Minimum Housing Standards QLD: The Full Landlord Checklist

If you own a Queensland rental, the minimum housing standards are not a guideline. They are enforceable, they apply for the whole tenancy and not just at move in, and a tenant can lodge a repair order against you if you miss one.

They applied to new tenancies from 1 September 2023 and to all tenancies from 1 September 2024. So there is no grandfathering left. Every general tenancy in the state is covered right now.

Here is the full checklist, plus the two items that generate the most arguments: window coverings and fly screens.

What are the minimum housing standards in Queensland?

A rental property must:

• Be weatherproof and structurally sound
• Be in good repair, with fixtures and fittings that are not likely to cause injury
• Have functioning locks or latches on all external doors and windows that can be reached without a ladder
• Be free from vermin, damp and mould, unless the tenant caused it
• Have window coverings that provide privacy in rooms where a tenant would reasonably expect it, such as bedrooms
• Have adequate plumbing and drainage, and be connected to hot and cold water suitable for drinking
• Provide privacy in the bathroom, with a flushable toilet connected to a sewer, septic tank or other waste disposal system
• Have a functioning cook top, if a kitchen is provided
• Have the necessary fixtures for a functional laundry, such as tap fixtures and adequate plumbing, if laundry facilities are provided

Two things worth noting. The kitchen and laundry items only bite if those facilities are provided – the standards do not force you to install a laundry that was never there. And the standards apply throughout the tenancy, so a lock that breaks in month eight is your problem, not a pre-existing condition argument.

When did the minimum housing standards start in QLD?

• 1 September 2023 for new tenancy agreements and renewals
• 1 September 2024 for all remaining tenancies

If you are searching for the 2023 rules or the 2024 rules, they are the same standards. Only the commencement date differed depending on when the agreement started.

What are the window covering rules under the minimum housing standards?

This is the item that generates the most disputes, because the wording is a privacy test rather than a product specification.

The standard requires window coverings that provide privacy in rooms where a tenant would reasonably expect privacy. Bedrooms are the obvious case. A bathroom with frosted glass may already satisfy it. A living room facing a blank fence line is a harder argument than a living room facing a footpath.

What it does not do is prescribe blinds over curtains, or a particular quality. If the covering delivers privacy, it complies. If a tenant can be seen from the street in their bedroom, it does not.

Do rental properties need fly screens in Queensland?

Fly screens are not a minimum housing standard in their own right. There is no line item requiring them.

Where they matter is indirectly. If a window has a screen, it forms part of the fixtures and fittings that must be in good repair and not likely to cause injury. A torn screen hanging off a second storey window is a repair issue. A window that never had a screen is not automatically a breach.

The same logic catches security screens: not required, but once fitted they have to work and they must not obstruct the functioning locks requirement.

Do windows need locks under the minimum housing standards?

Yes, where they can be reached without a ladder. The standard is functioning locks or latches on all external doors and windows that are accessible without a ladder.

A latch counts. It does not have to be a keyed deadlock. But it has to work, and “it sticks” is not working.

What happens if a rental does not meet the minimum housing standards?

The tenant can issue a notice to remedy breach. If you do not fix it, they can apply to QCAT for a repair order. For anything that falls within the emergency repairs definition, they can arrange the work themselves and recover the cost from you up to the statutory limit.

The practical exposure is not usually a fine. It is a QCAT order, a rent reduction, or a tenant with a documented breach history who is very hard to remove.

Do the minimum housing standards apply when you sell the property?

Not directly. The standards are a tenancy obligation, not a sale obligation, and there is no minimum housing standards disclosure in the contract.

They matter to a sale in two other ways. If you are selling with a tenant in place, the buyer inherits the tenancy and every outstanding obligation with it, so an unremedied breach becomes their problem on settlement. And if there is a live notice to remedy breach or a QCAT repair order, that is something a buyer will want to know about before they go unconditional.

If you are buying a tenanted investment property, ask for the tenancy file, not just the lease. Smoke alarm compliance, any notices to remedy and the condition report tell you more about your first six months than the rental figure does.

Minimum housing standards checklist for landlords

Run this before every new tenancy and at every routine inspection:

• Roof, windows and external walls keep water out
• No structural movement, rot or unsafe decking and stairs
• Every external door and reachable window has a working lock or latch
• No active mould, damp or vermin
• Bedrooms have working privacy coverings
• Bathroom is private and the toilet flushes to an approved system
• Hot and cold water connected, drinkable, and drains run
• Cook top works, if there is a kitchen
• Laundry taps and plumbing work, if there is a laundry
• Fixtures and fittings are in good repair and nothing is likely to injure someone
• Smoke alarms are interconnected and photoelectric

The last one is not part of the minimum housing standards, but it is the other obligation that lands on the same property at the same time, so check it in the same pass.

The traps we see

• Treating the standards as a move in checklist. They apply for the whole tenancy.
• Assuming an older property is exempt. There is no age exemption and no grandfathering after 1 September 2024.
• Arguing about fly screens. They are not required, but a broken one is a repair.
• Buying a tenanted property without reading the tenancy file. You inherit the breaches, not just the rent.
• Confusing this with the smoke alarm rules. Different legislation, different deadlines, same inspection.

Talk to Empire Legal before you buy a tenanted investment property. The tenancy you inherit is a legal position, not just an income stream.

This article is general information only and is current at 8 August 2026. It is not legal advice and does not take your circumstances into account.

Thank you very much and we’ll see you guys next week.

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Ladies and gentlemen, please keep in mind that all advice is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. This is authorised by George Sourris, Empire Legal, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

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