Thousands of NSW renters have been refunded almost $180,000 after being charged illegal fees by landlords, real estate agents and rental platforms.
The refunds follow a statewide crackdown on banned rent payment fees and background check charges introduced under the Minns Government’s rental reforms last year.
Investigations into thousands of rental matters over the past 12 months found more than 3,000 tenants were still being charged the fees despite the rules.
Here’s what to know.
Recent law reforms
Last year, the NSW Government passed major rental reforms aimed at strengthening protections for the state’s 2.3 million renters.
The changes included:
- Banning “no-grounds” evictions.
- Limiting rent increases to once a year.
- Preventing landlords from rejecting pets without a valid reason.
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- Ensuring renters have fee-free ways to pay rent.
- Banning charges for rental background checks.
Illegal fees
The NSW Government also established a dedicated Rental Taskforce within Fair Trading to investigate landlords and agents breaking the rules.
Over the past year, the Taskforce investigated almost 8,000 rental matters and uncovered thousands of illegal charges.
In one case, nearly 2,400 rental applicants were charged $19.95 each for background checks through an online rental platform.
Those renters have since been refunded more than $48,000, and the company was forced to remove the background check feature from its website.
Another agency was found to have issued more than 2,000 illegal dishonour fees to almost 800 tenants between July 2020 and April 2025, despite late payment penalties being banned in NSW.
The investigation resulted in tenants being refunded more than $124,000, including one renter who was charged nearly $2,400 in fees.
