Rent Increase Too High? How to Challenge It in Australia

The email lands: “Please be advised your rent will increase from $520 to $640 per week.” That’s an extra $6,240 a year. No explanation. No warning. Just pay it or leave.

Before you panic, know this: rent increases have rules. A lot of them break those rules. And even a “legal” increase can be challenged if it is excessive.

Step one: is the increase even valid?

A rent increase is only valid if it follows your state’s Residential Tenancies Act. Check these things:

• Was it in writing? A verbal increase is not an increase. It must be a written notice.
• Did you get enough notice? New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania all require 60 days’ written notice. Victoria requires 90 days. Australian Capital Territory requires 8 weeks. Northern Territory requires 30 days.
• Is it too soon? In New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania, rent can only go up once every 12 months. Western Australia allows no more than one increase every 12 months, and the tenant can apply to the Magistrates Court to challenge it. Northern Territory allows once every 6 months.
• Are you on a fixed-term lease? If you signed a fixed term and the lease doesn’t include a rent increase clause, the rent cannot go up until the term ends.

If the landlord got any of these wrong, the increase is invalid. You do not have to pay it. Tell them in writing.

Step two: is it excessive?

Even a valid increase can be challenged if it is unreasonably high. Every state tribunal can look at whether an increase is “excessive” compared to:

• Similar properties in the same area.
• The condition of your property.
• Any repairs or upgrades (or lack of them).
• The size and timing of the increase.

A 23 percent jump on a property with a broken oven and mould in the bathroom is very hard to justify.

How to object

1. Do not ignore it. If you say nothing and keep paying, you have accepted it.
2. Write a formal objection. This sets out why the increase is invalid or excessive, with evidence like online listings of comparable rentals.
3. Propose a figure you can live with. Many landlords will negotiate rather than risk a tribunal hearing.
4. Apply to the tribunal if they won’t budge. You have a deadline for this: 30 days in New South Wales and Queensland, and similar elsewhere. In Victoria, first ask Consumer Affairs Victoria for a rent assessment within 30 days of the notice, then apply to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria within 30 days of getting the report, with VCAT after that. Don’t miss it.

What the tribunal can do

If the tribunal agrees the increase is excessive, it can set the rent at a lower amount and stop the landlord raising it again for a set period. In some states, the tribunal can order this for up to 12 months.

Can they evict me for objecting?

Not legally. In every state, a landlord cannot end your tenancy because you exercised a legal right. That is called retaliatory eviction, and tribunals can cancel the notice. Keep every message as evidence.

Don’t just cop it

Now you do. A properly written objection, quoting your state’s Act and backed by evidence of comparable rents, is often enough to get the number down.

Claim Done drafts your Rent Increase Objection for $49. Done in about 5 minutes.