Rental Reforms – Tenants Queensland

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.

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

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.

Tenancy Law Reform Bill tabled – good start, more to do

Tenants Queensland (TQ) welcomes the Miles Government’s package of reforms that will improve the experiences of renters, with the introduction of the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024

TQ CEO, Ms Penny Carr, said, “banning rent bidding, requiring a fee free way of paying rent, limiting what can be asked when signing up applying for a tenancy and controlling how and for how long information can be kept, will very much improve the experiences of renters across the state. We welcome these changes”.

Requiring evidence when the landlord wants to claim against the bond, the portable bond scheme and a rental code of conduct are changes also strongly supported by TQ.

Despite welcoming the package TQ CEO, Ms Penny Carr, stated that there is more to be done. “The package is a good start but more needs to be done to support struggling renters”.

Tenants Queensland and QCOSS have jointly welcomed the package of tenancy reforms announced today by Premier Steven Miles as a promising first step towards improving the lives of Queenslanders living with rental insecurity.

The package is a positive sign that the Miles Government has listened to the pleas of Queensland’s renters and that it will continue to take seriously the plight of those burdened with insecure tenancies amid a cost-of-living crisis.

Tenants Queensland CEO Penny Carr says:
“Following three years of campaigning by Make Renting Fair in Queensland supporters, we particularly applaud the introduction of the following measures that will make a real difference in the lives of Queensland renters:

The PM just announced outcomes from the National Cabinet discussion about rental reforms. We think more needs to be done to limit the amount rent can rise. This is the summary of their proposals:

“A Better Deal for Renters

– Develop a nationally consistent policy to implement a requirement for genuine reasonable grounds for eviction, having consideration to the current actions of some jurisdiction.

The Queensland Government is consulting about changes to the frequency of rent increases to ensure recent changes are effective.

On July 1, the government limited the frequency of rent increases to once per year. However, the last few months have seen the emergence of rental management practices which appear to undermine the intent of the legislation, for example, ending tenancies after six months so that the rent can be increased with new tenants.

Today the government issued a discussion paper and is calling for submission on how to ensure the annual rent increase frequency limit is effective.

The discussion paper proposes changes that would apply the limit to the frequency of rent increases to the property, rather than the tenancy, regardless of whether the sitting tenants remain, or the property is re-tenanted.

The commencement of the second stage reforms has been long awaited and Tenants Queensland (TQ) is pleased to see consultations commence. Overall, the paper contains some positive proposals (if they eventuate), however, we think that our government needs to do more to regulate the rental market in order to deliver stability, safety, amenity and affordability to Queensland renters.

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

Tenants Queensland welcomes the passage of the Bill – but there is more to be done

Tenancy Law Reform Bill tabled – good start, more to do

Tenancy reforms announced

PM announces National rental reforms

More effective changes to limit the frequency of rent increases?

Response to the Queensland Government’s Stage Two Rental Reform Consultation Paper (May 2023)