Bond Top-Up After a Rent Increase in Queensland: Rules and Timing

You've increased the rent and now the bond sitting with the RTA is less than four weeks of the new weekly rate. Can you ask the tenant to top it up? Yes — but only if you meet three strict statutory conditions, and getting any one of them wrong is an offence.

Bond top-ups in Queensland are governed by Section 154 of the RTRA Act, and the rules are tighter than most landlords expect.

The Three Conditions for a Valid Bond Top-Up

All three must be satisfied simultaneously:

1. The 11-month waiting period has passed. At least 11 months must have elapsed since either the tenancy started or the last bond increase — whichever is more recent. You cannot request a top-up in the first 11 months of a tenancy, even if you've validly increased the rent.

2. You've given one month's written notice. The notice must specify the exact top-up amount required and set a due date at least one month after delivery. A verbal request does not satisfy the written-notice requirement.

3. The total bond stays within the four-week cap. The existing bond plus the top-up amount cannot exceed four weeks of the newly increased rent. If the math pushes you over the cap, you've committed an offence under Section 146.

The Property-Linked Rent Frequency Rule

There's a fourth constraint that indirectly governs bond top-ups. Under Section 57B of the RTRA Act, rent increases are limited to once every 12 months, and the 12-month clock is tied to the property — not the tenancy or the tenant.

This means if the previous tenancy ended three months ago and the rent was increased then, you can't increase the rent (or request a bond top-up tied to a rent increase) for another nine months, even with a new tenant.

Every tenancy agreement must state the date of the last rent increase for the property. If you can't show a valid 12-month rent increase, a bond top-up linked to that increase has no legal basis.

How to Calculate the Top-Up Amount

The formula is simple: (new weekly rent × 4) minus the current bond held by the RTA.

If the rent was $500/week with a $2,000 bond, and you've validly increased the rent to $530/week, the new maximum bond is $2,120. The top-up amount is $120.

Lodge the top-up with the RTA within 10 days of receiving it, using the same Bond Number from the original lodgement. You can use RTA Web Services or Form 2.

Common Top-Up Mistakes

The most frequent errors landlords make:

• Requesting a top-up mid-lease without a rent increase — a bond top-up is only valid when tied to a lawful rent increase
• Demanding the top-up before 11 months — tenant forums track this rule closely and tenants will refuse
• Forgetting to give one month's written notice — oral demands are unenforceable
• Not checking the property rent history — if the previous owner or tenant received a rent increase less than 12 months ago, the property-linked rule blocks your increase and any tied top-up

What If the Tenant Refuses?

If the tenant refuses a top-up, verify that the rent increase and written notice meet the statutory conditions before taking further action. An invalid top-up request gives the tenant grounds to refuse.

Get the Complete Bond Management System

Bond top-ups are one of the trickiest parts of mid-tenancy bond management. The Queensland Rental Bond Guide includes a compliance calendar that maps rent increase notices against bond top-up eligibility windows, plus the forms and notice templates you need to get it right the first time.

See more Queensland guides →