Rent increase clause for an Australian residential lease

Sample clause

Written for residential tenancy agreement for a unit in Footscray, Victoria, let by a fictional owner through Westgate Rentals, a fictional agency.

Rent Increases. (a) The rent is $520 a week and does not change during the 12 month fixed term. (b) If the tenancy continues after the fixed term, the Rental Provider may increase the rent no more than once in any 12 month period, by giving the Renter a Notice of Rent Increase in the approved form at least 90 days before the increase starts. (c) The notice will state the new rent, the date it starts and how the increase was calculated. (d) The Renter may ask Consumer Affairs Victoria to inspect the property and assess the increase, and may apply to VCAT if it remains concerned that the increase is excessive. (e) Any rent increase not made in accordance with this clause and the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 is invalid.

Sample wording, not legal advice.

Variants

What to negotiate

• No clause, no increase during the term

  In Victoria, a rental provider cannot increase the rent during a fixed term unless the agreement allows it and says how the increase is calculated. Consumer Affairs Victoria gives examples of valid wording, such as a set dollar amount each year. A vague clause, such as rent may be reviewed, does not allow an increase.

• Frequency and notice

  Victoria allows increases no more than once every 12 months in most cases, with 90 days' notice on the approved form from 25 November 2025. New South Wales and Queensland also limit increases to once a year and set their own notice periods. A clause should say the law's minimum applies rather than restate figures that change.

• Challenging an excessive increase

  In Victoria, a renter who thinks an increase is above the market range can ask Consumer Affairs Victoria for a rent assessment, and then apply to VCAT. Other states have similar tribunal processes. The clause in the sample tells the renter so, which costs the landlord nothing and builds trust.

The risk of leaving it out

A lease with no rent increase clause leaves the rent fixed for the whole fixed term, which on a long lease can cost a landlord real money. A clause that does not follow the state's rules is worse for a landlord: the increase is invalid, the renter can recover the extra rent paid, and the landlord may face a penalty.

Victoria's rules

Consumer Affairs Victoria explains that a rental provider must give the renter a Notice of Rent Increase in the approved form, by the method agreed in the rental agreement, at least 90 days before the increase starts, a period that changed from 60 to 90 days from 25 November 2025. The rental provider must give information about how the increase was calculated, and in most cases rent cannot be increased more than once every 12 months. Law checked on 21 October 2026. This page explains how the law works and is not legal advice.

Other states

New South Wales and Queensland also cap increases at once in any 12 month period for most residential tenancies, and each state sets a notice period and a form or content for the notice. The rules have changed several times since 2023, so the notice section of a lease is best written as at least the notice required by law, with the state's regulator checked before each increase is sent. The residential lease example states that rent does not change during its 12 month fixed term.

Writing the notice

A rent increase notice states the current rent, the new rent, the date it starts and how it was calculated, and is given by the agreed method early enough to meet the notice period even with postal delays. The notice of rent increase example sets out the current and new rent, the notice period and how to dispute the increase, in plain language.

Where the clause sits in a generated document

Residential tenancy agreements and room rental agreements carry this clause beside the rent clause. When asking the AI document generator for one, say the state, the fixed term, whether rent changes during it and by what method, and that increases afterwards follow the state's notice and frequency rules.

Documents that carry this clause

Residential lease agreement template for a New South Wales fixed termA residential tenancy is the one agreement where most of the terms are set by statute rather than by the parties, so the useful part of a template is the additional terms and the numbers. This one is a 12 month New South Wales fixed term at $560 a week, with the bond, the entry notice periods and the break fee written out exactly as the Act sets them.Rent increase notice template with the new amount and 60 days noticeA rent increase notice template tells a tenant the new rent and the date it starts, in writing, with at least the notice the law requires. In New South Wales that is 60 days, the notice must state the new amount rather than only the increase, and rent can go up only once in 12 months, so the notice has to show all three.

Questions people ask