Tenants’ Union of Tasmania Inc. Lesson Six Ending a Tenancy

Ending the Tenancy The Act allows for tenancy agreements to be ended in three ways: Mutual agreement (the landlord and tenant agree to end the tenancy) Notice to vacate (the landlord ends the tenancy) Notice to terminate (the tenant ends the tenancy)

Mutual agreement Tenant and landlord agree to end the lease No notice periods apply Tenant is advised to get the agreement in writing to prevent misunderstandings The tenant can vacate the property on the final day of a fixed term lease without notice. It is generally better to provide advance notice where possible.

Notice to Vacate The landlord can issue a Notice to Vacate (NTV) with 14 days notice where: The tenant is in rent arrears* The tenant has not complied with the agreement* The agreement expired less and 28 days before the date of the notice The agreement is due to expire within 28 days of the date of the notice* The tenant has caused substantial nuisance *see next slide for further detail

Notice to Vacate An NTV on the grounds of rent arrears is of no effect if the tenant pays all arrears before the notice takes effect, unless it is the third NTV for that reason within the past 12 months An NTV on the grounds that the tenant has failed to comply with a provision of the residential tenancy agreement is of no effect if the tenant complies with that provision before the notice takes effect An NTV on the grounds that the agreement is expiring must be within the period 28 days before, and 28 days after the date of expiry, and the tenant must be given a 14 days OR the date of expiry which ever is longer.

Notice to Vacate The agreement is for a non-fixed period and the premises is to be sold, renovated or used for another purpose* An order has been made under the Land Titles Act for foreclosure The premises are sold pursuant to the Land Titles Act *see next slide for further detail The landlord can issue a Notice to Vacate with 28 days notice where:

Notice to Vacate ‘To be sold’ does not include an intention to sell, there must be a valid contract of sale ‘Renovations’ refer to major or structural renovations that require the property to be vacant, this does not apply to small/ simple renovations such as painting landscaping etc. Tenants on fixed term lease can not be issued with a notice vacate for the above purposes

The Act specifies the required information which must be included in the NTV in order for it to be valid, this includes: the date of the notice; the date which the notice is to take effect; the name of both the owner and tenant, the address of the premises and the reason for the notice. Notice to Vacate

Notice to Terminate The tenant can issue a Notice to Terminate (NTT) where: The owner has failed to carry out repairs in the time period specified in the Act The owner has failed to comply with the agreement The tenancy is for a non-fixed period and the tenant wishes to terminate A notice to terminate has a minimum notice period of 14 days

A notice of termination on the ground that the owner has failed to comply with a provision of the residential tenancy agreement, other than a provision relating to repairs, is of no effect if the owner complies with that provision before the period of 14 days expires A Notice to Terminate must include the same details as specified for the Notice to Vacate Notice to Terminate

Early Vacation This occurs when a tenant has ceased to occupy the premises without any of the previously listed reasons for notice. Otherwise known as a ‘break lease’ Whether or not the tenant has given notice of their intention to vacate, they will be liable for the following costs Rent payable until the end of the lease or until a new tenant enters into a lease agreement* Any other loss arising from early vacation such as advertising costs

The tenant is only responsible for a proportional amount – eg if the tenant vacates 3 months early they are responsible for ¼ of the costs. Mitigation of loss The landlord must take all reasonable steps to mitigate losses, this means that they should make every effort to find a new tenant as soon as possible. This might include Advertising appropriately Not increasing the rent Not refusing suitable applicants The Tenant can assist this process by looking for suitable tenants themselves and providing details to the landlord. Early Vacation

Mitigation of Loss cont.. If the landlord does not do this (i.e. refuses suitable tenants) the tenant may have grounds to dispute these costs in the Magistrates Court. When making decisions about the tenants liability for loss, a Magistrate will take into consideration range of factors including property vacancy rates in the area, reasonable costs of advertising etc. Early Vacation

Family Violence Orders Where a FVO has been issued, a court may make an order to terminate an existing tenancy agreement and establish a new agreement for the benefit of the affected person/s against the person against whom the FVO is made.