Queensland renting, term by term

A

Rental applicationForm 22

The RTA’s standard application form for a general tenancy. Many agencies use a platform instead (2Apply, Snug, Ignite and others), but the rules about what can be asked for apply either way. The RTA form is always an option if you’d rather not use a platform.See what can be asked for and the platforms guide.

B

Body corporate

The owners of all the lots in a strata scheme, acting together under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act. In a unit or townhouse, the body corporate’s by-laws sit alongside your tenancy agreement, which is why a pet in a strata property can involve two separate approvals.See renting with a pet.

Bond

Money held as security for the tenancy. For a general tenancy in Queensland the bond is capped at four weeks’ rent, and that cap applies to all bonds combined however they’re labelled. It is not the agent’s money: it must be lodged with the RTA, which holds it until the tenancy ends.See how bonds work.

Bond lodgementForm 2

The form that sends your bond to the RTA. The agent or owner may take the payment, but must give you a receipt and lodge it within ten days. From lodgement onwards the RTA holds and administers it.

Refund of rental bondForm 4

The form used at the end of a tenancy to ask for the bond back. If both sides agree on the amounts it is paid out; if they don’t, there is a fourteen-day window to lodge a dispute resolution request before it is paid as the other side asked.See the bond section of move-in costs.

Break lease

Leaving a fixed-term agreement before the end date. The tenant remains liable for rent until a new tenant moves in or the term ends, plus a reletting cost, which for agreements entered into from 30 September 2024 is capped on a sliding scale. The owner must try to re-let the property.See the break-lease calculator and reletting cost.

C

Co-tenant

Someone named on the same tenancy agreement as you. Co-tenants are jointly responsible for the whole rent and the whole property, not just their share, which is why a group application is assessed as one household.

D

Dispute resolution requestForm 16

The form that asks the RTA to conciliate a disagreement, most often about a bond claim. Free. If conciliation doesn’t resolve it, the next step is QCAT.See QCAT and the renter help map.

E

Entry condition reportForm 1a

The document recording the property’s condition at the start of the tenancy, room by room. You are given it at the start and return your own version with comments and photos. It is the main evidence at the end when the bond is worked out, so it deserves an hour of your time on the day you move in.

Entry noticeForm 9

The notice an owner or agent must give before entering the property for an inspection, repair or viewing. Minimum notice periods depend on the reason for entry and are set out on the form.

Exit condition reportForm 14a

The end-of-tenancy counterpart to the entry report, completed when you hand back the keys. Differences between the two, beyond fair wear and tear, are what a bond claim is measured against.

F

Fixed-term agreement

A tenancy with a set end date, usually six or twelve months. Leaving early is a break lease. When the end date passes without a new agreement being signed, the tenancy continues as a periodic one.See periodic agreement.

G

General tenancy agreementForm 18a

The standard lease for a house or unit in Queensland. The printed terms are fixed by law and can’t be varied; anything extra goes in the special terms section, which is the part worth reading twice.See special terms.

Guarantor

Someone who agrees to cover the rent if you don’t. Queensland tenancy law doesn’t have a formal guarantor role in the way some other states do; in practice a guarantee is a separate arrangement, and a written guarantee from someone not on the lease generally carries less weight than a co-tenant, because it carries less obligation.See applying with no rental history.

L

Rental ledger

The agency’s record of every rent payment on your tenancy: what was due, what was paid, when. A ledger showing twelve months of on-time rent is the single strongest document a renter can attach, because it is evidence of behaviour rather than a claim about it. Ask your current agency for it before you start applying.

M

Minimum housing standards

The baseline a rental property must meet to be offered for rent in Queensland: weatherproof and structurally sound, in good repair, with working locks, adequate plumbing, ventilation, lighting, and a functioning kitchen and bathroom. They apply to all tenancies.

Mitigation

The owner’s duty, when a tenant breaks a lease, to take reasonable steps to limit the loss: advertising promptly, showing the property, and not leaving it empty while billing the tenant. It is the reason a break-lease bill can’t simply run to the end of the term.See the break-lease calculator.

N

Notice to remedy breachForm 11

A formal notice, from either side, saying a term of the agreement has been broken and giving a set period to fix it: rent arrears, repairs not done, and so on. It is a step, not an eviction.

Notice to leaveForm 12

The notice an owner or agent gives to end a tenancy. The minimum notice period depends on the ground given, and some grounds have specific requirements. If you receive one, the renter help map has who to call.See the renter help map.

Notice of intention to leaveForm 13

The notice a tenant gives to end a tenancy. On a periodic agreement it is at least fourteen days; at the end of a fixed term it is at least fourteen days before the end date. It is also the form used to give notice when you are breaking a lease.

Notice ending tenancy interestForm 20

The form that lets a person experiencing domestic and family violence end their interest in a tenancy on seven days’ notice, without the usual break-lease consequences. The RTA has a dedicated process and the renter help map lists the support services.See stage 6 of the renter help map.

P

Periodic agreement

A tenancy with no fixed end date, running week to week or month to month. There is nothing to break: you give at least fourteen days’ notice on a Form 13 and pay rent to the hand-back day.

Request for approval to keep a petForm 21

The form a tenant uses to ask for a pet during a tenancy. The owner has fourteen days to respond in writing, can only refuse on limited grounds, and no written response within fourteen days counts as approval. At application stage, before you are a tenant, these protections don’t yet apply, and you are negotiating.See renting with a pet.

Q

QCAT

The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The place tenancy disputes go when RTA conciliation hasn’t resolved them: bond claims, compensation, terminations. Less formal than a court, and you can represent yourself.See the renter help map.

R

Reletting cost

What a tenant can be charged for breaking a fixed-term lease, on top of rent until a new tenant moves in. For agreements entered into on or after 30 September 2024 (three years or shorter) it is capped by how much of the term had expired: under 25% → four weeks’ rent; 25% to under 50% → three weeks; 50% to under 75% → two weeks; 75% or more → one week. No other reletting costs can be requested.See the break-lease calculator.

Rent bidding

Offering, or being invited to offer, more than the advertised rent. Prohibited in Queensland: a property must be advertised at a fixed amount, and an agent or owner can’t solicit offers above it. Offering more doesn’t strengthen an application; it is a breach.

Rent in advance

Rent paid before the period it covers. The legal cap is one month for a fixed-term agreement and two weeks for a periodic one; in our experience agencies usually ask for two weeks either way. Nobody can ask for more rent until that advance has been used up.See move-in costs.

RTA

The Residential Tenancies Authority, the Queensland Government body that holds bonds, publishes the forms, runs free dispute conciliation and answers questions on 1300 366 311. When this site says “sourced to the RTA”, this is who it means.

S

Special terms

The part of the tenancy agreement where anything beyond the standard printed terms goes: pet conditions, garden maintenance, pool care. Special terms can’t override the Act, but they can add obligations, so read them before you sign rather than after.

Sub-tenant

Someone who rents from a tenant rather than from the owner. The tenant on the agreement becomes a head tenant. Sub-letting normally needs the owner’s written consent, and a sub-tenant’s history is harder for a later agency to verify.

T

Tenancy database

A private register agencies can check, listing tenants with certain past problems. TICA and the National Tenancy Database are the main ones. Queensland limits when a person can be listed and requires that they be told. You can ask a database whether you are on it, and dispute a listing that is wrong or out of date.

Two documents per category

Queensland limits what a rental application can require to two supporting documents in each of three categories: identity, financial ability and suitability. Anything beyond that is yours to offer or withhold, which is the whole difference between what can be demanded and what you might choose to volunteer.See can they ask for that? and what documents do I need?