Mark your calendar for changes

WHETHER you are a landlord or just a hopeful one, you should have October 1 marked on your calendar. The date heralds the next slate of tenancy legislation changes being implemented across rental properties in Queensland.

The changes to rules around pets has gotten plenty of attention, with the rules now closer to those applied by apartment buildings and other body corporate setups – that is, you can no longer have a blanket ban on pets and need to act reasonably in assessing things case-by-case.

It’s not quite open slather on bringing along the menagerie, but it does mean that for those renting a house with a fenced yard, owners will have limited opportunity to say no. They can, however, still put in place limits as far as inside versus outside, and any damage caused by pets is outside of normal wear and tear expectations.

Furry friends aside, it’s the changes to the way periodic leases are dealt with which pose the most potential risk to a landlord, and this can be a concern where properties have been self-managed and perhaps things have gotten a bit lax, with rents at 2012 prices, not 2022 ones.

From October 1, a periodic lease can only be terminated due to an owner or their immediate family requiring the property to move into, major renovations being undertaken, or an owner selling the home Outside that, the longestablished ability to end the tenancy without grounds with 60 days notice no longer exists. Now for most, this shouldn’t really matter. An investor wants a tenant in their property paying rent after all, don’t they? Well, in the vast majority of cases they absolutely do!

But in cases where an owner wishes for more flexibility – whether it be to reposition the property in the rental market, or any other reason, then it might be more of a concern.

An example of this could be where someone buys a property with an existing periodic tenancy in place, where the rent has been the same for a decade. A new owner may buy on the basis that there is a higher potential rental return but leaves the tenant in place until settlement.

Under the new rules, that higher rental return might be further out of reach than anticipated.

As always, talk to your property manager or friendly local agent for more information, on how this can affect your investment strategy.

Tom Quaid is the REIQ Zone chairman for Cairns Tom Quaid is the REIQ Zone Chair for Cairns