The Rental Housing Act controls the relationship between landlords and tenants in the private rental sector. This act protects tenants from landlords for example, if they charge very high rentals for bad accommodation. It also protects landlords from tenants for example, tenant committees that hold back rent money or try to take over the running of buildings. It provides for mechanisms to resolve disputes, for the establishment of Rental Housing Tribunals and a system for building positive relationships between landlords and tenants. The Act applies to all written or verbal residential lease agreements entered into on or after 1 August 2000.

The Rental Housing Amendment (RHA) Act, 2007 was passed by parliament to address some administrative issues and implementation of the 1999 Act. One of the most important changes is the definition of “unfair practice.” An unfair practice is any act or omission by either a landlord or tenant that goes against the Act or the Unfair Practice Regulations. The new Unfair Practice Regulations are expected to come into force by early 2016.

The following is a brief list of some of the rights and duties of landlords and tenants. These are either already in the Act or will appear in the Unfair Practice Regulations when they are published.