How Often Can a Landlord Increase Rent in Queensland?
A landlord contacts your property management team demanding a second rent increase within the same year. The previous one came through in April; now it’s September and they want to go again. Your job is to explain — precisely and without ambiguity — why that is not lawful, what the rules actually require, and what happens if those rules are ignored.
The answer to how often a landlord can increase rent in Queensland is clear: once every 12 months, per property. But the detail behind that rule — the notice requirements, the lease-type variations, the bond implications, the exemptions, and the penalties — is where agents earn their value.
The 12-Month Rule: What the Law Actually Says
From 1 July 2023, Queensland rental laws limited the frequency of rent increases to once a year for all tenancies. That was a significant shift. Before that date, the rules were more permissive, and landlords operating across multiple consecutive tenancies could, in some circumstances, increase rent more than once in a twelve-month window.
The second and more consequential change came with the 2024 reforms. From 6 June 2024, the annual rent increase frequency limit applies to the property, rather than the tenancy. This distinction matters enormously in practice. The 12-month limit applies even if the last rent increase to the property related to a different residential tenancy agreement, there has been a change of tenants occupying the property, or there has been a change of ownership of the property.
Before 6 June 2024, a landlord could potentially argue that a new tenancy with a new tenant reset the clock. Reforms commencing 1 July 2023 provided for an annual rent increase frequency limit — but this limit did not apply where there was a change in tenancy (unless at least one tenant remained the same). That loophole is closed. The amended Act now prohibits increases within 12 months of the last increase (or time rent was first payable), regardless of the parties to the tenancy agreement.
The legislative source for these obligations is the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (Qld) (the RTRA Act), as amended by the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024. Rental law changes for general tenancies, rooming accommodation and moveable dwelling tenancies were introduced in 2024–25 under that Amendment Act, which amended the RTRA Act 2008. This is the primary legislative framework every Queensland property manager must know.
It is an offence under the Act to increase the rent in less than 12 months. Non-compliance is not a technicality that can be walked back with an apology. The RTA has enforcement powers, and the penalties are material.
Notice Requirements by Tenancy Type
The 12-month frequency rule is only one part of the compliance picture. Even when twelve months have passed, a valid rent increase also requires proper written notice. The notice period differs depending on the type of tenancy agreement in place.
Periodic Tenancies
For a general tenancy operating on a periodic basis (month-to-month), the requirement is straightforward. The rent can be increased with a minimum of two months’ written notice. The notice could be given to the tenant at any time, but the rent increase cannot commence sooner than 12 months after they started paying the current rent amount.
The notice should include the increased amount, the day the increase will take effect, and the date the rent was last increased for the premises. All three elements are required. A notice missing the date of the last increase is non-compliant under the current Act, and property managers need to ensure this is reflected in the documentation they issue on behalf of their clients.
For rooming accommodation periodic agreements, the minimum notice period is shorter: at least four weeks’ notice prior to or on the commencement of the periodic agreement for rooming accommodation agreements. Agents managing a mix of general tenancies and rooming accommodation must apply the correct standard to each.
Fixed-Term Tenancies
Rent increases during a fixed term are only permitted in limited circumstances. Rent cannot be increased during a fixed term unless it is stated in the tenancy agreement and the property manager/owner gives the tenant at least two months’ notice in writing for a general tenancy and four weeks’ notice for a rooming accommodation agreement, and it has been at least 12 months since the last increase for the premises or room.
This means the increase must have been disclosed as a special term at the time the agreement was signed — not added later. The rent increase must have been included as a special term of the signed tenancy agreement from the very beginning, stating when the rent would increase and the amount of the increase or how this is to be worked out. Even then, the property manager/owner must give the tenant separate written notice of the increase — it does not automatically come into effect because it is in the agreement.
At the End of a Fixed Term
When a fixed-term agreement concludes and the parties enter a new agreement, a rent increase can be agreed to as part of that new arrangement. The property manager/owner and tenant can agree to a rent increase at the end of a fixed term agreement by entering into a new agreement. However, it must be at least 12 months since the last rent increase. There is no requirement to serve a notice about the increase.
If a new agreement is not signed, the situation defaults automatically. If a new agreement is not signed, the agreement becomes periodic with the same terms and conditions as the fixed-term tenancy agreement. The rent can then be increased by giving at least two months’ notice prior to or on the commencement of the periodic agreement for general tenancies.
Agents should be alive to the timing here. If the landlord wants a rent increase to coincide with a lease renewal, the twelve-month clock still governs. A lease that rolls over to periodic cannot be used as a mechanism to circumvent the frequency rule.
The Property-Based Clock: What It Means in Practice
The shift from a tenancy-based rule to a property-based rule is the change most likely to catch agents out — particularly those managing properties with frequent tenant turnover or newly acquired by an investor.
Landlords can only raise the rent of a property after a period of 12 months. This applies regardless of whether the property is tenanted during the period or if there is a change in tenants. The practical consequence: if Tenant A vacated in month nine and Tenant B signed a new lease, the landlord cannot use that new lease as the start of a fresh twelve-month period for the purposes of the increase rule.
The date of the last rent increase must be included in the tenancy agreement. Tenants have the right to request written proof of the last rent increase during the tenancy, and the property manager or owner must provide this information within 14 days. This is a disclosure obligation that runs in both directions: it protects tenants from increases that breach the twelve-month rule, and it creates a paper trail that property managers must maintain accurately.
For agents taking on management of a newly acquired property, due diligence on the rent increase history is no longer optional. The law makes it clear that if the rent for a property was increased before 6 June 2024, that rent increase is still considered to be the date of the last increase when working out the 12-month period before the rent can be increased again. This means that even if the rent was last increased before 6 June 2024, the lessor will still need to wait 12 months before increasing the rent again.
From 6 June 2024, property managers and/or owners are required to provide the date of the last rent increase in a general tenancy and rooming accommodation agreement. If that information is not available at the time of signing — for example, because the property was recently purchased — agents should document the circumstances and seek guidance from the RTA on their specific obligations.
Bond Increases Following a Rent Increase
When rent goes up, the bond can also be increased — but this is subject to its own timing rule and a separate set of steps. Agents need to be across both.
If rent is increased, the bond may be increased if it has been at least 11 months since the last bond increase or start of the tenancy. Any extra bond must generally be lodged with the RTA using a Bond Lodgement (Form 2) or the Bond Lodgement Web Service. The tenant must pay the increase in bond by the date stated on the notice, which must be at least one month after the tenant received the notice.
Note the cap: from 30 September 2024, the maximum bond allowed is equivalent to 4 weeks’ rent for general tenancies and 2 weeks’ rent for moveable dwellings, or 3 weeks’ rent for moveable dwellings if electricity is provided, regardless of the weekly rent amount. Where a rent increase lifts the rent above the threshold the original bond was calculated on, agents should check whether the bond can be topped up within the statutory cap and manage the paperwork accordingly.
This is a step many agents miss in the flurry of processing a rent increase. An under-bonded property is a risk exposure for the landlord — and the agent who failed to advise of the entitlement to increase the bond may face questions if things go wrong at the end of the tenancy.
Penalties for Getting It Wrong
The RTRA Act does not treat a premature rent increase as a minor procedural error. It is an offence under the Act to increase the rent in less than 12 months, with a maximum penalty of 20 penalty units. At the current penalty unit value of $166.90 (for the 2025–26 financial year), that translates to a maximum fine of around $3,338.
Separate penalties apply for documentation failures. Failing to state the date of the last rent increase in a new tenancy agreement carries a maximum penalty of 40 penalty units. Landlords that do not provide evidence of the last rent increase within 14 days of a written request from a tenant may also face a maximum penalty of 40 penalty units.
The RTA enforces these provisions. Its compliance process is tiered: for minor breaches, a Notice of Non-Compliance may be issued, outlining the legislative requirements and noting that future breaches may result in further, more serious enforcement actions, including ongoing investigation and compliance monitoring. Repeat or serious non-compliance escalates accordingly. Agents acting as property managers carry responsibility here — a non-compliant increase issued on behalf of a landlord does not insulate the agency from accountability.
Property managers should also be aware that the RTA has expanded information-sharing capabilities. The RTA has the ability to share information with other government agencies and departments to drive greater compliance and enforcement outcomes for the sector. This is not a system in which breaches go unnoticed.
Exemptions: When the 12-Month Rule Doesn’t Apply
There is a limited category of lessors who are exempt from the standard 12-month frequency restriction. Exempt property managers/owners and exempt providers/agents are exempt from the minimum period to increase rent. The Act provides definitions for an exempt property manager/owner and an exempt provider.
In practice, property owners and managers are generally considered exempt if the property is used as community housing where the rent is calculated based on the tenant’s income. This is a narrow category. The vast majority of residential investment properties — including those managed on behalf of private landlords, corporate landlords, and overseas investors — are not exempt.
The exemption for community housing providers exists because their rent is income-assessed, and a tenant’s income may change more frequently than annually. Imposing a twelve-month freeze on such arrangements would prevent the provider from adjusting rent in line with updated income assessments. That rationale does not extend to standard market-rate residential tenancies.
For any landlord or agent uncertain whether an exemption applies, the RTA’s published definitions and the RTRA Act itself should be the first reference points. Independent legal advice is appropriate where the classification is genuinely ambiguous.
The Undue Hardship Exception
Outside the exemption framework, there is one mechanism by which a landlord might seek to increase rent before the twelve months have elapsed: the undue hardship application to QCAT.
If a lessor believes they would be caused undue hardship because they are not able to increase rent within 12 months of the last rent increase, the lessor can make an application to QCAT for an order. QCAT can make an order to increase rent by a stated amount.
This is not a routine pathway. When deciding whether to permit such an increase, QCAT must consider any representations made by the tenant about the proposed rent increase and its likely effects on the affordability of the premises and the tenant’s ability to continue paying the rent. The threshold is deliberately high. A landlord who simply misjudged the market when setting the initial rent, or who received a rate rise from their lender, will not automatically satisfy the undue hardship test.
One scenario the RTA specifically acknowledges: if a property manager/owner enters into a new agreement with cheaper rent than the previous agreement — for example, to allow friends or family to live in the property — they can apply to QCAT for permission to increase the rent within less than 12 months on the grounds of undue hardship. Even so, this application is subject to the tenant’s representations being considered.
Agents should not advise landlords that QCAT will routinely approve early increases. It is a genuine exception, not a workaround.
Challenging an Excessive Rent Increase
The laws address not only frequency but also the magnitude of increases. A rent increase that complies with the twelve-month rule and the notice requirements can still be challenged if it is considered excessive.
A tenant or resident can dispute the increase if they feel it is excessive by discussing the issue with the property manager/owner. If the tenant still feels the increase is excessive, they can apply for dispute resolution once the new agreement is signed. They may also apply to QCAT for a decision if they meet the relevant requirements.
Property managers should be prepared for this outcome. In a tight rental market, landlords may push for increases that are technically lawful in timing and notice but large enough in quantum to trigger a challenge. Understanding the basis on which QCAT assesses excessiveness — which includes comparable market rents and the condition of the property — is part of advising landlords on what a defensible and sustainable increase looks like.
The dispute resolution process through the RTA is free and available to all tenants. This means the barrier to lodging a challenge is low. Agents who can support the landlord’s proposed increase with documented comparable rental evidence are in a far stronger position if the matter escalates.
Rooming Accommodation: Specific Considerations
Rooming accommodation operates under the same overall framework but with some important distinctions that agents managing these properties need to understand.
If the rent in a rooming accommodation agreement covers both accommodation and a service, the 12-month period only applies to rent increases — not to increases in service fees. This means that where a rooming agreement bundles accommodation rent with, say, a cleaning or meal service, only the accommodation component is subject to the twelve-month restriction. Service charges may be adjustable separately, subject to the terms of the agreement.
If rent is increased under a rooming accommodation agreement with Resident A on 1 November 2024, and a new rooming accommodation agreement for the same room is entered into with Resident B commencing 1 February 2025, the rent must not be increased until 12 months after 1 November 2024. This directly illustrates the property-based (or in this case, room-based) application of the rule: the clock follows the room, not the resident.
For rooming accommodation, the notice period for increases is four weeks — shorter than the two months required for general tenancies — but the other requirements around written notice and disclosure of the last increase date remain the same.
What This Means for Queensland Agents
The consolidated rule is simple: one increase per property per twelve months, with at least two months’ written notice for general tenancies and four weeks’ notice for rooming accommodation. The increase cannot take effect until twelve months have passed since the last increase, regardless of whether a new lease has been signed, a new tenant has moved in, or ownership of the property has changed.
Every tenancy agreement signed from 6 June 2024 onwards must include the date of the last rent increase. This is not optional. It is a disclosure that protects both the tenant and — when documented correctly — the property manager from a challenge. Maintaining accurate rent increase records for every managed property is now a core compliance function.
Agents advising landlords on rent review strategies should anchor their recommendations in documented comparable market evidence. A lawful increase that can be substantiated by current market data is far less likely to generate a QCAT dispute than one that appears arbitrary or opportunistic. Proactive communication with tenants about the basis for any increase also reduces the likelihood of formal complaints.
For properties recently acquired by an investor or transferred to a new management agency, the first step before any discussion of rent increase is to establish when the last increase was applied. That date governs what is possible and when. If that information is unavailable, the RTA’s resources and the transitional provisions of the Amendment Act provide a framework for managing the gap.
The penalties for non-compliance are real, enforceable, and indexed to rise annually. At 40 penalty units for a documentation failure alone, this is not an area of practice where approximations are acceptable. Know the rules, record the dates, serve the notices correctly, and your landlords — and your licence — are protected.