On 1 May 2025, rental law changes commenced under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (the Act).
Summary of rental law changes commencing 1 May 2025:
- new rental application form (Form 22/R22) – an application form that complies with the RTA Form 22/R22 must be used for all rental applications and applicants must be provided with at least 2 different ways to submit an application. One way must not be a ‘restrictive way’
- entry frequency after a notice to leave/notice of intention to leave (Form 12/Form R12) – once a property manager/owner issues a Notice to leave (Form 12) or if a tenant gives a Notice of intention to leave (Form 13), the property manager/owner cannot enter the property more than twice in a seven-day period while the notice is in effect. Exceptions apply.
- entry notice period – the minimum entry notice period will increase from 24 hours to 48 hours for general tenancies. For rooming accommodation agreements, 24 hours notice is required to clean a room, and 48 hours for any other entry reason. Exceptions apply.
- disclosure of benefits – any financial benefits received by property managers/owners through rent payment methods offered to tenants must be disclosed and tenants must be made aware of any costs involved in paying rent
- new form for tenants to request fixtures and structural changes (Form 23) – property managers/owners will have 28 days to respond to the request
- changes to the collection and storage of personal information – new limits are placed on the personal information that property managers/owners can collect
- offences and penalty provisions – new offences are being introduced under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008.
