Rent Bidding in Brisbane: What's Banned, and What You Can Still Legally Offer

In a competitive rental market like Brisbane's, it's tempting to offer more than the advertised rent to secure a property — but since 6 June 2024, all forms of rent bidding are banned under Queensland's statewide tenancy law. This applies the same way across every Brisbane suburb. This guide sets out exactly what's prohibited and what's still allowed, based only on what the RTA publishes.

Every property must be advertised at a fixed price

• A rental property must be advertised at a fixed price. Not doing so is an offence.
• A property manager/owner doesn't have to display the price on a physical "for rent" sign at the property itself, but any other advertisement must show a fixed price.
• A property manager/owner must not:
  • advertise a rent range (e.g. "$420–$460 a week")
  • put a property up for a rent "auction"
  • proactively encourage applicants to offer more than the advertised rent, or to outbid each other.

Breaching any of this carries a maximum penalty of 50 penalty units.

Property managers/owners can't accept higher offers, even if unsolicited

Even if a property manager/owner never encourages it, they're still not allowed to accept an offer of rent higher than the advertised price. This is the case even if a prospective tenant offers more entirely on their own initiative.

Maximum rent in advance at the start of a tenancy

From 6 June 2024, a property manager/owner cannot solicit, accept, or invite a new tenant to pay more rent in advance than:

• 2 weeks for a periodic tenancy, rooming accommodation agreement, or moveable dwelling tenancy
• 1 month for a fixed-term tenancy agreement

— even if the prospective tenant offers to pay more than these caps. This is also an offence, with a maximum penalty of 50 penalty units. Our First-Time Renter's Guide to Brisbane covers this cap alongside the rest of the application and bond process.

No fixed price, no bond

If a property was advertised or offered without a fixed rental amount, the property manager/owner is not allowed to accept a rental bond from the tenant at all. This is also an offence, with a maximum penalty of 50 penalty units.

What you CAN still do once your tenancy has started

The advance-rent caps only apply at the start of a new tenancy. Once your tenancy has commenced, you're free to negotiate paying more rent in advance if that suits you — for example, if you receive a lump sum and want to prepay several months to make budgeting easier. That's a legitimate negotiation, not rent bidding.

Official examples from the RTA

Case study 1 — illegal. A property is advertised online with no price. An applicant calls, is told there's no fixed price, and is invited to "put in his best offer." He does, and secures the property. This is illegal — the property manager encouraged rent bidding by not advertising a fixed price.

Case study 2 — illegal. An applicant proactively offers to pay two months' rent in advance plus an extra $15/week over the asking price, entirely on her own initiative. The property manager accepts. This is still illegal — even though the property manager didn't encourage the offer, they were not allowed to accept an offer over the advertised rent, or more than the maximum rent in advance at the start of a tenancy.

Case study 3 — legal. A tenant pays the standard one month's rent in advance at the start of her tenancy. Three months later, after receiving a work bonus, she offers to prepay three months' rent to manage her budget. The property manager accepts. This is legal — the advance-rent limit only applied when the tenancy started; this was a mid-tenancy negotiation.

If you think rent bidding has happened

You can contact the RTA for advice, and request an investigation if you believe rent bidding has taken place — you can also report an advertised property that isn't shown at a fixed price, anonymously, through the RTA's online form. This is a separate process from the RTA's dispute resolution service covered in our guide to RTA dispute resolution and QCAT, since it's an investigation into a possible offence rather than a dispute between two parties.

If you're applying for a rental without an Australian rental history, our guide to renting in Brisbane with no rental history covers what a property manager can and can't ask you for on top of the price itself.

References

• RTA — Rent bidding
• Queensland Government — Rental law changes

This guide summarises rules published by the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) at the time of writing. Live in Brisbane is an independent project and is not affiliated with the RTA or the Queensland Government. For advice on your specific situation, contact the RTA directly on 1300 366 311 or visit rta.qld.gov.au.