NSW Parliament has introduced significant changes to rental laws through the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024 (NSW) and the Residential Tenancies Amendment Regulation 2025. These reforms aim to offer “stability for tenants and certainty for landlords”. Several of the key changes are outlined below:
Rent increases: Rent can only be increased once per year for all lease types.
- Fees at the start of a tenancy: Landlords cannot charge extra fees for background checks or for preparing a tenancy agreement.
(Commenced 31 October 2024)
- Ending “no grounds” terminations: Landlords must provide a valid reason to end a lease.
- Payment of rent: Tenants must be offered the option to pay rent via bank transfer without additional fees, or through Centrepay.
- Supporting documents for terminations: Landlords must provide supporting documents when ending a tenancy because the property is: being offered for sale, sold, repaired or renovated, demolished or occupied for personal use.
- Notice periods: Tenants are entitled to longer notice periods depending on the type of lease.
- Re-letting restrictions: Where a tenancy ends for specific reasons, landlords must comply with prescribed waiting periods before re-letting the property.
- Pet ownership: Tenants can more easily keep pets, with landlords required to respond to pet requests in writing within 21 days. Strata by-laws that ban all pets are not valid and cannot be used as a reason to refuse a pet.
(Commenced 19 May 2025)