Tenancy Agreements

A tenancy agreement is a written agreement between a tenant or resident and a property manager/owner or provider.

Types of agreements include:

• General tenancy agreement (Form 18a): houses, townhouses, units and houseboats
• Rooming accommodation agreement (Form R18): renting one or more rooms and sharing other rooms or facilities with others.

A tenancy agreement must include:

• The name and address of the tenant, and the property manager/owner or provider
• The dates when the agreement starts and ends (or state that the agreement is periodic)
• Details about how the tenant should pay the rent and how much rent is to be paid
• Details about what the tenant and the property manager/owner or provider can and cannot do, known as ‘standard terms’
• Any special terms (these should be agreed in advance, e.g. that dogs are allowed but must be kept outside or carpet cleaning)

Period of tenancy agreement

• Fixed term agreement – where a tenant/resident agrees to rent a property for a fixed amount of time (for example, 6, 9 or 12 months)
• Periodic agreement – when a tenant/resident lives there for an indefinite period

Further information about renting in Queensland can be found in Pocket guide for tenants – houses and units (Form 17a)

(All information has been provided by the Residential Tenancies Authority and further information can be accessed by visiting their website https://www.rta.qld.gov.au or contacting them directly 1300 366 311)