Private Lease Agreement NSW
What you need to do as a landlord in NSW and how to protect yourself before and after signing with a tenant
Before approving a tenant or signing a NSW private lease agreement:
- Do a thorough check on the tenant (you can arrange this through us).
- Phone/check all the tenant’s references – they will be asked to supply details of their current employer, current landlord, and personal references on our tenancy application.
- Physically sight or take copies of proof of identification, proof of income, proof of address, and proof of rental history (e.g. lease agreement, written reference, or tenant ledger).
When you know you want to approve a tenant:
- Your first step will be signing a private lease agreement. Meet to sign a Residential Tenancy Agreement form (available here and information available here). At this time, you should also supply them with the Tenant Information Statement (available here).
- Complete a property condition report before the tenant moves in, and give them two copies (or one electronic copy) before or when they sign the tenancy agreement. Keep one copy for yourself. Your tenant then has 7 days after moving in to return their completed copy. Where possible, it can help to minimise disagreements if you complete this with the tenant. You can read information about property condition reports here and download a sample here.
- Request a bond of 4 weeks rent. When you receive it, make sure you give the tenant a receipt and have them sign a Bond Lodgement Form, if they choose the paper option. Important. You must be registered with Rental Bonds Online and offer it to new tenants as the first option for lodging their bond. To register, complete the Rental Bonds Online landlord or owner proof of identity and registration form and take it, with your original identity documents, to any Service NSW Centre. You cannot require a tenant to use Rental Bonds Online, and landlords who do can be fined $2,200. Rental Bonds Online is Fair Trading’s secure online service for lodging, managing and refunding bond money.
- Lodge the bond with Fair Trading within 10 working days. You can either post or take it to a Service NSW service centre. To cover damage, if the tenant breaks the lease or stops paying rent, you can apply for release of monies to you. Find more information about bonds and bond lodgement here. If the tenant uses Rental Bonds Online they pay Fair Trading directly and you finalise the bond in the portal, so there is nothing for you to post. Register at Fair Trading NSW.
During the tenancy:
- Conduct routine inspections of the property up to 4 times a year and with 7 days written notice each time.
- Make sure you document any occurrences, (e.g. copies of any letters/receipts you send to tenant, photos of any damage etc.), just in case there’s a dispute in future.
Other recommendations:
We strongly recommend completing National Tenancy Database/TICA blacklist checks before approving any tenant (you can arrange this through PropertyNow).
As well as checking tenancy blacklists, you should consider checking the ACCR criminal court attendance database here. You can also order full police background checks through PropertyNow, if you wish.
Most importantly, we recommend taking out Landlords Insurance – this covers you for theft, malicious damage, or loss of rent if the tenant stops paying. There are many different providers so make sure to shop around. Here’s two to get you started:
We also strongly recommend reading Fair Trading NSW’s Renting a Home guide.