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What is rent?
Rent is the money that the agreement states must be paid by the tenant or resident so that they can stay at the premises they are renting. The agreement will state if the rent is to be paid weekly, fortnightly, monthly or at another agreed period.
The rent is paid to the landlord or agent, an owner or operator of a rooming house or caravan park, or a site owner. The parties involved should agree upfront how and when the rent is to be paid. Rent may be paid:
- in person
- using direct debit
- by credit card, cheque, or another method, including rent payment card.
Note: if a landlord or owner requests payment by direct debit, they must state this before the tenant or resident signs the lease.
Tenant and resident responsibilities regarding rent
As a tenant or resident, you are responsible for paying the rent and must continue to pay it when it is due.
You cannot stop paying rent, even if:
- the landlord or owner refuses to do repairs
- you are in the last month of your rental agreement
- you have given notice that you intend to vacate
- you have been given a notice to vacate.
If you are paying the rent by electronic funds transfer (EFT), make sure you leave enough time (at least 24 hours) for the money to go into the nominated account, otherwise your rent may be late.
Rent in advance in a tenancy agreement
If the rent is to be paid weekly, the landlord or agent cannot ask for more than 14 days’ rent at the beginning of a tenancy.
In any other case, provided the rent is $350 a week or less, the landlord or agent cannot ask for more than one month’s rent in advance.
The landlord or agent may be fined if they do not follow the above.
Rent in advance in a caravan park
In a caravan park, rent is the money charged for the site. Hire charges are for a caravan.
Residents are often asked to pay one fee for both the site and the caravan, which is then called rent.
The owner cannot charge more than:
- 14 days’ rent in advance for renting the site
- 28 days’ rent in advance for caravan hire.
A caravan park owner or caravan owner can be fined if they do not follow the above.
Rent in advance under a site agreement
Rent is the money charged for a site in a park. A site owner cannot charge a site tenant more than one month’s rent in advance.
Extra rent for services in a rooming house
If a rooming house owner offers services such as cooking and room cleaning at an additional cost, they must give the resident a list of the services offered and costs before they move in.
If the resident accepts these services and agrees to pay the extra rent, the owner must put in writing:
- a description of the extra services
- how much the rent will increase
- the date the rent increase will start.
The owner and resident must both sign the agreement.
Extra charges in a caravan park
In addition to their rent, caravan park residents may need to pay other charges.
The owner must give residents details of these charges at the start of the residency.
The caravan park owner must give the resident a statement setting out:
- extra rent or hiring charges for visitors as set by the caravan park owner or caravan owner
- any fees the caravan park owner may charge to store or remove a caravan
- commission applying to the sale of a caravan by a caravan park owner
- any fees for giving a resident a key to provide vehicle access to the caravan park.
Extra charges under a site agreement
In addition to their rent, site tenants may need to pay other charges. Details of these charges must be included in the site agreement and site owners must not ask for payments that are not part of the site agreement.
A site agreement should:
- include details of all charges to be paid
- include how payments are calculated, their purpose and how they may be changed or reviewed
- provide details of any commission an owner may charge for selling the site tenant’s dwelling.
Last updated: 15/05/2012