Tenant rights in New South Wales

When you apply for or start a tenancy you can only be asked for:

• a holding fee of no more than 1 week's rent, and only after your application has been approved. The landlord cannot sign with anyone else for 7 days after you pay it, and the fee goes towards your rent if you sign;
• a rental bond of no more than 4 weeks' rent;
• rent in advance of no more than 2 weeks;
• a fee for registering the lease with NSW Land Registry Services, only for a fixed term of 3 years or more.

You must not be charged for background checks, for viewing the property, for preparing the agreement, for the first set of keys, or a separate bond for a pet. Landlords, agents and rental application platforms are also banned from inviting rent bidding (asking you to offer more than the advertised rent).

Your bond is held by NSW Fair Trading, not by the landlord. Agents and self-managing landlords must offer Rental Bonds Online as the first way to lodge it; you can ask for a paper form instead. At the end of the tenancy the bond is refunded through Rental Bonds Online, and if the landlord claims part of it you can accept or dispute the claim. With Smart Rental Bonds, eligible renters can transfer their existing bond to a new tenancy when they move.

Before you move in, the landlord or agent must give you the condition report: two paper copies or one electronic copy, with the lease. Complete your part, note all damage (even minor), add time-stamped photos and return one copy within 7 days of moving in. At the end of the tenancy the report is filled in again and used to decide what is fair wear and tear and what is damage.

• Rent cannot be increased in the first 12 months of an agreement, and after an increase the landlord must wait at least 12 months before the next one. This applies to fixed-term and periodic leases, and to renewals with the same landlord and at least one of the same tenants.
• The landlord must give you written notice at least 60 days before the increase, stating the new rent and the date it starts.

Since 19 May 2025, a landlord must give a specific ground to end any lease, fixed-term or periodic, and must attach a termination information statement and, for some grounds, supporting documents. Penalties apply for grounds that are not genuine or for false documents.

Minimum notice from a landlord for grounds such as selling, major renovations, changing the property's use or moving in themselves is 60 days for a fixed term of 6 months or less and 90 days for longer fixed terms and periodic leases. If notice is posted, 7 working days are added.

As a tenant, you can end a periodic lease for any reason with 21 days' notice, and give 14 days' notice to end at the end of a fixed term. Leaving a fixed term early is only possible in specific cases. Notices must be in writing, signed and dated, and give the end date.

If you do not move out by the date in a landlord's notice, the landlord must apply to NCAT for a termination order and follow the lawful eviction process. You can challenge a termination notice at NCAT if the process was wrong, the documents were false or the ground was not genuine.

You can apply to keep a pet. The landlord has 21 days to respond and can only refuse for certain reasons; if they do not respond within 21 days, the pet is automatically approved. If you apply within 7 days of signing, you can keep the pet while you wait. If your request is refused, you can keep the pet for 21 days and apply to NCAT in that time.

Tell the landlord or agent what needs fixing, in writing if possible. Urgent repairs are problems that threaten the structure, put lives at risk, make the property unsafe or insecure, or cut off essential services. If you cannot reach the landlord, you can arrange an urgent repair yourself (using any tradespeople listed in your lease) and be reimbursed up to $1,000 within 14 days of your notice. Non-urgent repairs, such as a broken cupboard, still have to be done to keep the property in reasonable condition.