Free · no sign-up · NSW and Queensland
Check your rent increase
See where the new rent sits against government figures for new leases near you, what the increase costs you a year, and whether the dates on your notice fit the published rules.
By state: NSW rent increase checker · Queensland rent increase checker
Questions
- Is my rent increase fair?
- Only NCAT (NSW) or QCAT (Queensland) can decide whether an increase is excessive. This check shows what you can see for yourself: where the new rent sits against recent new leases of similar homes nearby, and whether the dates on your notice fit the published rules.
- How often can rent go up, and how much notice is needed?
- Ordinarily, NSW: no more than once every 12 months, with at least 60 days' written notice. Queensland: no more than once every 12 months for the property, and for an increase during a tenancy at least two months' written notice (four weeks for rooming accommodation); a new agreement at a higher rent needs no notice period. Some older NSW fixed terms, social and community housing have exceptions. Neither state sets a limit on the size of an increase. The full rules: NSW, Queensland.
- Where do the figures come from?
- Rental bond lodgements: NSW Fair Trading's monthly bond data, and the Queensland Residential Tenancies Authority's quarterly median rents. They record the rent agreed at the start of each new lease. Data sources and licences.
- Is this legal advice?
- No. It's general information: the published figures, and the regulators' published rules applied to the dates you enter. We haven't seen your agreement. A tenants' advice service can advise on your situation: Tenants' Union of NSW, Tenants Queensland.
- What does the $5 letter and PDF add?
- A letter to your agent or landlord with the published figures and the amount you choose, ready for you to send; one PDF with your letter and the dated rental figures; in Queensland, a request for proof of when the rent last went up (not for exempt lessors, such as some community housing providers). You can update the figures or dates up to 39 times in the 30 days after payment. See a sample.
- What does a new-lease median tell me?
- What recent new leases of similar homes nearby agreed, and how that has moved. It isn't a valuation of your home, it isn't what a sitting tenant must pay, and it isn't what a tribunal would decide: NCAT and QCAT also weigh the home's condition and other things.