Enter your postcode or suburb to find your local Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service
Factsheet 04: Rent increases |
As a tenant you have rights under the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 and Residential Tenancies Regulation 2010. This factsheet explains the law in NSW about how rent may be increased.
The landlord/agent may increase the rent provided that:
If you are a tenant of a social housing provider, see ‘Social housing tenancies’ below.
This depends on the type of tenancy agreement you have – see the table below.
A fixed-term agreement is for a specified period (e.g. 6 months). A periodic agreement is one where the fixed term has expired or no fixed term is specified.
| Agreement type | Permitted frequency |
| Fixed-term of more than 2 years | once in any 12-month period |
| Fixed-term of 2 years or less | (see below) |
| Periodic | no limit |
The landlord/agent cannot increase the rent if you have a fixed-term tenancy agreement of 2 years or less – unless your agreement sets out the amount of the increase or the method of calculating it.
The landlord/agent must give you 60 days written notice of a rent increase. The notice must specify:
If a notice is posted to you, an extra 4 working days must be allowed for delivery.
If you are not given correct notice, you do not have to pay the increased rent – the landlord/agent must issue another notice if they want to increase the rent.
Even if details of the rent increase are set out in your residential tenancy agreement, you must still get a rent-increase notice before the rent can be increased.
You can:
First, check that you have been given correct notice of the increase (see above).
Contact the landlord/agent and ask to meet with them. Explain that you are a good tenant and you want to stay.
If this does not work, you could offer to pay a little extra, or to pay the increase gradually over 6–12 months. If the landlord/agent seems interested, put a proposal in writing.
While negotiating, you should apply to the CTTT within the time limit in case you cannot come to an agreement.
If the CTTT finds the rent increase excessive, it will make an excessive rent order. The order will specify:
When determining if a rent increase is excessive, the CTTT will consider:
The CTTT will not consider your income or your ability to afford the rent increase.
To prepare a strong case, you can:
Newspaper clippings advertising similar premises will not be enough evidence for the CTTT.
For further advice about preparing a rent-increase case, contact your local Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service (TAAS).
Housing NSW and the Aboriginal Housing Office do not have to give 60 days written notice to change a tenant’s rent rebate.
If you want to dispute a change to your rent rebate, you can appeal to the Housing Appeals Committee (you cannot apply to the CTTT about it).
If your rent rebate is cancelled, you can apply to the CTTT for an excessive rent order (see above).
Contact your local TAAS if you have any questions about or problems with social housing rent increases or rent rebates.
January 2011
The information in this factsheet:
• is intended as guide to the law and should not be used as a substitute for legal advice
• applies to people who live in, or are affected by, the law as it applies in New South Wales, Australia.
© Tenants' Union of NSW.