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NSW’s rental taskforce has ramped up its crackdown on non-compliance, issuing nearly $240,000 in penalties in six months. REB has spoken with the NSW Minister for Fair Trading for the latest.
Since its establishment in February 2025, the NSW Rental Taskforce has recovered more than $166,000 in unlawful fees for more than 2,000 renters.
To enforce compliance the taskforce has issued more than 200 penalty notices totalling nearly $240,000, following 300 property inspections to verify compliance with minimum standards.
The taskforce has initiated more than 300 investigations in total, with over 80 currently ongoing.
From the investigations, three court proceedings have resulted in the successful prosecution of two people for rental bond fraud.
NSW Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading Anoulack Chanthivong said the actions taken by the Minns government have enabled a new era of stability and security for 2.3 million renters.
“This important work has shown renters that the government will act swiftly and effectively upon agents and landlords who seriously breach these new rental laws,” Chanthivong told REB.
To mark six months since the establishment of the taskforce, the group has also unveiled a new automated compliance monitoring tool to assist in the crackdown.
The tool, which began operating in July, detects illegal re-letting in near real-time, including a landlord entering into a new tenancy agreement during a re-letting exclusion period.
According to the watchdog, it utilises data matching to monitor over 950,000 rental properties across the state, cross-referencing landlord reports, listings, bond lodgements, and tenant complaints.
NSW Fair Trading said the tool supports the state government’s May rental reforms, which ended “no grounds” evictions by requiring landlords to have a valid reason to terminate a lease.
Within the first two months of use, the tool flagged 21 potential breaches of re-letting exclusion periods.
The possible breaches were escalated for further investigation, and 2,000 properties were added to a watchlist to be monitored on an ongoing basis.
Chanthivong said the new compliance tool has provided Fair Trading with real-time technology to prevent and act on breaches of the law, helping landlords and agents alike.
The tool targets high-risk cases while easing pressure on compliant landlords and agents, driving rental market transparency and accountability.
“With more people renting for longer in New South Wales than ever before, the challenges we are facing across the housing sector need strong, bold action,” he said.
“The Rental Taskforce, and the excellent results it has yielded in its first six months, shows that we are committed to delivering on the government’s commitment to build a fairer rental market.”
Additionally, NSW Fair Trading has taken further measures to protect renters, including mandatory landlord reporting at the end of a lease, end-of-tenancy surveys added to the bond claim process, and the launch of the Rent Check website in September 2024.
Education has also been a focus for the rental taskforce, boosting renters’ awareness of their rights and new laws from 33 per cent to 80 per cent.
NSW Fair Trading said that the state government has invested $8.4 million across four years to assist the taskforce’s crackdown.
NSW rental commissioner Trina Jones said the intelligence-led approach taken by the taskforce will streamline processes and ensure the highest-risk breaches are targeted effectively.
“With more than 2,200 properties under active monitoring and only 1.1 per cent requiring investigation, instruments like the re-letting tool mean as regulators we can have a greater focus on problem areas without burdening compliant landlords and agents,” Jones concluded.
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