Maximum Rental Bond in Queensland: How Much Can a Landlord Charge?

Queensland used to let landlords charge unlimited bond on properties renting above $700 per week. That high-rent exception was abolished on 30 September 2024, and a four-week cap now applies to general tenancies. Other residential tenancy categories have different limits.

If you're a private landlord working out how much bond to charge — or worrying that an older bond exceeds the current cap — here's exactly what the law says.

The Four-Week Cap

Under Sections 111 and 112 of the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (RTRA Act), the maximum rental bond for a general tenancy is four weeks' rent. This applies regardless of the weekly rent amount or suburb.

The calculation is straightforward: multiply the agreed weekly rent by four. If the rent is $550 per week, the maximum bond is $2,200. No rounding, no extras.

Caps for Other Tenancy Types

Not every tenancy uses the four-week formula:

• Rooming accommodation (boarding houses, commercial hostels, off-campus student housing): four weeks' rent
• Moveable dwelling tenancies (standard): two weeks' rent
• Long moveable dwelling tenancies where electricity supplied to the premises is individually metered and billed in the lessor's name: three weeks' rent
• Subsidised employer accommodation: the greater of $400 or four weeks' rent

Pet Bonds, Key Deposits, and Other "Extras" Are Included

This is where landlords commonly trip up. The RTRA Act defines a "rental bond" as any security deposit paid by the tenant to secure performance under the agreement, regardless of what you call it. For a general tenancy, pet bonds, key deposits, cleaning fees, security card deposits, and linen deposits all count toward the four-week total.

You cannot split the security into separate categories to exceed the cap. If you charge $2,200 in "bond" plus a $300 "pet deposit," you've collected $2,500 against a $2,200 cap — and you've committed an offence.

Demanding or accepting excess bond is an offence under Section 146, carrying a maximum penalty of 20 penalty units ($3,454 at the 2026–27 rate).

What About Existing Bonds Over the Cap?

If you collected a bond above four weeks' rent before 30 September 2024 under the old high-rent exception, that bond still sits with the RTA. But when the lease renews, the tenant can use Form 4b (Excess Bond Refund) to claim back the amount exceeding four weeks' rent at the current rental rate.

You don't need to proactively refund the excess — the tenant initiates the Form 4b process. But be aware that any tenant who knows about this right can trigger it at renewal.

Rent in Advance Is Separate

Bond and rent in advance are different payments with different caps. For general tenancies, you can require up to two weeks' rent in advance (or one month if the payment cycle is monthly). For rooming accommodation, the limit is two weeks.

These advance rent payments don't count toward the four-week bond cap — but you can't disguise extra security deposits as rent in advance either.

The Rental Bidding Ban

Since the same 2024 reforms, Section 57AA prohibits landlords and agents from soliciting, inviting, or encouraging prospective tenants to offer rent above the advertised price. You can't advertise a price range or accept competitive bids. A prospective tenant may voluntarily offer more than the asking rent, but you cannot create a bidding environment.

This matters for bond calculations because a higher agreed rent means a higher allowable bond. The law prevents you from artificially inflating rent through competitive bidding to extract a larger bond.

Get the Full Bond Compliance System

Knowing the cap is step one. The Queensland Rental Bond Guide covers the entire bond lifecycle — lodgement deadlines, receipt requirements, top-up rules when rent increases, end-of-tenancy claims, and the 14-day evidence rule — with every form and penalty unit current to the 2024–2025 reforms.

See more Queensland guides →