New legislation to limit and better safeguard the personal information of renters and provide greater clarity and certainty for landlords, agents, and property platforms, has been introduced in the NSW Parliament.
The reforms will also require a mandatory disclosure when images in rental advertisements have been altered to conceal faults in order to mislead rental applicants.
The Residential Tenancies (Protection of Personal Information) Amendment Bill 2025 will stop the unnecessary collection of extra personal information and help reduce the risk of identity theft and data breaches for both tenants, property technology platforms and agents, establishing a more consistent and efficient process for all parties.
Around a third of people in NSW rent their homes and it's estimated around 187,000 pieces of identification information are collected from renters in NSW every week.
These reforms will address the excessive documentation and detail renters are currently being asked to provide when applying for a rental property such as personal photos, social media account details, relationship details, information about their children, and even the number of tattoos a prospective renter has.
The collection of such data also creates serious privacy, discrimination and security risks.
The proposed changes have been developed in close consultation with renters, landlords, agents, advocates and industry experts, including an Industry Reference Group convened by the NSW Rental Commissioner.
Key reforms include:
- A standard rental application form to make it clear what information can and can't be collected.
- Requiring disclosure of altered photographs in rental advertisements that could mislead renters, such as using artificially generated furniture that shows a double bed in a bedroom that is only large enough to fit a single, or digitally modifying photos to obscure property damage.
- Making sure renters know there is an embedded utility network at an advertised rental property, so they are upfront about any cost implications.
- Clear privacy rules for all landlords, agents, and rental platforms who handle personal information.
The legislation introduces penalties of up to $11,000 for individuals and $49,500 for corporations for agents and landlords who don't adhere to the privacy rules.
The penalties for non-disclosure of misleading altered photographs will be $5,500 for individuals and $22,000 for businesses.
Following the passage of the legislation, the Government will consult with stakeholders to finalise the standard application form and the types of documents that can be collected to assess a rental application and when those documents need to be destroyed.
The Residential Tenancies (Protection of Personal Information) Amendment Bill 2025 builds on recent reforms aimed at making the rental market fairer and more transparent, and delivers on the NSW Government's commitment under National Cabinet's A Better Deal for Renters.
For more information on renting, visit the NSW Fair Trading website: https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/housing-and-property/renting
Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading Anoulack Chanthivong said:
"Making renting fairer is one of the top priorities of the Minns Government.
"These reforms will stop unnecessary data collection, limit the risk of data breaches, and give everyone greater confidence in how privacy is safeguarded throughout the rental process.
"Renters are entitled to dignity and privacy when living in a rental property - and this extends to their personal information too."
NSW Rental Commissioner Trina Jones said:
"Cyber breaches and data theft are a major privacy risk to individuals and to the businesses that collect and hold that information.
"There's a cyber breach reported in Australia every six minutes.
"By setting clear rules for how renter data is handled, the Protection of Personal Information Bill doesn't just protect tenants, it reduces legal and reputational risk for landlords and agents too.
"This legislation will see sensible limits on what information can be collected in a rental application, creating a fairer and more consistent process, and gives rental applicants more control over their personal data.
"Renters shouldn't have to trade away their privacy just to find a place to live."
