Residential tenancy agreements

Key information

• The residential tenancy agreement is a contract that sets out a tenant's and landlord's rights and obligations. It has certain standard terms required by residential tenancy law. It may also include additional terms if these are permitted by the law.
• There are two types of agreement: 
  • fixed-term – for a specified period (e.g. 12 months)
  • periodic – ongoing, no fixed term is specified.
• Tenancy agreements are usually in written form. They can also be oral (e.g. a conversation with the landlord), or partly written and partly oral.
• Landlords have an obligation to ensure that the tenancy agreement is in writing. 
• If there is no written agreement, the landlord cannot:
  • increase the rent during the first 6 months, or
  • end the tenancy as a periodic agreement without a legally specified reason during the first 6 months.
• In a periodic tenancy, a landlord cannot end the tenancy during the first 6 months without a legally specified reason.
• There is no cooling-off period.
• You cannot be charged for preparing or filling in the agreement.

All agreements must follow the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (‘the Act’). Note that if you are living in a boarding house you are not covered under the Residential Tenancies Act 2010. Visit the boarding houses page for more information.

Two types of tenancy agreement

1. A fixed-term agreement is for a period of time and has a specific end date (e.g for six or 12 months).
2. A periodic agreement is where a fixed-term has not been specified in an agreement or where the fixed-term of an agreement has expired.

If a fixed-term agreement ends and a new agreement is not signed, a tenant will automatically move to a periodic agreement (also known as a continuing agreement). A periodic or continuing agreement has no specific end date.

What about additional terms in an agreement?

An example of an additional term is to allow pets. A landlord may decide if they want this term to stay in the agreement. If not, the term should be deleted before the agreement is signed.

Additional terms may be included as long as they:

• follow NSW tenancy laws or any other relevant laws,
• are consistent with the terms in the standard form and
• are not a term that is prohibited from being added to a tenancy agreement.

What standard terms cannot be removed or changed in a tenancy agreement?

For fixed-term agreements of 20 years or more, landlords can remove or change the terms of the standard agreement, except for the following terms:

• the responsibility of the landlord to pay rates, taxes and charges
• the limit of no more than one rent increase per year
• a tenant’s right to apply to the Tribunal
• the grounds on which the agreement may be terminated
• the landlord’s responsibility to repair smoke alarms
• a tenant's responsibility for their visitors' and co-tenants' actions that are a breach of the tenancy agreement (e.g., damage to the property) and,
• the exceptions to a tenant's responsibility under the residential tenancy law for damage occurring during a domestic violence offence.

Otherwise, the standard terms are taken to be included in fixed-term and periodic agreements.

What terms must not be added to a tenancy agreement?

Terms that must not be added to an agreement include:

• requiring a tenant to have the carpet professionally cleaned, or pay the cost of cleaning, at the end of the tenancy (except as part of a separate arrangement to allow the tenant to keep a pet on the property),
• requiring a tenant to take out any form of insurance, such as home contents or public liability insurance,
• exempting a landlord, agent or any other person from legal liability for any negligent act or omission,
• requiring the tenant to pay a higher rent, a penalty or some other form of damages if they breach the agreement,
• giving the tenant a reduced rent or rebate for not breaching the agreement,
• requiring the tenant to use the services of a particular person or business to carry out their obligations under the agreement, such as a nominated lawn mowing or pool cleaning company,
• requiring the tenant to use a specific utility provider if there is no restriction on utility providers available for the property.

Any additional terms that are not allowed under the law are invalid and cannot be applied. Landlords can face penalties for including such terms in an agreement.

Standard tenancy agreement form

Fair Trading NSW provides a standard tenancy agreement as a fillable PDF.

While landlords and tenants do not have to use this standard agreement, Fair Trading NSW recommends that they do.

This is because every tenancy agreement must contain the standard terms that cannot be changed or removed, and certain terms must not be included in an agreement.

Download the standard residential tenancy agreement