Tasmania Tenancy Law Changes 2025–2026: What Landlords Need to Know

A Busy Two Years for Tasmania Tenancy Law

Between late 2025 and the end of 2026, three pieces of legislation commenced or were enacted that affect how landlords manage residential tenancies in Tasmania, and the regulator itself was restructured. The core termination notice periods under the Residential Tenancy Act 1997 remain unchanged. Rules for pets and primary-production exemptions have changed, and the safety-modification Act has been enacted with commencement by proclamation.

Here is every change that has taken effect, what is pending, and what is still just a policy proposal.

Residential Tenancy Amendment Regulations 2025 (S.R. 2025, No. 44)

Status: In force since 1 October 2025.

This amendment updated the Residential Tenancy Regulations 2025 (which themselves replaced the old 2015 regulations when they commenced on 22 April 2025). The key change for landlords:

Primary production tenancy exemption (Regulation 9): Residential premises on primary production land provided to employees under a primary production contract are exempt from Part 4 (termination provisions) of the Act, provided the employment contract specifies a minimum termination notice period of 21 days. If you are a farm owner housing a worker, this exemption means the standard s 42 termination grounds do not apply — but you must still give at least 21 days' notice as specified in the contract.

The regulation also preserved the police housing exemption (Regulation 10), which works similarly for residential premises provided to police officers.

Residential Tenancy Amendment (Pets) Act 2025 (Act 22 of 2025)

Status: Commenced 20 March 2026.

This Act gives tenants a statutory right to request permission to keep a pet. The process:

1. The tenant makes a written request to keep a pet
2. The landlord has 14 days to respond
3. If the landlord objects, the objection must be on one of the statutory grounds set out in the Act
4. If the landlord does not respond within 14 days, the tenant may keep the pet
5. If the tenant disputes the landlord's refusal, the matter can be referred to the Residential Tenancy Commissioner

What this means for termination: A landlord cannot issue a Notice to Vacate solely because a tenant requested a pet or acquired a pet through the statutory process. An unauthorised pet that bypassed the request process entirely could still constitute a lease breach — but the landlord should ensure the lease specifically prohibits pets without the statutory request process before relying on this ground.

The Pets Act does not change any notice period. It adds a new layer of procedure around pet requests and limits a landlord's grounds for refusal.

Residential Tenancy Amendment (Safety Modifications) Act 2025 (Act 16 of 2026)

Status: Royal Assent 11 September 2026. The Act commences on a day or days to be proclaimed; check Tasmanian Legislation Online for the commencement date before relying on these provisions.

Once commenced, this Act will permit tenants to install furniture-anchoring safety devices (such as wall brackets for bookcases or televisions) without the landlord's prior consent, provided the installation causes no permanent damage to the property.

If the modification is likely to cause permanent damage, the tenant must request consent before installing it, and the landlord has 14 days to respond. If the landlord does not respond within that period, consent is taken to have been given.

What this means for termination: Once the Act commences, a safety modification made in compliance with it is not a breach merely because it was installed without prior consent under s 54. The ordinary termination grounds and notice periods still apply.

Consumer Affairs Tasmania Replaces CBOS

Status: Transitioning from 1 October 2026.

Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS) has split into Consumer Affairs Tasmania (CAT) and Building Standards Tasmania. Residential tenancy regulation, plain-language guides, compliance forms and the Residential Tenancy Commissioner now sit under Consumer Affairs Tasmania.

For landlords, the practical change is administrative: forms and web resources are migrating from cbos.tas.gov.au to consumeraffairs.tas.gov.au. Legacy CBOS forms remain valid during the transition period. The phone number (1300 654 499) is unchanged.

What Has Not Changed

The core termination framework — s 42 grounds, s 44 notice requirements, service rules, the 42-to-60-day fixed-term window, the 14-day breach period, and the 28-day Magistrates Court filing window — remains in place. News coverage of "rental reforms" sometimes conflates enacted changes with policy proposals debated in Parliament, particularly around no-cause evictions and re-letting restrictions. As at October 2026, those proposals have not been enacted.

Landlords should ensure compliance with the law as currently in force, not with uncommenced reform proposals or ministerial press releases.

Staying Current

The Ending a Tenancy in Tasmania guide is dated to the rules it describes and distinguishes operative law from pending changes. It covers the termination grounds, notice requirements and Magistrates Court process under the current Act — including how the Pets Act and Safety Modifications Act interact with breach and termination grounds.

See more Tasmania guides →