Rent can be increased in Queensland once every 12 months, and the clock belongs to the premises: it runs from the last increase, whoever the tenant or the owner was at the time. There is no cap on the amount. The notice is written, states the new rent, the day it starts, and the day rent was last increased, and gives at least two months. A tenant who calls the increase excessive has 30 days to apply to QCAT.
You inherit that clock. A building you settle on carries the increase its previous owner took, and your first increase waits until 12 months have passed since theirs; a tenant can ask you in writing for that date and the proof behind it, and the Act gives you 14 days to produce both. Nothing in the rule asks what you knew when you bought.
The market-neutral spine of a rent increase is covered in How and When to Raise Rent: Scheduling and Notice Periods. This is the Queensland layer: the 12-month rule and the premises it attaches to, the three dates a notice must carry, the proof a tenant can demand, the fixed-term and renewal cases, and the tribunal path. Operator education, not legal advice, with every rule named to its official source.
How much you can raise rent in Queensland
Queensland sets no limit on the amount of a rent increase and publishes no annual percentage. Section 91 of the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (legislation.qld.gov.au, the consolidation in force from 17 August 2026, read October 2026) governs when rent may rise and what the notice must say, section 93 governs how often, and neither caps the figure; the Residential Tenancies Authority's rent increases page says the same. There is no formula to run; the number is the market's.
The control on the amount sits after the notice: a tenant who considers the increase excessive can apply to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal within 30 days of receiving it (section 92), and the Tribunal reads the figure against comparable rents, the state of repair, and, by name, the period since the last increase. The rules spend their force on the calendar, the paper, and the proof.
The 12-month rule follows the premises
The 12-month rule is section 93(1): a lessor or the lessor's agent must not increase, or purport to increase, the rent less than 12 months after the last rent increase for the residential premises. The limit arrived on 1 July 2023, when the gap between increases went from six months to twelve, and it was rewritten on 6 June 2024 to attach to the premises rather than the tenancy (both dates from the RTA's rental law changes page). Since then the 12 months run even if the last increase belonged to a different agreement, including a previous owner's (section 93(3)), and whoever raises the rent need not be whoever raised it last (section 93(5)).
That is the whole of the acquisition problem. The clock does not reset on settlement, on a change of agent, or on a new tenant, and a new agreement at a higher rent is itself an increase for the purpose of the rule (section 93(2)), so a vacancy re-let at a new figure starts the 12 months as surely as a notice does. A premises rented for the first time starts its clock on the day the first rent became payable (RTA). A notice may be given inside the 12 months as long as the increase takes effect after they end (section 93(6)). An increase inside the window is an offence carrying up to 20 penalty units; the only lawful shortcut is a QCAT order for undue hardship (section 93B).
A short list of exempt lessors in public and community housing sits outside the rule and the proof duty (section 93(7)); a private portfolio is never on it.
The paper trail: the agreement, the notice, and the 14-day proof
Since 6 June 2024 the date of the last rent increase has to live in three places: the written agreement, which must state the day the rent for the premises was last increased (section 61, carried as its own item on the RTA's General tenancy agreement, Form 18a, version 23 of 1 September 2025); the rent increase notice, beside the new rent and the day it starts (section 91(3)); and the evidence a tenant can ask for at any time.
Section 93A is the proof duty. A tenant may ask in writing for evidence of the day of the last rent increase, and the lessor or agent must give it within 14 days of receiving the request, with any other person's personal information removed first. The Act's own examples are the previous agreement, the earlier notice, and the rent ledger, and the maximum penalty for missing the 14 days is 40 penalty units, twice the penalty for the early increase itself. The RTA treats an owner as holding the evidence when the agent or the lawyer holds it: the file counts whoever keeps it.
For an operator this turns a date into an asset, and a building bought without it arrives with a question attached.
The notice: two months, in writing, with three dates
A Queensland rent increase notice is written notice from the lessor or agent stating the new rent, the day it becomes payable, and the day rent was last increased for the premises (section 91(2) and (3)). The day it names may be no earlier than the later of two months after the notice is given and the end of the 12-month period under section 93 (section 91(4)); two months is a floor. For rooming accommodation the floor is four weeks (RTA), and the tenant is bound to pay the increase only if the notice complies with the section (section 91(6)).
No form is prescribed: the RTA publishes none, so the notice is yours to write and the content is what binds. Service follows the agreement and the RTA's serving-notices guidance: by hand, by post, or by email where the agreement provides for it, with the period starting the day after service, an email received when it enters the tenant's server, and post counted from the day it arrives, which the RTA leaves to Australia Post's estimates and advises padding by a day. Keep the record of what was served, to whom, how, and when.
A notice also cannot raise the rent for bringing the premises up to the prescribed minimum housing standards, or for the keeping of an approved pet or a working dog (section 91(6)).
Fixed terms, renewals, and the increase that needs no notice
During a fixed term the rent can rise only if the agreement provides for the increase and states the amount or how it is worked out, on the same written notice, two months, and 12-month gap as any other increase (section 91(7); RTA). A clause in the agreement never substitutes for the notice.
At the end of a fixed term the rules split by paperwork. Sign a new agreement at a higher rent and no notice is required (RTA), but the higher rent is still an increase for section 93, so the 12 months must already have passed and the new figure starts the next 12. Let the agreement roll into a periodic one and the increase takes the full notice: two months, in writing, with the three dates. Either way the premises' clock reads straight through the signature: where NSW's single-agreement rule reads through the renewals of one tenancy, Queensland reads through tenancies.
Excessive rent, and the record that answers it
The check on the amount is section 92. Within 30 days of receiving the notice, or before a fixed term ends, a tenant may apply to QCAT on the ground that the increase is excessive or is not payable under section 91. The Tribunal must have regard to the range of market rents for comparable premises, the proposed rent against the current rent, the state of repair, the term of the tenancy, and the period since the last increase, and may reduce the increase or set it aside, with interim orders about payment in the meantime (section 92(4) to (7)); the RTA's free dispute resolution service sits before the Tribunal for a tenant who wants to talk first. Notice what the factor list rewards: a file. An operator who can produce the served notice, the service record, the agreement with the last-increase date on it, and the proof behind that date is answering the Tribunal's questions in its own terms, and the tenant's 14-day request before it is made.
Queensland rent increase rules, at a glance
The whole rulebook, row by row, with its sources:
| Rule | Queensland's answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cap on the amount | None; the excessive-rent path at QCAT is the control | RTRA Act s. 92 |
| Frequency | Once in 12 months, measured from the last increase for the premises | s. 93(1) |
| New tenant, owner, or agent | None of them resets the clock; a new agreement at a higher rent is itself an increase | s. 93(2), (3), (5) |
| Notice | At least two months, written, stating the new rent, the day it starts, and the day rent was last increased | s. 91(2) to (4) |
| Fixed terms | Only under a clause stating the amount or the method, with the same notice and gap | s. 91(7) |
| The agreement | Must state the day rent was last increased for the premises | s. 61; Form 18a |
| Proof | Evidence of the last increase within 14 days of a written request | s. 93A |
| Form | None prescribed | rta.qld.gov.au |
| Service | By hand, post, or email where the agreement provides for it; the service day not counted; post counted from arrival | RTA serving-notices guidance |
| Challenge | QCAT application within 30 days of the notice, or before a fixed term ends | s. 92(3) |
| Shortcut | A QCAT order for undue hardship is the only lawful increase inside the 12 months | s. 93B |
The Queensland procedure, start to finish
Run this per premises, counted backward from the intended effective date:
- Find the premises' clock. The day rent last rose for the property under any tenant, agent, or owner, with the document that proves it; for a first rental, the day the first rent fell due.
- Set the number. Comparable rents, the current rent, and the state of repair: the list the Tribunal reads it against.
- Pick the effective date. The later of two months after the notice is given and the end of the 12-month period, plus delivery time by post.
- Write the notice. The new rent in full, the day it takes effect, and the day rent was last increased; date it and sign it.
- Serve it by a route the agreement allows. By hand, by post, or by email where the agreement provides for it, and keep the proof.
- Record it. The served notice becomes the premises' new last-increase date and the evidence the next request will ask for.
- Answer a proof request within 14 days. The previous agreement, the earlier notice, or the ledger, with other people's details removed.
Key questions
How much can rent be increased in Queensland?
There is no cap. Queensland sets no limit on the amount of a rent increase and publishes no annual percentage, so there is no formula to run; the control is after the fact, when a tenant asks QCAT within 30 days to find a particular increase excessive against comparable rents, the current rent, the state of repair, the term, and the period since the last increase. What the law limits is how often, not how much.
How much notice is required for a rent increase in Queensland?
At least two months, in writing, for a general tenancy, and at least four weeks for rooming accommodation. The notice must state the new rent, the day it becomes payable, and the day rent was last increased for the premises, and the day it names can be no earlier than the later of two months after the notice is given and the end of the 12-month period since the last increase (section 91). The day of service is not counted.
Does a new tenant or a new owner reset the 12-month rule in Queensland?
No. Since 6 June 2024 the 12 months run from the last rent increase for the premises, whoever the tenant, the agent, or the owner was at the time (section 93(3) and (5)). A property bought with a rent increase four months old waits eight more months, and a vacancy re-let at a higher rent counts as an increase of its own. The clock resets only when the rent actually rises.
Can rent be increased during a fixed-term agreement in Queensland?
Only if the agreement provides for the increase and states the amount or the method, and then on the same written notice, two-month floor, and 12-month gap as any other increase (section 91(7)). An agreement that is silent on increases holds its rent until the term ends; at that point a new agreement can carry a higher rent without a notice, provided 12 months have passed since the last increase.
Can a tenant ask for proof of the last rent increase in Queensland?
Yes. A tenant may ask in writing for evidence of the day of the last rent increase for the premises, and the lessor or agent must provide it within 14 days, with any other person's personal information removed (section 93A). The previous agreement, the earlier notice, or the rent ledger will do. Missing the 14 days is an offence with a maximum penalty of 40 penalty units; the Act expects the file to exist.
Is there a rent increase notice form in Queensland?
No. The RTA prescribes no form for a rent increase notice, so the notice is one the lessor or agent writes. What the Act fixes is the content: the new rent, the day it becomes payable, and the day rent was last increased for the premises, in writing, given at least two months ahead and served by a method the agreement allows. The date of the last increase also belongs on the agreement itself.
Can a tenant dispute a rent increase in Queensland?
Yes. Within 30 days of receiving the notice, or before a fixed term ends, a tenant can apply to QCAT for an order that the increase is excessive or not payable, after optional free dispute resolution through the RTA. The Tribunal weighs comparable market rents, the proposed rent against the current one, the state of repair, the term, and the period since the last increase, and can reduce or set aside the increase.
How Scaalr runs a Queensland schedule
Scaalr treats a Queensland rent increase as a scheduled, validated event on the agreement rather than a date in someone's head. A Queensland address resolves to the state's profile, and with no cap there is no portfolio rate to anchor: each schedule takes the explicit percentage you set on that agreement, and the notice records it. Queensland prescribes no form, so Scaalr composes the notice from the market's rules: the parties, the premises, the current and new rent, the effective date, the date, and a signature; the day rent was last increased for the premises, which a Queensland notice must also state, is the fact you verify across the property's history and give the tenant with the notice. Where a market prescribes the paper, the official form is filled instead.
The schedule is validated against the Queensland profile when you set it and re-checked before anything serves: the two-month floor against the effective date, one increase per 12-month window, and a renewal that cannot reset the frequency or tenancy clocks. The frequency check reads the increases on the tenancy it can see, and the worklist's market card says so plainly: the premises' last increase across tenancy and ownership changes is yours to verify before the first notice. You set the notice lead above the floor, the worklist inside Leases shows every eligible agreement and its earliest lawful date, and the send-by date builds in a posted-service allowance.
Nothing goes out unsigned: a signer captures a signature once for unattended sending, reviews each notice individually, or routes it to the property owner through a secure emailed link, and a schedule with no usable signature holds until one exists. Service follows the market's rules: Queensland permits email where the agreement provides for it, a condition that stays yours to confirm; Scaalr serves by email where lawful or records service as a staff task, keeping what was served, to whom, and when. Nothing serves in Queensland until a manager reviews and acknowledges the market's current rules; until then the schedule pauses. Every supported market is listed on the rent increases page, and automated rent-increase notices are included on Growth and up. Queensland left you the number; the calendar, the paper, and the proof run on the system.