The changes for property management are ALMOST here

 

As almost everyone working in the property industry in any capacity are aware, there are major changes to rental laws in NSW that will commence on Monday 19 May 2025. We have been hearing about these changes for a number of years, with the amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act being passed through NSW parliament last year. A couple of the changes came into effect in October last year, with the remainder coming in May.

The changes that came into place last year on 31 October 2024 were:

• Fees prior to tenancy

Prospective tenants must not be charged fees, such as background checks, identity checks or for the preparation of tenancy agreements. Some of these have been in place for many years, the changes have tightened the requirements that tenants are not charged fees for checks prior to entering a tenancy.

• Rent increases

Rent can only be increased once every 12 months for all lease types including when a lease is being renewed or replaced. There are specific requirements in relation to increases, with a specific exemption applying if a change is due to an increase in a tenant’s social housing rent rebate.

The changes that will come into effect on 19 May 2025 are:

• Ending a tenancy

Landlords (or their agents) must provide a valid reason to end a tenancy. This means that you can no longer have a ‘no-grounds’ termination for renters on both fixed-term and periodic leases. In some cases, supporting documents are required. Tenants will need to be provided with a Termination Information Statement.

• Notice periods for fixed-term leases

There is an increase in notice periods. Tenants on a fixed-term lease must be given more notice when a tenancy is ending: at least 60 days for leases of 6 months or less, and 90 days for leases longer than 6 months.

• Re-letting restrictions

New leases cannot be entered into for a period of time after ending a tenancy for certain reasons. This applies where the landlord has said they need the property back for something else, for example, sale or renovations. Exemptions are possible, but only on application to NSW Fair Trading.

• Keeping a pet

Tenants can request to keep pets. Landlords can only refuse for specific reasons and must respond within 21 days, or the pet is automatically approved. NSW Fair Trading will provide a proforma Pet Application Form and guidance will be available from 19 May.

Landlords/agents cannot advertise in rental listings that no pets are allowed in a rental property.

• Fee-free ways to pay rent

Landlords and agents must offer renters a fee-free, electronic method to pay rent, including bank transfer or BPay. Tenants cannot be required to use a particular service provider to pay rent. Later in 2025, Centrepay will also need to be offered to tenants as a payment option. Landlords will not be required to register for Centrepay unless the tenant has chosen that payment method.

Here at ACOP, we will be providing webinars (fee-free) that will examine each of these points in more detail and look at the practical implementation of each new requirement.

More detailed information is available in the Residential Tenancies Amendment Regulation 2025.

We have been informed by NSW Fair Trading that the supporting documents required to end a tenancy, pet request processes, and how to apply for a change of circumstances to re-let a property, will be available before the new laws start on 19 May 2025. We will ensure that these documents form a part of the information webinars that we will conduct prior to implementation day.

Please note that NSW Fair Trading will also be conducting a free online information session on 8 May 2025 at 11am. We suggest that it would be essential for all property managers and Licensee-In-Charge to register for this information session. NSW Fair Trading have advised that invitations will be sent to agents shortly for their information session.

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