How we can assist

We can give you advice on any tenancy or housing situation. If you are experiencing problems we can communicate with your landlord or real estate agent, explain the law to them and if necessary contact the Office of Fair Trading or take action in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).

Download our Tenancy Rights Information Brochure below:

English

Malay| Sila baca dalam Bahasa Melayu

Simplified Chinese| 阅读此信息的简体中文版本

Hindi | इसे हिंदी में पढ़े

---

Before you rent:

Check if you are a tenant?

You can be a tenant if: 

• You rent a whole home by yourself 
• You rent the home with other people 
• You rent a room and only you can use that room 

You are still a tenant if: 

• You rent directly from owner, or;
• You rent from an estate agent, or; 
• You rent a room from another tenant who rents the whole home. 

The following information might not apply if you are not a tenant. That is if:  

• You live in UNSW college and other UNSW-owned accommodation  
• Living in homestay accommodation
• Living in a boarding house or signed an agreement that refers the boarding houses act 2012 (For more information on your rights if you live in a board house click here)

Where to find a place to rent?

Note: we don’t endorse any of the following websites, they are provided for convenience only.  

You can find rooms to rent on the following websites: 

• Accommodation at UNSW can be accessed here  

• Study Stays UNSW (must be a UNSW student to sign in) 

• Flatmate Finders 

• Flatmates 

• Domain 

You can find places to rent directly from real estate agents like: 

• LJ Hooker 

• Belle Property 

• Century 21 

• McGrath 

• Raine & Horne 

• Domain 

For more information, read this fact sheet. 

Your rights are found in the NSW Residential Tenancies Act 2010. 

What to watch out for in Rental Scams 

Scammers post fake rental ads on websites like Gumtree, Domain, and Flatmates. They often copy real photos and descriptions, but the property may not exist or may not actually be for rent.

The ‘overseas owner’ scam 

Remember: Never pay for a property you have not inspected.  

A scammer says they own the property but are overseas. They ask you to pay a bond or rent before you see the property. They promise to send the keys after payment, but the keys never arrive, and they disappear. 

The ‘forgot the key’ scam 

Remember: Never pay a deposit before seeing the inside of the property.  

You arrange to inspect a property, but the "owner" says they forgot the key. They ask you to pay a deposit to hold the property. After you pay, they disappear. The real owner or tenant may tell you the property was never for rent. 

Overpayment Scam (for people renting out a room) 

Remember: Never refund extra money until the original payment has cleared.  

Someone agrees to rent your room without seeing it. They send a cheque for more than the correct amount and ask you to refund the extra money. Later, the cheque is found to be fake or bounces, and you lose the money you refunded. 

How to protect yourself 

• Always inspect the property inside and out before paying any money  

• Check that the address is real and matches the advertisement  

• Search the person’s name, email address or property address online to look for scam reports  

• Only send money through a trusted bank  

• Never send money to someone you have not met 

• Never email your passport, bank details, or credit card details to a stranger  

• If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.  

If you have been scammed 

• Contact your bank immediately to cancel or secure your bank account  

• Change your passwords and PINs 

Report the scam to Scamwatch : Click here 

For more information on scams click here  

Costs you may have not thought about (Bond, rent in advance, holding fee) 

A landlord or an agent can only ask you to pay: 

• A holding fee is up to 1 week’s rent and only paid after your application has been approved. Paying it means the landlord/agent can't give the property to another tenant for around 7 days or potentially more. Once you sign the agreement, the fee goes into your rent.  

• Rent in advance is up to 2 weeks rent paid in advance  

• A bond is money held as security if you damage the property or break the tenancy agreement. It can't be more than 4 weeks' rent and must be lodged with NSW Fair Trading. You should receive a deposit notice and rental bond number once this is done.  

For more information on the payment of bond click here.  

Moving in: 

Tenancy agreement 

This is the contract between you and your landlord or their representing real estate agent. Your landlord is obligated to give you a written tenancy agreement so you should insist on it. However, if they haven't given you a written copy, you still have rights! Your oral agreement can still be enforced. 

The agreement means you have both decided on: 

• The date from which the agreement has been reached and will commence  

• Who is involved in the agreement 

• The address of the property concerned ("This agreement is in relation to the landlord's property 72 Bihuabara Street, Randwick") 

• The duration of the tenancy. It can either a fixed term tenancy (eg. 12 months etc) or a periodic tenancy (no fixed term is specified) 

• The cost ("Mary Jane ('the tenant') will pay John Doe ('the landlord') $210 a week.") 

• If in doubt, always put the agreement in writing and email/text it to them.  

The easiest and safest way to makes sure you have covered all your bases is to use the Standard Form tenancy agreement that is provided by the government. You can download and print a copy from here.  

A landlord can add additional terms into a lease as long as they are not inconsistent with the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW). This means that the following terms are all illegal: 

• Tenants must steam clean or professionally clean carpets (exception: this can be a term if you are allowed to keep a pet) 

• Tenants can be evicted at short notice 

• Tenants are responsible for water charges (unless the property is separately metered) 

If you go through a rental agency, most leases will be quite standard. Although any special terms must be brought to your attention by the agent/landlord, you should still be proactive in reading the lease. 

Seek advice if you notice a term which seems unusual or unfair!

Who is on the lease? 

If you are moving into a place with some friends and all your names are on the lease, then you are 'co-tenants'. This means you share rights and obligations with your friends ('co-tenants'). 

If you decided to take out the lease in your name only and then later find other people to move into the spare rooms, then you are the 'head- tenant' and anyone who moves in is your 'sub-tenant'. You need to make a separate agreement with your sub-tenant(s) because you are essentially a landlord to them and you have rights and obligations towards one another.  

What do I have to pay at the start?

A landlord or an agent can only ask you to pay:

• A holding fee (maximum 1 week rent can be requested if your tenancy application has been approved. Paying it means the landlord/agent can't give the property to another tenant for 7 days or potentially more. Once you sign the agreement, the fee goes into your rent. If you decide not to take the property, the landlord/agent can keep the fee)
• Rent in advance (The landlord/agent can't request more than 2 weeks rent but you can pay more if you wish)
• A bond (this is what you pay to the landlord/agent as security in case you break the terms of the tenancy agreement. It can't be more than 4 weeks rent. The landlord/agent is legally obligated to deposit the bond with NSW Fair Trading and you should receive a deposit notice and rental bond number once this is done). 

Make sure you get a detailed receipt for any payments you make, especially if you aren't paying by bank transfer.

For more information on the payment of bond, have a look here.

Condition report:

A condition report describes the condition of the premises and needs to be filled out by both you and your landlord/agent at the start of the tenancy. Your landlord/agent must give you 2 copies of the condition report when you move in- one to keep and one to return to them. 

It is important to have a condition report completed at the beginning of the tenancy because when you want to leave, the landlord/agent might claim you are responsible for damage to the property that was already there. 

If the landlord/agent does not give you a condition report, request one or write a detailed report on the condition of the premises yourself and get a witness to sign and date it, then email it to the landlord/agent.  

Your landlord is legally obligated to ensure there are working smoke alarms. So if these are not present, make sure you inform them and insist they are installed. Don't move into the property until smoke alarms are installed.  

Take date-stamped photos of the property when you first move in just to be sure! You can also find standard condition reports to print out and fill in here.

For more information take a look here!

During your tenancy:

Repairs and Maintenace

If something is urgent (like a burst water service, a broken toilet, a serious roof leak or a dangerous electrical fault etc) you need to let your landlord/agent know about it ASAP. 

If the landlord/agent cannot be contacted or is unwilling to do the urgent repairs, you can arrange for them to be done by either a repair person named in your tenancy agreement or by a licensed tradesperson. You must give your landlord/agent notice about what was done, the cost (with receipts) and they have 14 days to pay you any reasonable costs back (up to $1000).  

If they still don't pay, you have 3 months to apply to NCAT for an order to be reimbursed from your landlord/agent. 

If you don't have the cash for urgent repairs, apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal for an urgent hearing to get the repairs done. 

For other less urgent things, notify your landlord/agent and set a deadline. Don't do repairs yourself unless your agent/landlord gives you permission in advance. 

For more information about repairs, come in to see us or have a look at this factsheet. 

Inspections

When you are a tenant, nobody can enter the area you rent without your permission. A landlord/agent can only enter without your permission if one of the following applies: 

• In an emergency 

• To do urgent repairs 

• If the landlord thinks that the premises have been abandoned 

• In accordance with an order of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) 

• If they have serious concern about the health/safety of a person on the premises (after they have first tried to get your consent to enter). 

• They give you a written notice with 2-14 days notice

For more information on how often and when they can enter the property, click here.  

Changes during your lease:

Rent increases

Your landlord can increase your rent but will need to give you at least 60 days' notice in writing indicating how much the rent will be increased by and when the increased rent commences. They are only allowed to increase this once every 12 months, starting from the date that the tenancy agreement is signed or last increase.  

For more detailed information, click here.  

Transferring the lease 

If one of your housemates (a co-tenant) has decided to move out, they can transfer their tenancy to another person if they get the landlord's written approval. 

Let's say you and two friends signed the rental agreement and your two friends wanted to move out but you wanted to stay, this would be possible. The landlord must not unreasonably withhold their consent if one of the original tenants wishes to stay. 

Subletting

If you receive your landlord's written consent, then you can sub-let. Make sure you have a written agreement with the subletter.  

If the landlord withholds consent, you can apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal for an order that allows the transfer or subletting, however there are reasons a landlord can withhold consent. The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal will decide if the landlord's withholding consent is unreasonable. 

Moving out: 

Ending your lease

If you want to end your lease, what you need to do depends on your situation. For Example:  

• Fixed term lease or passing the tenancy  

• How much time do you have left? 

• Do you have a legal reason to end the lease early? 

 

Usually, to end your lease, you need to: 

1. Tell your landlord in writing that you want to end the lease. 

1. Include the date you will move out. You must give the correct amount of notice. 

1. Clean the property before you leave. 

1. Return the keys to the landlord. 

1. Apply to have your rental bond returned. 

If you want to leave before the end of a fixed-term lease, you usually need to: 

• have a legal reason (for example, the property is not safe to live in or you are experiencing domestic violence), or 

• find someone to take over your lease, or 

• pay a break fee. The break fee is usually between 1 and 4 weeks' rent. 

 

For more information on breaking a rental agreement early, click here. 

If your landlord is trying to terminate the agreement, this fact sheet might help. 

What to do if you have been scammed? 

Scammers are almost impossible to track down as many only exist on the internet through fake email addresses, and more often than not, the scam originates overseas. You cannot recover money from someone you cannot find. 

Reduce the damage

Contact your bank immediately - if you have given personal or bank details to anyone, arrange for your account to be suspended and passwords and pin numbers changed. 

Report the scam

Report to ScamWatch and post your experiences on internet forums, and on social networking websites.

Need more information? 

If you are a UNSW student and Arc member we can give you free legal advice. Send us an email or book an appointment here.