Erin Blyth and Zackary Keleher will pay $154 more in rent every week this year compared to when they began renting their unit in Kallangur, north of Brisbane, just over a year ago.

They've copped two hikes, the last in November, as tenants are warned to brace for rising rents when they renegotiate an existing contract or look for a new place this summer.

The number of renters looking for a new home or renewing their contracts typically spikes in January, as people look to secure stable housing before returning from the summer break.

But rental property availability remains stubbornly low across most of Queensland, contributing to price pressures in the rental markets.

Ms Blyth said the rent increase has led to the couple needing to pinch pennies.

"We just had to reshuffle with our budget. We're certainly not as comfortable as we were in savings, that's for sure but we've managed, at the sacrifice of other things," she said.

The couple, who are studying at university, began renting in December 2021.

"The first day we came in and I cried on the floor because I was like, 'Three months of searching and we finally got something'," Mr Keleher said.

Rather 'suck it up' than move

Two rent increases — once when the National Rental Affordability Scheme subsidy ended and then again when they went to extend the contract in November — have since raised their weekly rent by more than 60 per cent.

But they said paying extra was a better option than competing with other renters to look for a new home.

"It's just going to take us forever to find another place. So, we'd rather suck up the rent increase if that means that we get to stay where we are comfortable," Ms Blyth said.

The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) expects many tenants to follow the same logic when their contracts wind up this summer.

"We'll be seeing more and more tenants choosing to stay put simply because there are so few options," REIQ chief executive Antonia Mercorella said.

"Many property owners who have purchased that property over the course of the last few years, they would have paid a premium for it. So again, they're looking for that return on investment."

Rents rise by 13pc in Brisbane

Veteran property researcher and landlord Terry Ryder said renters in Queensland faced a "really tough" market.

"I've been researching and writing about real estate markets across Australia for four decades and I've never seen vacancy rates so low in so many places," he said.

Brisbane landlords passed on the largest rent increase in the country over the past year, with data released by property market analysts CoreLogic this week showing a 13.4 per cent annual increase across the city.

Mr Ryder said some landlords were bucking the trend.

"It might be the best course of action to keep a good tenant in place, rather than force them out by putting the rent up too much," he said.

He said landlords were still "very much in the drivers' seat" when it came to negotiations.

The tight market could complicate the negotiation process between tenants and landlords, according to Sam Galer, principal project officer at Queensland's rental regulator the Residential Tenancies Authority.

"The best thing that people can do is to discuss with each other [the challenges] and open those sorts of discussions well ahead of time," he said

He said changes to Queensland's tenancy laws, which came into effect in October, would give "greater security and certainty" to tenants and owners.

Hopes market could ease

Ms Mercorella said those searching for a new rental are increasingly offering to pay more than the asking rent.

"That is very much an activity that we have seen emerging over the last few years in this very competitive landscape," she said.

Real estate agents are not allowed to encourage renters to pay more than the advertised price, but prospective tenants may offer to pay more of their own accord.