This guide covers landlords (or head-tenants) and tenants (or sub-tenants) in a Residential Tenancy. This applies to the majority of share accommodation and residential property rental situations. To confirm it covers your situation visit What is my share accommodation situation?
The standard form Queensland Tenancy Agreement can be downloaded and used for free from the Residential Tenancy Authority.
In the Queensland, a Residential Tenancy Agreement is used for agreements between:
Note: Although the form has labels for a ‘landlord’ and ‘tenant’, these are just convenient labels—in sub-letting situations, the head-tenant should be listed as ‘landlord’ and the sub-tenant as ‘tenant’.
The agreement has two purposes. Firstly, it allows the landlord and tenant to list the details of the tenancy, such as names of the parties, the length of the agreement, amount of the rent, and how any payments should be made.
Secondly, the agreement includes the terms and conditions of the tenancy. This includes: rent, the period of tenancy, responsibility for bills and maintenance, access for landlords, and termination.
Yes, it is an offence against the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 for your landlord or head-tenant to not provide you with a written agreement. However, if you have only been given a verbal agreement or a written statement, your rights will still be protected and the Act still applies to both you and the other party.
The written agreement must be clear, precise and include all the terms of the tenancy. It also must include the contact details of the landlord/head-tenant, yourself, and any other tenants residing at the property.
In share accommodation, your agreement should also cover details of any services (utilities) provided to you, and the amount of rent that is payable for those services.
Your landlord/head-tenant must provide you with a copy of the utility bills within 4 weeks of receiving the bill from the utility provider.
Written agreements secure the tenancy and provide certainty.
The QLD Government has created a Standard Form Tenancy Agreement that must be used by for all residential tenancies.
As well as providing space for the parties to fill out the relevant details, the standard form agreement also conveniently lists the standard terms that must apply by law to all agreements.
The landlord must give the tenant a copy of the agreement before accepting any money or entering a tenancy. The written agreement must be given to the tenant to sign before moving in. The tenant should return the signed agreement to the landlord in 5 days. The landlord must sign the agreement as well and give a copy to the tenant in 14 days.
Your landlord must also provide you with a copy of the Pocket guide for Tenants - houses and units.
It is recommended that the tenant read the agreement closely before signing, and that they keep the copy of the agreement for the term of the tenancy.
There is no minimum or maximum length of agreement.
If, however, you are renting a premises for 42 days or less and for a holiday, you should not use a residential tenancy agreement. The provider can write up a written statement instead.
If the tenant is renting a room in a share house, it is very important that the agreement detail which parts of the premises the tenant has exclusive possession of, and which parts the tenant has shared use of.
A common situation is for the tenant to have exclusive possession of their own bedroom and shared use of kitchen, bathroom and laundry facilities. By describing in the agreement which parts of the property the tenant does and does not have exclusive possession over, the rights and obligations of all parties are guaranteed.
The tenant and landlord can agree for additional terms to apply to the agreement in addition to the standard terms. Any additional terms cannot contradict or change the standard terms, and also cannot try to exclude any of the standard terms from applying to the agreement.
Some types of additional terms are not allowed under Queensland law. These include:
Transferring money safely
When paying your deposit, bond or rent by cash make sure you get a receipt. With modern phones this can be as simple as an SMS or email confirming the amount, date and what it is for. Keep a copy of this incase you need it later.
Never ever transfer money to a bank account outside of Australia or use a untraceable money transfer system such as WESTERN UNION. If anyone asks you to do this on any website it is likely to be a scam and you are almost guaranteed to lose your money.
If this ever happens on Flatmates.com.au report the member immediately so we can investigate and take the appropriate action.
QLD Bonds
QLD Rental Payments
QLD Holding Deposits
These legal guides provide a brief summary and introduction of the laws and regulations affecting share accommodation. They do not cover all cases in all legal jurisdictions and might not apply in your specific share accommodation situation. It is important that you use this information as a guide only and seek independent Legal Advice or consult the Relevant Acts. We do not accept any liability that may arise from the use of this information.