Parramatta Blog

On 15 October 2024, the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill 2024 (RTA Bill) was introduced into Parliament.  

The RTA Bill makes significant and important changes to the rental laws in NSW. Here are the high-level changes you need to know about: 

Termination notices

• If passed, no grounds termination notices for periodic agreements will be abolished and landlords will only be allowed to terminate a periodic and fixed term tenancy on prescribed grounds.
• The grounds prescribed in the RTA Bill are:
• breach of tenancy agreement;
• actual or proposed sale of the premises;
• significant renovations or repairs;
• demolition;
• a tenant no longer being eligible for an affordable housing scheme; 
• a transitional housing program or student accommodation or an employee or caretaker agreement has ended;
• the premises is required for key worker accommodation;
• the premises will no longer be used as rented residential premises; or,
• the landlord or family will reside at the premises. 
• The RTA Bill introduces “tenancy exclusion periods” where it is an offence for a landlord, who issues a termination notice on a prescribed ground, to re-let a property within a designated timeframe unless they have obtained the Secretary’s approval. 
• The RTA Bill makes changes to the termination notice periods. 
• The Residential Tenancies Regulation 2019 (NSW) (Regulation) may require the landlord to give supporting documents or information when they issue a termination notice. 
• The RTA Bill contains provisions allowing tenants who are given a termination notice by a landlord, or who give a termination notice, to vacate a premises early. 

Changes to the laws on pets

• If passed, the RTA Bill allows tenants to keep pets in rental properties with the landlord’s consent, where tenants have used an approved form for consent.
• The landlord will have 21 days to respond to the tenant’s pet application, in writing, otherwise consent will be deemed to have been granted without conditions. 
• Landlords will only be permitted to refuse consent on certain specified grounds (including overcrowding of animals at the premises, unsuitability of the property, potential damage that would cost more to fix than the rental bond, where a landlord lives at the rental property, legal restrictions and where a tenant refuses to agree to the landlord’s reasonable conditions). 
• Consent may be granted subject to “reasonable conditions” (for example, preventing certain types of animals to be kept indoors, end of lease professional carpet cleaning (if reasonable for the type of animal and premises), and professional fumigation (for a mammal) if the animal is kept indoors, other reasonable conditions specific to the keeping of the animal at the premises, type of animal and the premises, and as prescribed by the Regulation. 
• Certain conditions are prescribed to be “unreasonable” including increasing rent or the rental bond, requiring a form of security, or a condition which is a prohibited term under the lease or prescribed by the Regulation to be unreasonable. 
• Disputes over pet consent can be taken to NCAT. 
• Provisions relating to consent to keeping an animal in a rental property will automatically form part of a residential tenancy agreement.

Other proposed changes 

• If passed, rent will only be able to be increased once every 12 months (regardless of the type of lease (fixed term or periodic)).
• Tenants will need to be offered Centrepay and “approved electronic bank transfer methods” as ways to pay rent. An approved electronic bank transfer method is a free electronic transfer from the tenant to the landlord or landlord’s agent’s bank account.
• Landlords or agents will not be able to charge prospective tenants for background checks or the preparation of a lease. 
• The NSW Rental Commissioner will sit on the Rental Bond Board.