Caseworkers & Legal Services
Many people move-out of home when studying at the Sydney Conservatorium for a plethora of reasons – moving city or country, independence, or more engagement with student life – but with all of them it can be quite a difficult and stressful time. Landlords and real-estate agents can try sketchy tactics due to frequent lack of knowledge from students about their rights and their typically young age.
We've put together a guide of resources and accomodation options available to students at the University of Sydney, to help you be more aware of your options.
What are the changes to NSW Rental Laws?
Last year, the New South Wales Parliament passed legislation to reform the rights of renters, and these came into effect on Monday 19 May 2025. These changes aim to create a fairer system for the state’s 2.3 million renters, including a significant number of students, seeing more stability and security when entering rental leases.
For up to date information on rental laws, and the rights and obligations of tenants, please visit the NSW Fair Trading website:
https://www.nsw.gov.au/housing-and-construction/renting-a-place-to-live
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End to no-grounds evictions
Landlords can no longer end a lease without a specific and valid reason, including:
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Overdue rent or other breaches by the tenant
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Sale or demolition of the property
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Significant renovations and repairs
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The landlord or family are moving in for longer than 6 months
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Change in use of the property (i.e. residential to commercial)
Landlords must still provide a termination date for the lease, with longer notice periods applying to some leases.
This helps renters feel comfortable making requests for urgent and other repairs, without reprimand from their landlord.
A fact sheet on evictions can be found here:
https://www.tenants.org.au/factsheet-eviction
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Pets in rentals
Landlords will only be allowed to deny pets for specific and valid reasons, such as:
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The landlord living at the property
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Failure to comply with local council laws
A standard application form and process has also been developed. If there is no response from the landlord within 21 days, approval to keep pets in the property will be automatic.
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Fee-free ways to pay rent
Landlords and real-estate agents must provide a fee-free method to pay rent (i.e. without transaction fee), that is convenient and modern (such as direct bank transfer). This is instead of one or the other.
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Removal of paid background checks
Landlords and real-estate agents can no longer ask prospective tenants to pay for a background check (i.e. if they wish to do one, it must come at no cost to the prospective tenant).
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Rent increases limited to once a year
Landlords can only increase rental payments once every 12 months, for all lease types (both fixed-term and periodic leases).​​
Current rights you have as a tenant
All your rights are covered under the Residential Tenancies Act 2010. In addition to the changes outlined above, these are the rest of the current rights renters are entitled to.
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Landlords must provide at least 60 days written notice before increasing rent
As well as only increasing rent one a year, landlords also must provide a written notice that they will increase the rent 60 days before the increase comes into effect.
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Landlords entering the property
A landlord or agent can only enter the property without the tenant’s consent or without giving notice in the following circumstances:
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An emergency,
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To carry out urgent repairs,
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Reasonable cause for serious concern about the health or safety of the tenant,
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Or if the landlord has reasonable belief that the premise has been abandoned.
A landlord or agent must receive verbal consent from the tenant to enter in any other circumstance.
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Repairs
Landlords must provide and maintain the premise in a reasonable state of repair. They must also reimburse the tenant for any urgent repairs that had to be carried out no later than 14 days after receiving notice from the tenant. This does not apply if the tenant has intentionally or negligently caused the damage.
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Security and safety
Landlords must provide each tenant with their own key or any other opening device or information. Either the landlord or the tenant may only alter, remove, or add a lock or other security device with the consent of the other party, and must provide the other party with a copy of the relevant key or information within 7 days.​