What would my granny flat rent for?
Type your postcode. You get the median weekly rent new tenants paid for comparable flats there last quarter, what that comes to in a year, and a simple yield against your build cost.
Start with what tenants pay, not what a brochure says
Every rental bond in Queensland is lodged with the Residential Tenancies Authority, the RTA. Each quarter it takes the new bonds and publishes the median weekly rent by postcode, by type of home and by bedrooms. That makes it the most honest public number there is for what a place like yours lets for, because it's what new tenants signed up to pay, not what someone hoped to get.
A granny flat is usually a 1 or 2 bedroom self-contained home, so this calculator compares it with 1 and 2 bedroom flats and units in your postcode, and with 2 bedroom houses where the RTA publishes that figure. The data covers South East Queensland postcodes from the June quarter 2026 release, and it shows how many new bonds sit behind each number so you can see how solid it is. A postcode with ten bonds is a rougher guide than one with two hundred.
A median is the middle of the pack. Half the new tenancies were above it and half below. A flat with its own entry, parking and a bit of yard tends to sit above it. One that shares your driveway and looks at your bins sits lower. It's a starting point for your numbers, not a valuation, and a local property manager can appraise the real thing.
Add your total build cost, home plus install, and you'll see a gross yield: a year of rent divided by what you spent. Gross means before rates, insurance, repairs, any vacancy and tax. Renting it out also brings tenancy rules, council rules and tax, and our renting guide covers each one.
Type a postcode
- A median is not a valuation. Ask a local property manager to appraise yours.
- Check your council's rules and your approval before you rent it out: what still applies.
- Rent is taxable and can cost you part of the main residence exemption: what the ATO says.
Source: RTA median rents quarterly data, June quarter 2026, median weekly rent of new tenancies.
Build it to rent well
- Its own entry and a bit of private outdoor space. Tenants pay for not feeling like they live in your backyard.
- Separate meters, decided before the footings go in. The RTA only lets you charge for water when the flat is individually metered and water efficient.
- Interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms, which every Queensland rental needs.
- Parking that doesn't block the main house.
The full list, with sources, is in renting out a granny flat in Queensland.
About the data
The figures are the RTA's postcode medians for the June quarter 2026, the latest quarter in its bond statistics workbook when we built this page in October 2026. The RTA describes them as the median value of weekly rent paid for new tenancies commencing in each quarter. Where a postcode had no published figure that quarter, the calculator uses the most recent quarter in the last year that had one and says which. Where the RTA publishes nothing for a postcode, usually because too few bonds were lodged, it shows the nearest postcodes that do have a figure.
The RTA advises comparing year on year rather than quarter on quarter, so the calculator also shows the same quarter a year earlier. It doesn't publish a studio figure or split furnished from unfurnished, so neither is priced here. It publishes a new quarter each January, April, July and October, and we refresh this page when it does.
Rent questions
Where do the rent figures come from?
The Residential Tenancies Authority. Every bond lodged in Queensland goes to the RTA, and each quarter it publishes the median weekly rent of new tenancies by postcode, dwelling type and bedrooms. We use its June quarter 2026 figures for 1 and 2 bedroom flats and units, and 2 bedroom houses where it publishes one.
Is the median what my granny flat will rent for?
No. It's the middle of what new tenants paid for comparable places in your postcode last quarter, half above and half below. It isn't a valuation. A flat with its own entry, parking and yard tends to sit above it. One that shares your driveway sits lower. A property manager can appraise yours.
Can I rent my granny flat to someone who isn't family?
In Queensland, yes. Since 26 September 2022 a secondary dwelling can be rented to anyone, in every council area. Approvals, tenancy law, tax and insurance still apply. Our renting guide covers each.
Why is there no studio figure?
The RTA doesn't publish one. Its postcode tables start at 1 bedroom flats, so the calculator compares a studio with those. Expect a studio to let for less.
Do I pay tax on granny flat rent?
Rent at market rates is taxed like any other residential rental: you declare it and claim the expenses for the rented part. Renting part of your home can also cost you some of the main residence exemption from capital gains tax when you sell. A registered tax agent is worth paying for this one.