Cubbi for rooming or share housing

Can I use Cubbi if I rent by the room?

Yes, with limits. Cubbi is built for standard residential tenancies of a whole property. Many owners who rent by the room use Cubbi to collect rent, screen applicants and keep their records in one place. If you do, please read this section first.

Important: what Cubbi does and doesn't do for rent-by-the-room

  • Cubbi's leases and notices aren't designed for these arrangements. Our leases, notices and processes are based on standard residential tenancy legislation in each state and territory. They are not designed for rooming houses, boarding houses, share housing or boarder/lodger arrangements, and may not be valid for them.
  • Use your own legally approved agreements and notices. Sign your agreement, and issue any formal notices, outside Cubbi. This includes rent increase, breach and termination notices. Handle the bond outside Cubbi too. If Cubbi prompts you about a rent increase or lease renewal for a room, don't use Cubbi's notice.
  • The rules differ by state. Rent-by-the-room arrangements are regulated differently in each state and territory. Some require registration or have specific standards.
  • Platform only. We can't give advice on rooming, boarding or share housing arrangements, as this isn't our area of expertise. For guidance, contact your state's consumer affairs or fair trading body, or seek independent legal advice.
  • Rent estimates. We provide rent estimates for whole-property residential leases, but not for rent-by-the-room arrangements. This isn’t our area of expertise, and we don’t have the data needed to give an accurate estimate for a room.
  • You're responsible for compliance. It's up to you to make sure your arrangement, agreements and notices meet the requirements in your state.

Use Cubbi for: rent collection, tenant screening, payment records and tenant communication.

Don't use Cubbi for: signing leases, the move-in lease process, bond lodgement or formal notices.

How to set up your rooms in Cubbi

Set up each room as a separate "property", just as you would set up each unit in an apartment building. This keeps each room separate, with its own payment terms.

Example: For a 5-bedroom house at 2 Palm Avenue, Richmond, set up:

  • Room 1/2 Palm Avenue, Richmond
  • Room 2/2 Palm Avenue, Richmond
  • Room 3/2 Palm Avenue, Richmond
  • Room 4/2 Palm Avenue, Richmond
  • Room 5/2 Palm Avenue, Richmond

Enter the address fields like this:

  • Unit Number: Room 1
  • Street Number: 2
  • Street Name: Palm
  • Street Type: Avenue

Each room will have its own tenancies over time. When someone moves out, don't create a new property. Just add the new tenant to the existing room.


Finding tenants

You can advertise rooms on platforms like Flatmates or Gumtree. You can also list the room on Cubbi for free and direct applicants to apply through Cubbi at cubbi.com.au/apply, or through the check-in app.

Advertising on realestate.com.au: You can advertise in the standard "Rent" section from your Cubbi dashboard. To do this:

  1. Add a separate "master" property (for example, 2 Palm Avenue, Richmond). Use it only for advertising.
  2. Advertise only what is actually available. realestate.com.au allows one lease per listing, so you can't list "5 rooms available" with different prices in one ad.
  3. Update the ad as rooms become available, and remove it when no rooms are available.

See realestate.com.au's Acceptable Use Policy, section 4.1.6 (Generic listings).


Does tenant screening work for rent-by-the-room?

Yes, with one caveat. Our screening checks the applicant, but it can’t tell you how they’ll fit with the other people living in the property, which matters when choosing someone for a room. We still recommend screening applicants through Cubbi. Once you’re happy with an applicant, don’t approve them in Cubbi. Sign your own agreement outside Cubbi, then add them to the room as shown below.


Adding a tenant to a room

Always add tenants using "Invite tenant already living". Don't approve them as a new move-in. This skips the Cubbi lease and stops Cubbi from automatically deducting the first rent payment, so you can sign your own agreement and collect the first payment outside Cubbi.

To do this:

  1. Go to the Tenant tab.
  2. Click the purple + button.
  3. Select "Invite tenant already living".