A raft of new measures aimed at protecting tenants and financially supporting their landlords will be introduced in Queensland, which has become one of the first states to move on rent relief during the COVID-19 crisis.

The Queensland government will ban landlords from requiring tenants to draw down their superannuation or sell large personal assets like cars to pay their rent, and they will not be able to request personal financial information, among other measures.

Housing Minister Mick de Brenni on Thursday said the current crisis was no one’s fault, and the new system would give landlords and tenants an opportunity to work out tenancy issues themselves.

“No one could have predicted the scenario that tenants, landlords or property agents have found themselves in,” he said.

Evictions due to financial hardship will be banned, land tax rebates and waivers will be offered and leases will be able to be extended for however long a rent waiver is offered, so that the tenant has an opportunity to pay out the money owed on the lease in a structured way.

But there also will be a ban on requiring tenants to pay back rent arrears during the period of negotiation or if they are awarded a reduced rent at the end of a lease, if they are in financial hardship.

Real Estate Institute of Queensland chief executive Antonia Mercorella on Thursday told the ABC tenants should be required to pay back the deficit after the six-month eviction ban was up.

In a statement late on Thursday, Ms Mercorella described the state government’s changes as disappointing.

“It fails to offer any balance between tenant and property owners,” she said. “The REIQ agrees that it’s not in the interest of anyone to have rental tenants left without a place to live when we are fighting to prevent the spread of a deadly disease, however today’s announcement comes at the expense of property owners.

“It’s just as financially difficult for property owners as it is for rental tenants. It’s not just a matter of pressing pause on mortgage repayments to set and forget while a rent reduction agreement is in place. Many mum and dad investors can barely cover the various costs associated with owning an investment property even with rent coming in, so they now may face no other choice but to sell their properties.

“Waivered rent places many property owners at risk of bankruptcy. Consideration also needs to be given to those self-funded retirees whose only source of income is derived from an investment property.”

A structured negotiation system will also be introduced which would have affected tenants and their landlords sit down and discuss the issue of non-payment or payment of reduced rent first, with mandatory escalations if the two parties can’t reach an agreement.

“They must engage in compulsory conciliation before any other action can be taken,” Mr de Brenni said.

The land tax waiver can be accessed if the landlord agrees to a rental decrease for a tenant, if they can prove they have been financially impacted by the crisis and lockdown.

The state government will provide guidelines on how to negotiate a new, reduced rent, based on the tenant’s income – and rent increases will be banned.

And if a landlord offers a rent freeze to a tenant, they would be allowed to extend the lease for however long the rent-free period is.

“This will allow tenants and owners to reach agreement about future sustainability of their tenancy,” Mr de Brenni said.

Non-essential inspections and maintenance will not be allowed either, unless the maintenance is urgent or can be done while observing social distancing.

Victims of family violence would also be given the ability to walk away from a lease liability-free with just seven days’ notice, and could add extra security features to their home without the landlord’s permission.

A new residential tenancies hub has also been launched on the state government website, informing tenants and landlords of their new rights, obligations and relief options.

Queensland joins Tasmania and NSW as the only states or territories to legislate any measures to protect tenants.

There is a ban on evictions in Tasmania and the ability to ban evictions and freeze rents has been given to the NSW Housing Minister, but the powers have not yet been used.