Rental Legislation Reforms - Ending a tenancy agreement
OCTOBER 2022
A significant change to the Residential Tenancies Act concerns how landlords/agents and tenants can end a lease. What hasn’t changed is the requirement that a lease can end only in accordance with the provisions of the Act. What has changed are the designated grounds, or reasons, for termination.
On the plus side, the changes give parties more reasons for termination. On the downside, from the landlord/agents’ viewpoint, is that no longer can a lease be ended using the ‘without grounds’ provision. Fortunately, the new Act does allow for a Fixed Term Tenancy to be ended by either party when the lease expires. So, this is really still a ‘without grounds’ basis. However, periodic tenancies do not have the benefit of this. The new rules in the Act, as shown below, clearly restricts the options for ending a periodic lease.
It is always our strong recommendation that all leases be ‘fixed term’ not periodic. This has always been best practice, the new Act makes it essential.
Reasons managing parties can give to end an agreement and minimum notice periods.
- Unremedied breach – rent arrears
- Unremedied breach – general
- End of a fixed-term agreement
- Abandoned property
- The property is being sold
- Non-liveability
- The property requires significant repair or renovations
- There is planned demolition or redevelopment
- For owner occupation
- Death of a sole tenant
- Tenant’s failure to comply with a tribunal order
- Mortgagee in possession
- Entitlement to student accommodation ends
- Serious breach – where the owner is the State or a community housing provider
- For change of use of the property
- The property is required for State Government program
- Compulsory acquisition
- Employment, or entitlement to occupy under employment, ended
- Ending of housing or accommodation assistance
To view this information in full detail CLICK HERE for the RTA factsheet ‘Ending a tenancy agreement for managing parties’.
