Australia
Renting & Tenant Rights
Last verified August 7, 2026
Written for U.S. passport holders
Bond Rules (New South Wales)
- Rental law is state-based, not federal. This reflects New South Wales specifically; other states (Victoria, Queensland, etc.) set their own rules and caps.
- In NSW, the bond is capped at 4 weeks' rent and must be lodged with NSW Fair Trading's Rental Bonds Online service. Landlords cannot simply hold your bond themselves.
Rent Increases & Eviction
- As of October 31, 2024, rent can be increased no more than once every 12 months in NSW.
- As of May 19, 2025, NSW banned 'no-grounds' evictions outright. A landlord must have and be able to show a valid legal reason to end a tenancy, not just decline to renew.
The Gotcha
Two of the biggest tenant protections in NSW, the once-a-year cap on rent increases and the ban on 'no-grounds' evictions, are both very recent (late 2024 and mid-2025). Older advice about Australian renting, or advice calibrated to a different state, can easily be out of date or inapplicable to where you actually are.
Sources
This page was drafted from the primary sources below. Rules change, so check the linked page directly before relying on any of this.
- New residential tenancy laws (NSW Fair Trading, NSW Government)
- Rental Bonds Online for tenants (NSW Fair Trading, NSW Government)