Fairer fees and charges

1. Status quo + education

No change is made to Queensland’s rental laws. Existing requirements for payment methods and passing on service charges and reletting costs are retained.

Education

Develop resources and education materials in consultation with the residential rental sector to provide guidance about:

• negotiating additional fees, service charges and other costs the renter may incur as part of the tenancy, including best practice approaches for transparency and passing on these costs, and
• availability of rental and other assistance.

2. Increase transparency

Amend Queensland’s rental laws to require:

• renters to be offered a fee-free rent payment method
• utility bills the renter is responsible for paying to be forwarded promptly, and
• the amount of reasonable reletting costs to be determined by prescribed caps.

Fees

Renters must be offered a fee-free rent payment method, such as direct deposit, and be given clear information about any charges they may incur to use other rent payment methods available to them.

Service charges

Rental property owners and renters may continue to include terms in tenancy agreements that require the renter to pay consumption charges for services supplied to the rental property. The rental property must continue to be separately metered for services supplied and meet water efficiency standards prescribed by regulation.

Rental property owners must send utility bills the renter is responsible for paying within one month of receiving the bill from the utility supplier. The renter will continue to be required to pay the utility charges within one month of receiving the bill from the rental property owner.

Reletting costs

The reasonable amount of reletting costs will be the lower of either:

• reasonable compensation as is currently provided for in the RTRA Act, or
• as determined by the time remaining on the agreed term:
  • four weeks rent if 75 per cent or more of the agreed term remains
  • three weeks rent if 50 per cent and less than 75 per cent of the agreed term remains
  • two weeks rent if 25 per cent and less than 50 per cent of the agreed term remains
  • one weeks rent if less than 25 per cent of the agreed term remains.

3. Limit fees and charges

Amend Queensland’s rental laws to:

• require a fee-free rent payment method be provided to renters
• renters only required to pay excessive consumption charges above reasonable consumption for comparable household, and
• limit break lease fees and service costs that can be charged.

Fees

Renters must have a fee-free way to pay rent and must get clear information about charges for other payment methods.

Service charges

Renters may only be required to pay for excessive consumption charges above what would be considered reasonable consumption for a comparable household in housing of comparable size and inclusions to the rental property. The rental property must continue to be separately metered for services supplied and meet water efficiency standards prescribed by regulation.

Rental property owners must send utility bills the renter is responsible for paying within one month of receiving the bill from the utility supplier. Renters will not be liable to pay for charges for bills that are not provided to them by the rental property owner within the prescribed timeframe. The renter will continue to be required to pay utility charges within one month of receiving the bill.

Reletting costs

Rental property owners and renters may continue to include terms in tenancy agreements that require the renter to compensate the rental property owner for the reasonable costs they incur to relet the rental property if the renter ends a fixed term agreement before the agreed term ends except in specified circumstances, including:

• the renter is ending the agreement to access more affordable rental accommodation in the private rental market or to accept an offer of social housing
• the renter will experience excessive hardship if they are required to pay the reletting costs.

The reasonable amount of reletting costs will be the lower of either:

• the rent payable before the rental property is relet to another renter, or
• as determined by the time remaining on the agreed term:
  • four weeks rent if 75 per cent or more of the agreed term remains
  • three weeks rent if 50 per cent and less than 75 per cent of the agreed term remains
  • two weeks rent if 25 per cent and less than 50 per cent of the agreed term remains
  • one weeks rent if less than 25 per cent of the agreed term remains.