When and how rent can be increased

When rent can be increased

Rent increase limits for all lease types

Rent cannot be increased within the first 12 months of an agreement. 

After an increase, the landlord must wait at least 12 months before another increase.

This limit applies to fixed term and periodic agreements.

Renewing or replacing leases 

When a tenant renews their agreement or switches to a different type of agreement, it’s still considered the same rental agreement for the purposes of rent increase rules if:

• the landlord hasn’t changed
• at least one of the tenants on the agreement is the same, and
• the tenant has not moved out of the property between agreements.

This means that if a tenant is already living in the property and simply renews or changes their lease type, the landlord must wait at least 12 months from the last increase before they can raise the rent. 

Fixed term agreements before 31 October 2024

Agreements that started before 31 October 2024 and that are for a fixed term of less than 2 years will have different rules. 

These agreements can have more than 1 rent increase in a 12 month period, but only if the increase:

• is written into the rental agreement, and
• details the amount of the increase or the exact method of calculating the increase (e.g. a dollar amount or percentage). It cannot be unclear, such as statements like ‘in line with the market’ or ‘by the rate of inflation’.

Any increase not written into the agreement is not valid.

If the written agreement also includes the date the increase starts, then the landlord or agent does not need to give the tenant written notice of the increase. 

Once the term of the agreement has finished, any new or renewed agreement will have the 12 month rule. 

How does a landlord increase the rent?

A landlord or agent must provide the tenant with a written notice of a rent increase 60 days or more before the increase will take effect.

A landlord or agent can either write their own notice or use the NSW Fair Trading notice of rent increase form. A written notice can be in the form of an email. 

The notice must:

• state the proposed new amount of rent (not the amount of the increase)
• state the date from which the increased rent is payable, and
• be signed, dated and properly addressed to the tenant.
   

Download our notice of rent increase form