Australia: rental market overview
The rental market
Australia: legal framework
- Rental market
- 30.6% of households rent (private and social combined).
- Legal framework
- Governed by the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW) and the Residential Tenancies Regulation 2019 (NSW); there is no federal residential-tenancy law, so every other Australian state and territory runs its own, different regime and its own government standard form.
- Deposit
- Capped at 4 weeks' rent for every tenancy, furnished or not (s.159) — and it never sits with the landlord: it must be lodged with Rental Bonds Online (RBO), the NSW bond authority, within 10 business days (s.162), earning no interest for either party.
- Notice & termination
- No-grounds terminations are banned since 19 May 2025 — a landlord needs a statutory reason and at least 90 days' notice (non-breach) or 14 days (breach); a periodic tenant can leave any time with 21 days' notice, no reason required. Eviction always needs a tribunal order — self-help is illegal.
- Rent increases
- Rent can rise at most once every 12 months, with at least 60 days' written notice stating a precise new amount — a vague formula is invalid. There's no percentage cap, but a tenant can ask the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) to rule an increase excessive within 30 days.
- Worth knowing
- The condition report is a mandatory attachment, not a courtesy — the landlord must hand the tenant two copies (or one electronic) before or at signing, documenting the property room by room, and it becomes the deciding evidence if the bond is disputed at the end of the tenancy.
- Landlord risk
- Because the bond, the notice periods and the standard form itself are all fixed by NSW statute, a landlord's real exposure sits in the mandatory material-fact disclosures (flood, bushfire, asbestos register, prior violent crime and more) and the 10-business-day bond-lodgement clock — miss either and the landlord, not the tenant, carries the consequence.
The rental agreement
Australia has no federal law governing residential tenancies — each state and territory regulates leasing under its own Residential Tenancies Act, and Brokik's template is configured for New South Wales (NSW), the country's largest rental market. NSW terminology is "landlord" and "tenant" (Victoria, by contrast, uses "rental provider" and "renter" instead — a different vocabulary for essentially the same relationship). The single biggest structural difference from every other Brokik market is that the tenancy agreement is not a bespoke contract: landlords and tenants must use the government's own prescribed standard form, set out in Schedule 1 of the Residential Tenancies Regulation 2019 (NSW) under the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW).
Brokik's template reproduces that statutory form clause-for-clause and adds only the "additional terms" the Act permits — it is not a substitute for the official form and must never be inconsistent with it. Before the tenant signs, the landlord must also hand over a Tenant Information Statement, a NSW Fair Trading booklet explaining the tenant's rights and obligations. One more NSW quirk worth flagging up front: rent here is set and paid weekly, not monthly — Brokik shows both the weekly figure and its monthly equivalent (weekly rent × 52 ÷ 12) so it stays comparable with every other market on the platform.
Deposit
The bond — Australia's term for the security deposit — is capped at 4 weeks' rent for every residential tenancy, furnished or not (Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW) s.159); there's no separate, higher cap for a furnished property. Unlike most Brokik markets, the bond never sits with the landlord: it must be lodged with Rental Bonds Online (RBO), NSW Fair Trading's official bond authority, within 10 business days of being received (s.162). There's no separate pet bond either — a pet, if permitted, doesn't increase what can be charged.
No interest is ever paid to either party on a lodged bond — the investment income earned on the pooled Rental Bond Interest Account goes by law to fund the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) and tenant advice services, not to the landlord or the tenant (s.186). At the end of the tenancy the bond is released only through RBO: by agreement of both parties online, or by an NCAT order if they can't agree.
Termination & rent increases
Since 19 May 2025, NSW has banned "no-grounds" terminations for both fixed-term and periodic tenancies — a 2024 reform. Every landlord notice to vacate now needs a specific statutory ground: at least 90 days' notice for a non-breach reason (the landlord or a family member moving in, genuine renovation or demolition, sale requiring vacant possession, or the end of an employment-linked tenancy), or 14 days for a tenant breach such as persistent rent arrears. Since 1 July 2025, the landlord must also register the ground with NSW Fair Trading, supply supporting evidence, and hand the tenant a Termination Information Statement.
A periodic tenant can still leave any time with 21 days' notice and no reason required, or just 14 days if they're leaving because of the landlord's own breach. Self-help eviction is illegal in every case — a landlord can never change the locks or remove a tenant's belongings themselves. Recovering the property always requires an NCAT termination order, enforced by the sheriff if the tenant still won't leave.
Handover protocol
The condition report is a mandatory attachment to every NSW tenancy agreement (Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW) s.29), not an optional landlord courtesy. Before or at the moment the tenant signs, the landlord or agent must hand over two completed paper copies — or one electronic copy — covering the condition of every room, fixture and fitting, plus meter readings.
The tenant adds their own observations to the report and returns one copy within 7 days of moving in. This report is the decisive piece of evidence if the bond ends up disputed at NCAT, so Brokik generates a matching exit condition report at move-out, giving both parties a documented before-and-after comparison rather than a dispute over memory.
Obligations & utilities
Rent increases are capped in frequency, not amount: once every 12 months at most, for any type of agreement (fixed-term or periodic), and the landlord must give at least 60 days' written notice stating the exact new figure — a vague formula like "in line with the market" is not a valid notice. There's no percentage ceiling, but a tenant can challenge an increase as excessive before NCAT within 30 days of receiving it, and the tribunal weighs comparable local rents against the landlord's costs.
Disclosure is a real, itemised duty: before the tenant signs, the landlord must disclose known "material facts", which under the Residential Tenancies Regulation 2019 (NSW) reg 8 include flood or bushfire affectation in the last 5 years, a serious violent crime at the property in the last 5 years, any undisclosed health or safety risk, listing on the Loose-Fill Asbestos Insulation Register, planned major strata repairs, an active fire-safety or cladding rectification order, and — commonly missed — any known use of the property to manufacture or cultivate a prohibited drug or plant within the last 2 years.
No energy-performance certificate is required for residential rentals in NSW — the Australian Capital Territory is currently the only jurisdiction in the country that mandates one. Ordinary repairs remain the landlord's responsibility, and entry always requires proper notice except in a genuine emergency.
Interesting facts
Frequently asked questions
Because NSW is Australia's largest rental market, and — much like the United States — there's no federal residential-tenancy law: each state runs its own Residential Tenancies Act with its own bond cap, notice periods and, in NSW's case, its own compulsory standard form. A property in Victoria, Queensland or any other state or territory is governed by that jurisdiction's own legislation, not NSW's.
Up to 4 weeks' rent, for every residential tenancy whether furnished or not (Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW) s.159). It's never held by the landlord — it must be lodged with Rental Bonds Online (RBO) within 10 business days of being received (s.162). No interest is ever paid to either party; the investment income instead funds NCAT and tenant advice services (s.186).
No — since 19 May 2025, "no-grounds" terminations are banned for both fixed-term and periodic tenancies. Every notice to vacate must state a specific statutory ground: at least 90 days for a non-breach reason such as sale or renovation, or 14 days for a tenant breach like rent arrears. Since 1 July 2025 the landlord must also register that ground with NSW Fair Trading.
At most once every 12 months, regardless of whether the tenancy is fixed-term or periodic, with at least 60 days' written notice stating the exact new amount — a vague formula isn't valid notice. There's no cap on the percentage, but a tenant can challenge an increase as excessive before NCAT within 30 days of receiving it.
Yes — it's a mandatory attachment to every residential tenancy agreement, not an optional courtesy (Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW) s.29). The landlord hands over two completed copies before or at signing, the tenant adds their own notes and returns one within 7 days, and it becomes the key evidence if NCAT has to resolve a bond dispute later.
No. Unlike most of Brokik's European markets, New South Wales doesn't require one for residential rentals. The Australian Capital Territory is currently the only Australian jurisdiction that mandates an energy rating for rental listings — it isn't a national requirement.
Because that's how NSW tenancies actually work — rent is set, quoted and paid weekly, not monthly, under both the legislation and everyday market practice. Brokik displays the weekly figure alongside its monthly equivalent (weekly rent × 52 ÷ 12) so it can be compared directly with rents in every other market on the platform.