Housing & Renting

This private member's bill proposed a two-year freeze on all residential rents in Queensland at August 2022 levels, with ongoing caps of 2% every two years thereafter. It responded to record rent increases (over 20% annually in Brisbane) and near-zero vacancy rates across the state. Note: This bill was discharged and did not become law.

This bill modernises Queensland's building and construction laws across multiple areas. It clarifies homeowners' rights to install solar panels without aesthetic restrictions, expands greywater use in large buildings, strengthens QBCC's regulatory powers, and updates security of payment protections for subcontractors.

This bill supports two housing reforms: enabling the Homes for Homes charitable donation scheme to operate in Queensland, and improving financial transparency in retirement villages. Homes for Homes allows property owners to voluntarily donate a small percentage of their sale price to fund social housing, while the retirement village changes give residents better access to financial information about how their fees are spent.

This bill proposed an Empty Homes Levy to tackle Queensland's housing crisis by taxing vacant residential properties and undeveloped land at 5% of their capital improved value annually. Modelled on Vancouver's successful empty homes tax, it aimed to push an estimated 20,600 vacant homes back onto the rental market. This bill was discharged and did not become law.

This bill reforms Queensland's body corporate laws in several significant ways. It creates a new process for terminating ageing or uneconomic apartment and unit schemes with 75% owner support, protecting dissenting owners with fair compensation. It restricts developers from using sunset clauses to cancel 'off the plan' contracts, and modernises everyday rules around smoking, pets and parking in strata schemes.

This bill implements 2025-26 State Budget measures and makes technical amendments across multiple areas. It extends financial support for first home buyers and employers of apprentices, creates backup tax mechanisms to protect foreign property surcharge revenue, clarifies penalty enforcement rules, validates an electricity authority transfer, and reforms how parliamentary Estimates hearings are chaired.

This bill replaces Queensland's 50-year-old Property Law Act with modernised legislation that makes property transactions clearer and safer. It introduces a mandatory seller disclosure scheme so buyers receive standardised information before signing contracts, supports electronic conveyancing, and protects parties when settlement is disrupted by emergencies or system failures.

This bill establishes Queensland's legal framework for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. It protects renters and small businesses from eviction, allows Parliament and courts to operate remotely, and enables documents like wills to be witnessed via video link.

This bill improves protections for owners in older unit and townhouse developments established before 1997, bringing their governance rules closer to modern strata legislation. It also enables enforcement of gift card consumer protections.

This bill makes major reforms to Queensland's rental laws to strengthen tenant protections in a tight housing market. It bans rent bidding, applies the 12-month rent increase limit to properties rather than individual tenancies, caps break-lease fees, requires evidence for bond claims, and protects tenant privacy. The bill also requires property agents to complete mandatory annual training and allows local government employees to reduce their superannuation contributions.

This bill reforms the law governing manufactured homes in residential parks to protect home owners—mostly seniors—from unaffordable rent increases and difficulty selling their homes. It caps rent increases at CPI or 3.5%, bans market rent reviews, and requires park owners to buy back homes that cannot be sold within 18 months.

This bill reforms Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) to help address Queensland's housing supply shortage. It gives EDQ expanded powers to deliver social and affordable housing, creates new 'Place Renewal Areas' for coordinated urban renewal, grants compulsory land acquisition powers, and restructures EDQ as an independent statutory body with its own board and CEO.

This bill allows the Commonwealth's Help to Buy shared equity scheme to operate in Queensland by referring the necessary legislative power to the federal Parliament. Queensland is the first state to pass this legislation, enabling eligible Queenslanders to access government assistance to buy their first home with just a 2% deposit.

This bill delivers major reforms to Queensland's rental laws and retirement village regulations. It ends 'without grounds' evictions, introduces minimum housing standards for rental properties, strengthens protections for people experiencing domestic violence, creates a framework for tenants to keep pets, and exempts resident-operated retirement villages from mandatory buyback requirements.

This bill modernises Queensland's fine enforcement system by centralising management of camera-detected offences under a single agency, while also securing rental bonds with a government guarantee and reducing land tax for Special Disability Trusts.

This bill would have removed state-imposed caps on infrastructure charges that local governments can levy on property developers. It lapsed at the end of the 57th Parliament and did not become law. The bill was introduced by a Greens MP and aimed to give councils more flexibility to charge developers for the true cost of providing infrastructure like parks, footpaths, and flood mitigation.

This bill strengthens consumer protections for Queenslanders buying motor vehicles and improves the efficiency of the state's civil tribunal (QCAT). It raises the tribunal's limit for motor vehicle disputes from $25,000 to $100,000 and reinstates warranty protections for older used vehicles that were removed in 2014.

This bill implements 2023-24 State Budget revenue measures affecting land tax, stamp duty, and payroll tax. It creates major tax concessions for build-to-rent housing developments that include affordable housing, extends payroll tax relief for regional employers and apprentice wages, and simplifies land tax administration for homeowners.

This bill implements several 2017-18 state budget measures and election commitments affecting property duty, vehicle registration, first home buyer grants, land tax, payroll tax, and mining royalties. It increases taxes on foreign property buyers and luxury vehicles while extending benefits for first home buyers and employers of apprentices.

This bill delivers on three 2024 Queensland election promises. It abolishes stamp duty for first home buyers purchasing new homes from May 2025, lets home buyers rent out rooms without losing their duty concession, and exempts medical practices from payroll tax on GP wages.

This bill implements 2024-25 State Budget measures to help first home buyers and increase taxes on foreign property investors. It raises stamp duty concession thresholds, doubles the First Home Owner Grant to $30,000, increases land tax surcharges for absentees and foreign entities, and extends payroll tax rebates for apprentice wages.

This bill reforms Queensland's planning laws to speed up housing delivery. It gives the State new powers to fast-track priority developments like affordable housing, acquire land for critical infrastructure, and create 'holding zones' for future growth areas. It also validates past development approvals that were called into question by a court ruling.