Leasing: landlords, tenants, boarders and lodgers: HSC Legal Studies

What this dot point is asking

This page covers leasing in the Shelter option of the Legal Studies Stage 6 Syllabus (2009): the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants, and protection for tenants, landlords, boarders and lodgers. It is part of legal protection and remedies associated with securing shelter, for which the syllabus asks you to assess the role of the legal system in protecting those securing and providing shelter.

Renting is the most dynamic area of shelter law. About a third of NSW households rent, more people rent for life, and NSW made the biggest changes to tenancy law in decades between 2024 and 2026. The 2025 exam asked whether non-compliance challenges the effectiveness of shelter law, and NESA's feedback singled out tenancy relationships, "renovictions" and boarding houses as good evidence.

The answer

The residential tenancy agreement

A residential tenancy agreement gives a tenant exclusive possession of premises in return for rent. It can be fixed-term (for example, 12 months) or periodic (continuing week to week or month to month, often after a fixed term ends). NSW uses a standard form agreement with terms that cannot be excluded.

Before moving in, a tenant pays a bond of no more than four weeks' rent, which must be lodged with NSW Fair Trading (Rental Bonds Online), not kept by the landlord, and completes a condition report. At the end of the tenancy, the bond is refunded unless the landlord proves a claim for unpaid rent or damage beyond fair wear and tear.

Rights and obligations of landlords and tenants

Protection for tenants: the 2024 to 2026 reforms

The reforms followed years of campaigning by the Tenants' Union of NSW and others, the appointment of NSW's first Rental Commissioner (2023), and a shift in community values: renting is no longer a short stage before home ownership but a long-term way of life for many families.

1. Ending no-grounds evictions (from 19 May 2025). Before this date, a landlord could end a periodic tenancy, or a fixed term at its end, for no reason. The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024 (NSW) requires a reasonable ground:

• tenant breach, such as unpaid rent (14 days' notice);
• sale of the property, including sale requiring vacant possession;
• significant renovations, repairs or demolition that require the tenant to leave;
• the owner or a relevant family member moving in;
• a change of use, so the property will no longer be rented;
• the end of eligibility for affordable, transitional, student or key worker housing; or other specified grounds such as employer-provided housing ending.

The notice must include a termination information statement and, for many grounds, evidence (for example a sale contract or renovation approvals). Notice periods for non-breach grounds are usually 90 days (periodic agreements and fixed terms over six months) or 60 days (fixed terms of six months or less). To stop landlords inventing grounds, relet exclusion periods prevent re-letting for 4 weeks after renovations, 6 months after a sale, owner occupation or demolition ground, and 12 months after a change of use; giving a false notice is an offence, and since 1 July 2025 landlords and agents must complete a survey when they claim or release the bond, giving the reason if the landlord ended the tenancy.

2. Rent increases

Since 31 October 2024, rent can be increased only once every 12 months for all periodic and most fixed-term agreements, with 60 days' notice. A tenant can ask NCAT to declare an increase excessive (s 44) by comparison with market rents. There is no cap on the amount of an increase: NSW rejected rent caps.

3. Pets (from 19 May 2025)

A tenant applies using a standard form; the landlord can refuse only on permitted grounds (for example, the premises are unsuitable or the animal would cause damage beyond the bond) and can impose only reasonable conditions. If the landlord does not respond within 21 days, consent is deemed given, and advertising "no pets" is unlawful.

4. Costs and access

Fees for background checks and lease preparation were banned from 31 October 2024; landlords must offer fee-free rent payment by bank transfer (19 May 2025) and Centrepay (2 March 2026). Solicited rent bidding (inviting offers above the advertised rent) was banned for agents from December 2022, and the ban was later extended to landlords and rental platforms.

5. Portable bonds

Under Smart Rental Bonds, a renter can transfer their bond to a new rental for a $25 fee instead of paying a second bond before the first is refunded; if the landlord at the old property makes an agreed claim, the government pays it and the renter repays the government. The scheme, a Minns Government election commitment, began on 10 August 2026 in the Parramatta, Penrith and Central Coast areas and was extended to all of NSW on 16 September 2026, earlier than the end-of-2026 target.

6. Other protections

A tenant or co-tenant escaping domestic violence can end their tenancy immediately with a DV termination notice and evidence. Tenants can challenge a termination notice at NCAT as not genuine or retaliatory (for example, given because the tenant asked for repairs). The Residential Tenancies Amendment (Protection of Personal Information) Bill 2025, introduced in June 2025, passed Parliament on 24 September 2026: it requires a standard rental application form, limits the personal information landlords and agents can collect and sets rules for storing and destroying it, and requires disclosure of digitally altered photos in rental advertisements. It is expected to start in early 2027.

Enforcement

NSW Fair Trading's Rental Taskforce investigates non-compliance, and NCAT resolves disputes: in 2024-25 it received 28,193 tenancy and 12,900 social housing applications. The Tenants' Union and the government-funded Tenants' Advice and Advocacy Services help renters enforce their rights.

Protection for landlords

The law also protects people providing shelter:

• the bond, held independently, secures unpaid rent and damage;
• termination for breach (14 days' notice for rent arrears) and NCAT termination and possession orders, enforced by the Sheriff;
• reasonable grounds that preserve the landlord's rights to sell, renovate and live in their property;
• NCAT orders for compensation for damage or unpaid rent;
• conditions on pets and the right to refuse on permitted grounds;
• immediate termination for serious breaches, such as intentional damage or threats to the landlord.

Landlord groups argued that the 2025 reforms add cost and complexity and could reduce rental supply if investors sell; supporters point out that landlords can still end tenancies for genuine reasons. The 2026 changes to negative gearing (from 1 July 2027) add to investors' concerns. The balance between security for tenants and property rights for landlords is the central tension of this area.

Protection for boarders and lodgers

Boarders and lodgers rent a room in a house where the owner or manager keeps control of the premises, often with shared facilities and services such as meals or cleaning. Because they usually have a licence to occupy rather than exclusive possession, they are not covered by the Residential Tenancies Act. They are often among the most vulnerable renters: older people on low incomes, people with disability or mental illness, students and recent migrants.

• The Boarding Houses Act 2012 (NSW) applies to registrable boarding houses (general boarding houses with five or more paying residents, and assisted boarding houses for people with additional needs). Operators must register on the Register of Boarding Houses (kept by NSW Fair Trading), and councils inspect for safety. Residents have the occupancy principles, such as a written agreement, limits on security deposits, notice of fee increases, reasonable notice before being evicted and the right to quiet enjoyment, and can take disputes to NCAT.
• Lodgers in smaller or informal arrangements (for example, renting a room from a homeowner who lives there) rely mainly on their agreement and the common law: an owner need only give reasonable notice, and there is no independent bond scheme or tribunal oversight beyond contract claims.

NESA's 2020 feedback highlighted the difficulty of enforcing compliance in boarding houses. Residents often do not know their rights or fear losing their room, operators may not register, and councils vary in how actively they inspect. Boarding houses are the clearest example of the law's protection being weakest for those most in need.

Assessing the role of the legal system in leasing

Judgement. Tenancy law in NSW now protects tenants to a large extent in design, especially after the 2025 end of no-grounds evictions, which directly implements the security of tenure element of adequate housing. It continues to protect landlords' legitimate interests. Its effectiveness is limited by affordability, which tenancy law barely touches, and by non-compliance: rights depend on renters knowing them and being willing to enforce them at NCAT against someone who controls their home. Protection for boarders and lodgers remains weak.

In one sentence

The Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW) sets out balanced rights and obligations for landlords and tenants and, since the 2024 to 2026 reforms, protects tenants from no-grounds evictions, frequent rent increases, blanket pet bans and upfront costs, while boarders and lodgers remain largely outside its protection and all renters depend on NCAT and their own willingness to enforce their rights.

Try this

Q1. Outline TWO obligations of a landlord under the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW). (4 marks)

• What the marker wants. Two obligations (fitness for habitation and minimum standards; repairs; quiet enjoyment; lawful termination), each with a detail.

Q2. Explain how the law protects landlords. (5 marks)

• What the marker wants. Bond, breach termination, reasonable grounds, NCAT orders, and a comment on balance.

Q3. Assess the effectiveness of the law in protecting boarders and lodgers. (8 marks)

• What the marker wants. The licence distinction, the Boarding Houses Act and occupancy principles, enforcement problems, and a judgement.