Tenant notice required after Landlord notice

[tonydav]

Hi,

This question is more from the Tenants point of view so I hope someone doesn't mind answering it - I've been frustrated finding an answer to what should be an easy question.

We've been renting a property and are past our lease. Landlord wants to move in and has given us 60 days notice "without reason".

How much notice are we required to give to him now to move out? The only mention I can find of this in the Act is 21 days, but given the market in Sydney we'll need to move in well before that and end up paying weeks of double-rent. The new agent advised 21 days wasn't necessary but obviously I need more info than just hearsay.

Alternatively, please point me in the right direction to getting an answer.

(If it helps I do own a rental property as well so this is of interest to me from the landlords side as well.)

Thanks,
Tony

 

[wylie]

In Queensland it would be two week's notice to the landlord, but not sure about NSW. Someone will answer this very soon.

 

[tonydav]

I managed to get a definitive answer from the Tenants association.

21 days notice is required from the Tenant to vacate prior to the date given by the landlord.

This is of course only in NSW - other times may apply in other states.

 

[rugrat]

Pretty sure in NSW that if it is a continuing lease (ie, lease period is over) then It is 4 weeks notice you need to give - doesn't matter whether or not the LL has given you notice first.

 

[Collector]

21 days notice required (as you found out), notice must be in writing, be dated and signed.


As the agent said that amount of notice will not be required I suggest you ask for that confirmation in writing which includes the minimum amount of notice the landlord would accept as a lease can be terminated at anytime by mutual consent.

 

[froggy]

notice

Hi , in VIC if you give the tenant 60 days notice which is the min, the tenant can then turn around and give 14 days notice. know this because i need to give notice to tenant and realestate told me this today.
Hope that helps

 

[callander]

yes a tenant can give 14 days return notice in VIC but the act states that the vacate date the tenant provided cannont be earlier than the lease expiry.

eg. landlord gives notice to the tenant to vacate on the 20th of june and lease lease expires on the 19th. then the tenant cannot give notice that they are going to vacate any earlier than the 19th being the lease expriy.

 

[Dazz]

21 days notice required, notice must be in writing, be dated and signed.

In NSW and WA - agreed.

a lease can be terminated at anytime by mutual consent.

Agreed. All of this notice period shenanigans is only relevant when one party wishes to force the hand of the other party. If both parties are in agreeance in writing, then Lease can be terminated forthwith.


Of course, if you have trouble, you may opt to employ the services of big Reginald, your local friendly Kiwi tow truck driver.

 

[Shantih]

Hi,

Have just stumbled on this great forum looking for some answers to tenancy problems.

This one has me really confused

If you've been served with a notice of termination and have a date that you need to vacate by, why would you need to give notice? If you didn't vacate by that date you would be in breach of the notice...

and,

say you found a property a week before the date you're required to vacate - how would you give notice of 21 days + vacate in time not to breach the notice?

Also, I read somewhere that it was 14 days for WA once a 60 day notice has been issued or is that an old timeframe?

Thank you to anyone who can respond!

 

[wylie]

If you've been served with a notice of termination and have a date that you need to vacate by, why would you need to give notice? If you didn't vacate by that date you would be in breach of the notice...

You would only be given a notice to vacate if you are not on a fixed time lease. Your landlord might give you two months' notice but if you find something else to rent within that notice period, you can give them a shorter notice period that you are leaving. If you are on a fixed time lease, the landlord still has to give you notice that he/she wants you gone at the end of the lease, but you are committed to pay rent until this time, even if you find something else to rent before the actual end of the lease date. Of course, if you break your lease, you are committed to keep paying rent and costs to find a new tenant, but once a new tenant is found, you don't have to pay any more.

say you found a property a week before the date you're required to vacate - how would you give notice of 21 days + vacate in time not to breach the notice?

If your "vacate" date is the last day of your lease, you don't need to give any further notice (other than the original notice that you are leaving - or acknowledgement that you have been asked to leave at the end of the lease). Generally you would be looking for a new place to rent. If it is one week before your lease finishes and you have not found something, you are in a bit of bother. Often, you would find something, say, three weeks before the end of the lease, and you then make the decision to start the new lease and overlap maybe a week's rent to ensure you get the house you want.

The notice periods and rules are different for fixed leases and periodic leases, so it depends what type of lease you are on as to what the answer is.

Of course, I am talking Queensland and each state seems to have different rules, and they have just changed, so not sure how that impacts notice periods as I have only skimmed the changes as yet.

I hope that answers your questions well enough..... it is very early in the morning .

 

[Shantih]

Heya,

Great, thank you for that, that was very helpful. I'm catching up on so much info in this forum, it's really a fantastic site.

Apologies, I failed to mention that the lease was periodical and in W.A.

The gentleman was served with a Notice of Termination-(Without Specifying Grounds To Do So)

He was given a date, 60 days from the notice date, but found a property 3 weeks after the notice. He told the agent that he would be moving out the following week but they are saying he will still need to pay 3 weeks rent regardless of whether he is living there.

I thought this is quite an interesting issue because I know for W.A. if the tenant gives the landlord a notice of termination the law requires 21 days minimum notice but I can't find anything in the Act (Residential Tenancies Act 1987) of the minimum notice the tenant has to give after being served a notice from their landlord.

Does anyone know where this is located in the Act? Been looking and looking but can't find anything.

Thanks again for the response Wylie!