or rooming agreement under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (‘the Act’). Not all changes are commencing at the same time. Some of the changes commenced on Assent (6 June 2024), while other changes commence by Proclamation on 30 September 2024 or 1 May 2025.

Here is a quick snapshot of the key changes starting from 30 September 2024.

Renters in Australia continue to face inconsistent tenancy laws and an ongoing lack of protection, says a new report out today from National Shelter and the National Association of Renters’ Organisations (NARO).

Today, one year on from National Cabinet’s a ‘Better Deal for Renters’, the National Association of Renters’ Organisations – NARO (of which Tenants Queensland is a member) and National Shelter released a report card that assesses the progress of State and Territories against their commitments. The report finds inconsistent progress and that some jurisdictions have failed to meet their obligations. The report also recommends areas requiring attention including the need to limit the amount a rent can be increased, adequately funding tenancy advice and advocacy services, and better data to inform policy.

In Queensland despite many welcomed and positive changes during the year, key issues have been missed, leaving important, cornerstone reforms outstanding. Tenants Queensland and the Make Renting Fair in Queensland campaign are calling on all parties to commit to them. They are:

Protecting renters from arbitrary evictions by requiring a fair reason to end all tenancies whether they are fixed term or on-going. This requires the removal of the ‘End of a Fixed Term’ as a ground to end a tenancy
Rent rises to be restricted to once per annum at the rate of the Consumer Price Index
The inclusion of minimum standards for energy efficiency,

Vector image showing the scales of justice on a book

Recent changes to tenancy law were passed by Queensland Parliament on 23 May 2024 and will impact your tenancy or rooming agreement under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (‘the Act’). Not all changes will commence at the same time. Some of the changes commenced on Assent (6 June 2024), while other changes will start on Proclamation (30th September).

Here is a quick snapshot of the key changes. This text below applies to general tenancies and rooming accommodation.

With an election this year, in the lead up to the Budget we asked all political parties represented and the Independent in Parliament 3 questions

Q1. Will you continue to support the Queensland Statewide Advice and Referral Service (QSTARS) to provide free tenancy advice and support, at least for the current term of contracts (to June 2028) without any cuts to the program?

Q2. Will you continue to support the $160 million renters’ relief program funded over the coming five years to deliver bond loans and rental support to a broad range of renters in the state?

Q3. Are there additional programs of support for renters that you wish to achieve?

We will keep this page updated with their replies.

Tenants Queensland congratulates the Miles Government and welcomes the passage of the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 into law.

Tenants Queensland CEO, Ms Penny Carr, said, “I have just come out of Parliament House and I have watched the passage of the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024. It is a good day for renters, there are many good reforms in the package that will improve the situation for people living in rented homes across Queensland.

There are significant improvements for Queensland renters in the package of reforms just passed and those which were made into law in October 2021.