Rent, water and utility arrears

Paying rent

You must pay the rent in your tenancy agreement on or before the day it is due. You must do this even if you have a problem with something else, like a repairs issue.

Your landlord can ask you to pay up to two weeks’ rent in advance. You don’t have to pay more than this, but you can if you want to.

To help you understand how much rent you need to pay each week, fortnight and month, see the Rent Converter calculator on the Tenants Union of NSW website.

Your landlord must allow you to pay rent by:

• Centrepay, or
• bank transfer.

Your landlord can’t charge you fees for paying rent this way.

If you rent through a social housing provider, you may be offered a Rent Deduction Scheme method instead of Centrepay. For more information, see Payment options for public housing tenants on the NSW Government website. 

Your landlord can offer you other ways to pay rent and may charge you fees if use them.

You and your landlord must agree to change the way you pay rent.

Your landlord must give you a receipt once you have paid rent. They must keep a record of the rent you have paid during your tenancy (rental) agreement. This is often called a rent ledger. If you ask for a copy they must give you a copy of their records within seven days. You should keep your own records of the rent you have paid, and copies of all receipts that you receive.

For more information, see the factsheet Rent payment on the Tenant’s Union of NSW website.

Rent increases

If your landlord wants to increase your rent, there are rules they must follow about:

• how much notice they give you
• giving you written notice
• how long they must wait to increase your rent after you move into the property
• the limit on frequency of increases.

If your landlord increases your rent, they can’t ask you to pay more bond.

Minimum notice

Your landlord must tell you in writing at least 60 days before they increase your rent. The notice must tell you the increased rent and the date that it starts.

If your landlord posts the notice, they must add seven days to the start date for delivery. The minimum notice would then be 67 days.

This applies to all types of agreements – periodic and fixed-term agreements, and renewals of fixed-term agreements.

If your landlord doesn’t give you the minimum amount of notice or written notice, you don’t have to pay the increased amount.

You should:

• continue to pay the same amount, and
• write to your landlord to tell them why the rent increase notice is not valid.

If your landlord still wants to increase the rent, they must give you a new valid notice.

Limit on rent increases

Your landlord can’t increase your rent:

• within the first year after you move into your rental property
• more than once per year.

This applies to all periodic agreements and most fixed-term agreements.

If your landlord tries to increase your rent in your first year, or more than once in a year, you don’t have to pay the increased amount.

You should:

• continue to pay the same amount, and
• write to your landlord to tell them why the rent increase notice is not valid.

If your landlord still wants to increase the rent, they must give you a new valid notice.

If you don’t agree with the rent increase, you should write to your landlord explaining why you think your rent:

• should not be increased, or
• increased by a smaller amount – if you think it is excessive.

If you and your landlord reach an agreement, the rent increase can be cancelled or reduced. Your landlord must give you a new written notice of the cancellation or reduced increase.

If you can’t reach an agreement, you may be able to apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) for an order that the increased rent is excessive.

For more information, see the factsheet Rent increases on the Tenants Union of NSW website.

Failure to pay rent

If you don’t pay your rent by the due date, you are breaching your tenancy agreement. Being behind on your rent is called being in arrears. If you want to stay in the property, you need to pay your arrears as soon as possible. 

If you can’t do this immediately, you should speak to your landlord to explain your circumstances and make a payment plan. 

The Tenants Union of NSW website has a Sample letter: Offer to pay rent arrears you can use for this. 

If you and your landlord reach an agreement, you should get it in writing. 

For more information, see Repayment Plan Agreement on the Tenants Union of NSW website.

Termination notice

Your landlord can give you a termination notice if you haven’t paid rent for at least 14 days. 

You may not have to leave the property if you:

• pay all of the rental arrears (including two weeks rent in advance), or 
• make a repayment plan with the landlord or agent. 

If you don’t pay the arrears, your landlord might apply to NCAT for an order ending your tenancy.

For more information, see Eviction.

Paying water and utilities

Your landlord is responsible for paying:

• rates, taxes or other charges for the property
• the installation costs to connect water and utilities (electricity, gas, or oil) to your rental property
• the costs of supplying or hiring gas bottles at the beginning of your tenancy
• all utilities at the property
• fixed water service, sewerage and drainage service charges
• all water charges if the property isn’t separately metered, including water usage.

If your landlord doesn’t pay the expenses they are supposed to pay, you should talk to them as soon as possible.

If the supplier is threatening disconnect your water, you should talk to your landlord urgently. You should also talk to the supplier urgently and explain your situation.

For more information, see the factsheet Utilities – water, energy, internet on the Tenant’s Union of NSW website.

Water usage

You are responsible for paying the water usage charges for your rental property if:

• the property is separately metered – from other properties and other peoples water usage
• you are given a copy of the bill within three months of it being issued
• your landlord gives you at least 21 days to pay.

You don’t have to pay if these conditions aren’t met.

Utilities

You are responsible for paying for:

• the costs of setting up utility accounts
• the utilities that you use – electricity, gas, oil, internet, phone and television.

You don’t have to pay:

• utilities if your property isn’t separately metered – from other properties and other people’s utilities
• natural gas service charges if the property doesn’t have gas appliances and you don’t use gas at the property.

Your landlord can’t tell you what utility provider you must use, unless they must use a specific utility provider for the property. If you have existing accounts, you may be able to transfer them to your new rental property to save money.

If you believe your utility bill is too high, you should contact the provider.

Overdue water and utilities

If you have overdue water or utilities, it is important that you talk to your service provider about your situation. You may be able to negotiate a payment plan or apply for other relief.

If you have been impacted by domestic or family violence and have problems with your bills, you should talk to your service provider. Most energy, water and phone providers have specific domestic violence policies to help people experiencing domestic violence.

Don’t ignore overdue bills. If you do, your service provider may take legal action against you to recover the money you owe.

For more information, see Electricity, gas, water and phone bills.

Termination notice

Your landlord can give you a termination notice if you haven’t paid water or utilities for at least 14 days. 

You may not have to leave the property if you:

• pay all of the rental arrears, or
• make a repayment plan with the landlord or agent. 

If you don’t pay the arrears, your landlord might apply to NCAT for an order ending your tenancy.

For more information, see Eviction.

Dealing with financial stress

If you are experiencing financial stress, you should speak to a financial counsellor.

If you have, or are experiencing domestic violence, there are specialist financial counsellors that can help you deal with debt, financial hardship, Centrelink and managing your money.

If you are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, you can call Mob Strong Debt Help to speak to a First Nations financial counsellor. 

For information and tools to help you manage your finances, see:

• Managing your money on the Services Australia website, and
• the moneysmart website.

Last updated: April 2026