This article applies to lessors and lessor’s agents of residential tenancies and providers and provider’s agents of rooming accommodation.

Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Qld)

On 1 May 2025, relevant provisions of the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Qld) (the Amendment Act) commenced, amending the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (Qld) (the Act) and the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Regulation 2009 (Qld) (the Regulations).

What’s new?

The key changes made by the Amendment Act include new provisions relating to:

• collecting personal information about applicants, tenants or residents;
• applications for residential tenancies or rooming accommodations; and
• approvals for attaching fixtures or making structural changes.

Further Information

Collecting personal information

The Amendment Act inserts new sections 457C, 457D and 457E into the Act, regarding the protection of personal information, and amends the definition of ‘personal information’ in section 457.

New section 457D will apply to a person collecting personal information about an applicant, tenant or resident in relation to a residential tenancy or rooming accommodation agreement. Such persons will only be able to collect personal information in relation to:

• an applicant—to assess suitability as a tenant or resident for the premises; or
• a tenant or resident—if the information relates to the management of the agreement.

New section 457E will apply to a lessor, lessor’s agent, provider or provider’s agent (a relevant person), who will be required to ensure that personal information about:

• an applicant—is stored securely, only accessed by the relevant person to assess suitability of a tenant or resident for the premises and is destroyed securely if the applicant does not become a tenant or resident either within 3 months after an agreement commences, or a longer period agreed to by the applicant; or
• a tenant or resident—is stored securely, only accessed for the purposes of managing the premises and destroyed securely within 7 years after the end of the agreement to which the information relates.

Personal information, defined in section 457 of the Act, has been amended to specify that it is irrelevant whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not, and will include photographs or images of individuals’ personal possessions or standard of living.

A contravention of new sections 457D or 457E above carries a maximum penalty of 20 penalty units, which currently equates to $3,226 in Queensland.

Applications for residential tenancies and rooming accommodations

The Amendment Act inserts new provisions into the Act and Regulations for when prospective tenants or residents apply for residential tenancies or rooming accommodations (applicants).

Where applicants are required to apply for a residential tenancy or rooming accommodation, the lessor/lessor’s agent or providers/provider’s agent must ensure the required application form is used. Applicants must also be given 2 ways to submit the application, one of which must not be restricted (such as requiring applicants to pay money in relation to submitting the application).

A required application form is an approved form that requires only the information specified in the Act and Regulations (such as the applicant’s name and contact details, current employment status, income, etc.):

• for residential tenancies—see section 57B of the Act and regulations 3B and 3C of the Regulations; and
• for rooming accommodations—see s 76C of the Act and regulations 3D and 3E of the Regulations.

Lessors/lessor’s agents or providers/providers agents must not request information from applicants about legal action taken (e.g. dispute resolution), a notice to remedy breach, history relating to rental bonds (including claims), and credit or bank account statements:

• for residential tenancies—see section 57C of the Act; and
• for rooming accommodations—see s 76D of the Act.

Where applicants have allowed the lessor/lessor’s agent or provider/provider’s agent to access or sight original identity documents to verify identity, the lessors/lessor’s agent or providers/provider’s agent must not keep copies of the original identity documents without the applicant’s consent:

• for residential tenancies—see section 57D of the Act; and
• for rooming accommodations—see s 76E of the Act.

The new provisions above do not apply to residential tenancy or rooming accommodation applications made but not decided before 1 May 2025.

A contravention of any of the above carries a maximum penalty of 20 penalty units, which currently equates to $3,226 in Queensland.

Approvals for attaching fixtures or making structural changes

The Amendment Act inserts new provisions into the Act regarding approvals for attaching fixtures or making structural changes (e.g. any renovation, alteration or addition) to rooming accommodation premises (premises) or rental premises (changes).

If a resident or tenant requests to make changes and the premises or rental premises are part of a body-corporate scheme where a body corporate law or body corporate by-law requires approval of the body corporate for changes, the provider/lessor must decide on the request within 28 days of receiving it, inform the resident/tenant of the decision, and if approved, advise the resident/tenant it is subject to agreement by the body corporate, and give the request to the body corporate within 28 days of receiving the request. The provider/lessor must then advise the resident/tenant of the body corporate’s decision as soon as reasonably practicable:

• for residential tenancies—see section 207 of the Act; and
• for rooming accommodations—see section 254 of the Act.

If the premises or rental property is not part of a body-corporate scheme as above, the resident/tenant can still make a request to the provider/lessor to make changes, and the provider/lessor must decide the request within 28 days of receiving it (or longer if agreed between the parties), and not act unreasonably in refusing such a request:

• for residential tenancies—see section 208 of the Act; and
• for rooming accommodations—see section 255 of the Act.

What you should do

Organisations should become familiar with the new provisions, update any policies and procedures, and train relevant staff.