Form 18a: General tenancy agreement

Who sends or completes it?

The property manager or owner provides the written agreement for the parties to complete and sign.

When is it used?

Before or when a general tenancy starts.

Read the entire form, including its notes and timeframes. The correct next step can depend on your agreement type, the stated reason, how the document was delivered and what has already happened.

Confirm the people, premises and dates first

Form 18a is the standard general tenancy agreement for a house, unit, townhouse or similar property. Before signing, check every tenant and lessor name, the service addresses, the exact premises, inclusions, parking or storage areas, fixed-term dates and whether the agreement is periodic or fixed. A missing unit number or wrong tenant name can create problems later with notices and the bond.

Read the agreement in the order a dispute would be decided: parties, term, rent, bond, special terms, entry and condition. Ask for corrections in writing and keep the version you reviewed. Do not rely on an agent’s verbal promise that a clause will be ‘sorted out later’ if the promise affects rent, pets, repairs or access.

Check rent, bond and payment choices

Confirm the rent amount, due day, payment place or method and the bond amount. A managing party must offer at least two rent-payment options under current Queensland rules, including a reasonably available option that does not cost more than usual transaction costs. Ask for the complete fee and financial-benefit disclosure before choosing a platform.

Keep rent, bond, utilities and other charges labelled separately. Check the maximum rent-in-advance rules that apply to the agreement and ask how a part-payment will be receipted. The signed agreement should make it possible to identify what a transfer was meant to pay without guessing from the bank statement months later.

Read special terms and inclusions like a checklist

Special terms can address pets, water, pool care, garden work, smoke alarms, body-corporate rules, furnished items and access devices. Each term should be clear and consistent with Queensland tenancy law. Ask who supplies, maintains and pays for an inclusion. A statement that a renter must arrange every repair is not a substitute for the lessor’s statutory repair obligations.

Record anything promised but not yet supplied, such as a remote, appliance, curtain or repair. Add it to the entry report and send a separate request with a reasonable date. The agreement and the entry report work together; neither should be silently replaced by an informal text message.

Understand condition, entry and ending terms

The agreement does not remove the need for a Form 1a entry condition report. It also does not allow unlimited entry or change the notice rules for inspections, repairs, viewings and emergencies. Read the standard information and ask the agent to explain any extra term that appears to give broader access than the law allows.

Ending a fixed-term agreement, breaking a lease and moving at the printed end date are different situations. Check the current RTA Form 12 and Form 13 tables before committing to a date. If a special term says the tenant automatically pays an amount for leaving early, ask for the lawful basis and how any actual loss will be calculated.

Sign, receive the complete copy and record changes

Do not sign blank pages or an agreement that omits an attachment you have been told is part of the contract. Make sure every page and special term is included in the copy you receive. Store the signed agreement, bond acknowledgement, entry report and payment-method disclosure together.

If the parties later agree to change rent, occupants, pets, fixtures or the end date, put the change in writing and keep the original agreement. A new email may supplement the contract, but it should identify the exact clause or arrangement being changed. Ask for advice before signing a waiver of a statutory right.