Whether you want to live in a unit, house, townhouse or share accommodation, we help you choose a suburb, find a new home and learn about leases.
Searching for a place to live
Search for a rental property in Brisbane. The listings also give you the times a property is open for inspection and includes holiday rental listings. In many areas of Brisbane at the moment, there is a high demand for rental accommodation and weekly rents are increasing.
One helpful guide is to look at the median (meaning average) rents for suburbs in Brisbane. The Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) has the statistics on weekly median rents for units and houses for areas of Brisbane, as well as specific suburbs.
The top five suburbs people want to know more about on ourbrisbane.com are:
Or, take a look at Brisbane suburbs online for other areas. Here you can find maps, community facilities, transport options plus all sorts of statistics which could help in your rental search.
Saving to buy your own home?
Visit X Inc’s great budget planner and savings plan simulator to make sure you get there. Also find out the minimum deposit required to buy a house.
Short term accommodation
Need some short-term accommodation before you find the perfect place to rent?
Find serviced apartments in Brisbane. You can live in them for a few weeks to a few months and many are large enough for families that are relocating.
How to rent in Brisbane
Most people use the services of a real estate agent when renting a home. Use the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) site for more infomation.
When you rent anywhere in Brisbane you need to sign a lease and become a tenant. The law controlling this is the Residential Tenancies Act 1994.
The Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) provide a lot of information to tenants and lessors about what they can and can’t do with a rental property.
They give easy-to-read guidelines about:
- Entering a lease
- What you can do during the tenancy and
- How to end the lease
The RTA also publishes fact sheets and has information about the confusing topic of rental bonds. Plus they provide all the relevant forms for tenants and landlords online.
Tip: Marg from Runcorn says ‘I’ve learnt the importance of being very thorough when doing the entry condition report when I move into a place. To complement the written report I usually take photos of each item listed. It makes it heaps easier to prove marks/damage were there when you moved in - so you get your bond back!’
Rental help
The Tenants’ Union Queensland can give you advice on your rights and responsibilities. They also operate a statewide telephone advice service, call (07) 3257 1108 or 1800 177 761 Monday to Friday 9am – 4pm.
The Tenant Advice & Advocacy Service (TAAS) is a free service for tenants and prospective tenants to assist with advice, advocacy and housing information. It is predominantly funded through the interest on tenants’ bonds held by the Residential Tenancies Authority. There are several Brisbane TAAS offices:
Inner northern suburbs – call (07) 3358 3951
Inner southern suburbs – call (07) 3844 9814
Outer northern suburbs (three offices) –
- Zillmere – call (07) 3863 2721
- Stafford – call (07) 3857 8686
- Morayfield – call (07) 5428 6011
Outer southern suburbs – call (07) 3222 7583
Woodridge/Logan – call (07) 3826 1598
The Department of Housing can provide some assistance to renters with financial problems. The Department can help with public housing, rental grants, bond loans and more.
Student and share accommodation
Each university, Griffith, QUT and University of Queensland (UQ) provides help to students looking for a place to live. Griffith and UQ have on-campus accommodation but there are plenty of alternatives too, like share accommodation.
Find a flatmate or list your place.
Late January is the peak rental period so it is best to get in a little earlier, if possible.
If you want share accommodation, either to rent a room or find a flatmate, search the share accommodation listings.
If you are in a share household, there are some legalities to consider and different classifications of tenants. You can be a co-tenant, head tenant or sub tenant. To understand these terms and their responsibilities, read the share house information supplied by the RTA.
Be informed about how to handle bonds in share houses too.
Tip: Lisa in Albion says ‘Make sure your contents insurance is amended if you have flatmates, otherwise your insurance agency won't cover you if you make a claim.’
If you live in a boarding house, hostel or privately-run student accommodation, your rights and responsibilities are covered by the Residential Services (Accommodations) Act 2004. The Tenants’ Union can help with more information in this area.
