NSW rental laws have changed. Here’s what landlords and tenants need to know about evictions, rent increases, pets and rent payments.
NSW rental laws have changed significantly over the past two years, affecting how landlords can end tenancies, how often rent can be increased, whether tenants can keep pets and how rent must be paid.
The reforms have been introduced progressively since October 2024, with further changes commencing throughout 2025 and 2026.
If you own a rental property, manage one or rent your home in NSW, it is worth understanding what has changed.
Some of the most significant NSW rental law changes include:
The changes affect both landlords and tenants and, importantly, some of the rules apply to existing tenancies as well as new agreements.
One of the biggest changes is the end of what were commonly called "no grounds" terminations.
Since 19 May 2025, a landlord must have a prescribed ground to end a tenancy. This applies to fixed-term and periodic agreements, including tenancies that started before the new laws commenced.
Valid grounds can include circumstances such as:
The ground relied upon matters because different notice periods, evidence requirements and restrictions can apply.
NSW Fair Trading provides a detailed guide to landlords ending a tenancy.
For some grounds, yes.
A landlord may need to provide supporting documents or information with the termination notice to demonstrate that the stated reason is genuine.
For example, different evidence requirements can apply where the property is being sold with vacant possession, substantially renovated or repaired, demolished, occupied by the landlord or their family, or taken out of the residential rental market.
If supporting documents are required but are not provided, the termination notice may not be valid.
There are also penalties for providing false or misleading supporting documents.
This means landlords and managing agents need to be careful about both the ground selected and the evidence provided when terminating a tenancy.
There is no single notice period that applies to every termination.
The minimum notice period depends on matters including:
Some termination grounds also have specific procedural requirements.
NSW Fair Trading publishes the current minimum notice periods for ending a residential tenancy.
Landlords should check the applicable ground and notice period before issuing a termination notice rather than assuming the same notice period applies to every tenancy.
Not always.
Some termination grounds have a re-letting exclusion period.
For example, if a tenancy is ended because the property will no longer be used as a rental home, the landlord generally cannot simply put the property back on the residential rental market immediately afterwards.
The applicable exclusion period depends on the ground used to terminate the tenancy.
NSW Fair Trading can grant an exemption in some circumstances where there has been a change beyond the landlord's control.
The purpose of these restrictions is to prevent a landlord relying on a particular reason to terminate a tenancy and then immediately doing something inconsistent with that reason.
The rules concerning pets changed substantially from 19 May 2025.
A tenant generally still needs the landlord's consent to keep a pet, unless the animal is an assistance animal.
However, landlords can no longer refuse a pet simply because they would prefer the property to be pet-free.
A tenant can apply using the standard pet application process and the landlord must respond within 21 days.
If the landlord does not respond within the required period, consent is taken to have been given without conditions.
Landlords can only refuse consent on grounds permitted by the legislation.
More information about the process and permitted grounds for refusal is available from NSW Fair Trading's guide to keeping a pet in a rental property.
No.
A landlord cannot make approval of a pet conditional on the tenant paying additional rent or increasing the rental bond.
They also cannot require another form of security, such as insurance, simply because the tenant has a pet.
Reasonable conditions can be imposed in appropriate circumstances, but those conditions must relate to keeping the animal at the property and comply with the rental laws.
So while the reforms do not create an unrestricted right to keep any pet in any property, they significantly limit when and how a landlord can refuse a request.
Since 31 October 2024, rent increases have generally been limited to once every 12 months.
The rule applies to both fixed-term and periodic agreements.
A landlord cannot avoid the 12-month restriction simply because a tenancy agreement is renewed or changed from one type of agreement to another.
A landlord or agent must also generally provide at least 60 days' written notice before a rent increase takes effect.
NSW Fair Trading explains the current requirements in its guide to when and how rent can be increased.
The reforms also addressed fees charged at the beginning of a tenancy.
Since 31 October 2024, landlords and agents are expressly prohibited from charging tenants or prospective tenants certain costs associated with starting a tenancy, including fees for background checks and preparing the tenancy agreement.
This is intended to prevent prospective tenants being required to pay additional administrative costs simply to apply for or enter into a residential tenancy.
Yes.
Since 19 May 2025, tenants must be offered an approved electronic bank transfer method for paying rent without additional fees or costs.
There has since been a further change.
From 2 March 2026, landlords and agents must also offer Centrepay, operated by Services Australia, as a fee-free payment option.
Tenants and landlords can agree to other payment methods, but tenants must still be offered the prescribed fee-free options.
The current requirements are explained in NSW Fair Trading's guide to how and when to pay rent.
Smart Rental Bonds commenced in NSW on 10 August 2026.
The scheme is optional and is designed to make it easier for tenants to move between rental properties.
Ordinarily, moving can create a cash-flow problem because a tenant may need to pay the bond for their new property before receiving the bond back from their previous property.
Smart Rental Bonds allow an existing bond to be transferred to a new rental property in eligible circumstances, reducing the need for a tenant to fund two rental bonds at the same time.
Further reforms commenced on 21 September 2026 to strengthen protections for tenants who are victim-survivors of domestic violence.
The changes include measures intended to:
These provisions are particularly important where the person experiencing domestic violence needs to leave a property quickly or remain in the property safely.
The current reforms are summarised in NSW Fair Trading's rental law changes.
For landlords, the changes mean that some practices that were previously commonplace are no longer sufficient.
In particular, landlords and managing agents should ensure that they:
An expiring fixed-term agreement should no longer be treated as automatically giving a landlord an unrestricted right to require the tenant to leave.
The reforms give tenants greater protection and stability, but they do not remove a tenant's obligations under their tenancy agreement.
Tenants still need to:
The reforms regulate how landlords exercise certain rights. They do not prevent a tenancy from being terminated where there is a lawful ground and the correct process is followed.
Many residential tenancy disputes can be dealt with through NSW Fair Trading or the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).
The appropriate process depends on the nature of the dispute.
For example, a dispute might concern:
It is important to act promptly because time limits can apply to some tenancy applications.
The NSW rental reforms have been introduced in stages, which means relying on an old lease, precedent termination notice or understanding of the previous law can create problems.
Landlords and property managers should ensure their procedures reflect the current law, particularly when ending a tenancy, considering a pet request or increasing rent.
Tenants should also understand that the new protections do not mean a landlord can never terminate a tenancy, increase the rent or refuse a pet. Each of those actions is now subject to clearer statutory requirements.
The NSW Government maintains an overview of the changes to rental laws in NSW, including the dates on which the different reforms commenced.
Urban Law Group advises on property law and property disputes in NSW.
If you are a property owner or tenant and need advice about how the rental law changes affect your circumstances, contact Urban Law Group on 02 9580 9011.