Law Current to: September 2, 2025

Overview of Queensland’s residential tenancy laws

The Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (Qld) (the RTRAA) is a comprehensive piece of legislation that governs residential tenancies and rooming accommodation agreements in Queensland.

The key objective of the RTRAA is to set out the rights and responsibilities of:

1. tenants, lessors and agents for residential tenancies; and
2. residents, providers and agents for rooming accommodation.

The RTRAA aims to achieve these objectives by:

• regulating the making, content, operation, and ending of residential tenancy agreements and rooming accommodation agreements (for more information, see article: Application of Residential Tenancy and Rooming Accommodation legislation);
• providing for the resolution of disputes related to these agreements (for more information, see articles: Tenancy at QCAT, Bond Disputes and Tenancy Database Listings);
• establishing the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) and its functions and powers, including to ensure compliance with the RTRAA.

In particular, the RTRAA regulates:

• residential tenancy agreements (for more information, see article: Lessor ending a private tenancy agreement and Landlord ending a private tenancy agreement);
• rooming accommodation agreements (for more information, see article: Provider ending a rooming accommodation agreement and Resident ending a rooming accommodation agreement);
• minimum housing standards;
• how rent is to be paid;
• rental bonds;
• key and holding deposits for residential tenancies;
• lessor or provider’s outgoings;
• potential financial consequences, including penalties and premiums, a landlord or tenant may face for residential tenancy agreements and rooming accommodation agreements;
• rights and obligations of parties for residential tenancies and rooming accommodation (for more information, see article: Lessor ending a private tenancy agreement, Landlord ending a private tenancy agreement, Provider ending a rooming accommodation agreement and Resident ending a rooming accommodation agreement); and
• ending of agreements and resolving disputes (for more information, see article: Tenancy at QCAT, Bond disputes and Tenancy Database Listings).

For more information about the RTRAA, see the Residential Tenancies Authority website.