What is a room-by-room tenancy?

A room-by-room tenancy is where a property has 5 tenants or fewer, and that the landlord does not live in the property. Each tenant only rents the room and has their own tenancy agreement with the landlord. Tenants share communal areas like living rooms, kitchens, and bathrooms.

The Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (the Act) generally covers the relationship between landlords and tenants, therefore the rights and responsibilities for landlords and tenants apply to room-by-room tenancy.

Landlords have responsibilities under the Act to respect the peace, comfort, and privacy of their tenants. Tenants must also respect the quiet enjoyment of other tenants and neighbours.

Room-by-room tenants have the right to quiet enjoyment. Landlords are responsible to ensure tenant’s do not interfere with the other tenant’s quiet enjoyment. If a tenant is interfering with another tenant’s quiet enjoyment, the affected tenant can issue a notice to remedy to the landlord. The tenant may apply to the Tenancy Tribunal if no action has been taken by the landlord.

Quiet enjoyment

14-Day notice to remedy

How is this different to other living arrangements?

A Room-by-room tenancy is different to private board, where the landlord or owner of the property lives in the property.

Room-by-room tenancy is different to boarding house tenancy, where the property is intended to have 6 tenants or more, and each boarding house tenancy is intended to last for at least 28 days.

Boarding house landlords and tenants are covered under the Act but have different rights and responsibilities to room-by-room landlords and tenants.

Boarding houses

It is also different to flatting, flatmates do not have a tenancy agreement with the landlord. Flatmates may however have a flatting agreement between themselves to outline their rights and responsibilities.

The Act does not cover private board or flatting arrangements.

Flatting

If your situation is not covered by the Act, you can choose to ‘contract in’ to and be covered by the Act if everyone agrees. You need to decide whether the whole Act or just certain sections will apply to your living arrangement and have it written in your flatting agreement.

Tips for room-by-room landlords and tenants

Be clear on rights and responsibilities

Be clear on your rights and responsibilities at the start of a room-by-room tenancy. These must be consistent with the Act and other agreements should be written into a tenancy agreement.

Rights and responsibilities

Charging for tenants’ usage of services

Landlords must pay for the costs of owning the house such as rates, insurances, and body corporate fees. They must also pay any bills for services shared by different room-by-room tenants and cover any costs that do not relate to an individual tenant’s usage. Tenants must pay the bills for services they use.

It can be hard to separate individual tenants’ usage of services such as power, water, and gas. Landlords may have to include these bills in the rent or provide a separate meter for each tenancy in the property.

Discuss and agree on how services are charged and write into the tenancy agreement or include these costs in the rent.

Utilities and other payments

Keeping property clean and tidy

Landlords are responsible for the maintenance of the premises and may choose to provide cleaning services covered by the rent. Tenants must keep their rooms reasonably clean and tidy and should also help keep communal areas clean and tidy for other tenants.

Respect other tenants

Landlords should take reasonable steps to make sure their tenants do not interfere with each other’s quiet enjoyment. Tenants should respect the peace, comfort, and privacy of other tenants.

Resolving disputes in room-by-room tenancy

If disputes arise between the room-by-room landlord and tenant, they can either self-resolve and use FastTrack Resolution to formalise any agreements reached between themselves, or they can apply for mediation or a Tenancy Tribunal hearing to settle the disputes

Disputes process

The Tenancy Tribunal only hears disputes between landlords and tenants, disputes between room-by-room tenants can be self-resolved or be settled at the Disputes Tribunal.
Disputes in private board and flatting arrangements should also go to the Disputes Tribunal, as these living arrangements are not covered by the Act.

Disputes Tribunal(external link) — disputestribunal.govt

If the incorrect agreement has been used for your living arrangement, for example, if a flatting arrangement was incorrectly used for a room-by-room tenancy when a tenancy agreement should have been used instead, you can still apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to settle any disputes.

If you are not sure what type of living arrangement you are in, and whether you are covered by the Act, you can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for a determination.

How to apply to the Tenancy Tribunal