Or, you can find information about renters giving notice or evictions on other pages.
There are some different rules for:
When a rental provider (landlord) wants a renter (tenant) to move out of the property, they can either talk to the renter to reach an agreement or give the renter a notice to vacate.
A notice to vacate is a formal statement that the rental provider wants to end the rental agreement. A rental provider can only give a notice to vacate for certain reasons.
If a renter does not leave by the termination date in the notice to vacate, the rental provider can apply to VCAT for an eviction or possession order.
Rental providers can only give notice for certain reasons. These reasons are listed in the tables on this page.
Other reasons for giving notice are not valid. A rental provider must provide a reason when they give someone notice to vacate. They cannot give notice without a reason.
In some situations, a rental provider can give a notice to vacate before the end of the rental agreement.
A rental provider cannot give someone notice for doing something, or saying they will do something, they are legally allowed to do.
For example, a rental provider cannot give a renter notice to vacate for:
A notice to vacate is not valid if it is unlawful discrimination.
A rental provider may ask a renter to leave without giving them a notice to vacate. The renter does not have to agree to leave. If they do, they should record this in writing.
Rental providers can give a renter a notice to vacate immediately if the renter or their visitor does any of the following:
The notice must:
The notice to vacate must be delivered to the renter at the rented premises, either by:
Allow for mail delivery times, which depend on:
It is important to allow enough time for mail to be delivered if you are posting the notice. The Australia Post website can help calculate delivery times. If you are delivering the notice by mail you must use registered post.
A renter can challenge a notice to vacate if they:
If a renter does not leave after being given notice, rental providers can apply for a possession order. See more information on possession orders and evictions.
If there is only one renter in a property and they die, the rental provider can end the rental agreement by giving a notice to vacate to the deceased’s legal personal representative or next of kin. Read more about what happens when a renter or rental provider dies.
A rental provider can only end a rental agreement early (before its stated end date) for one of the following reasons. If the rental provider does not give one of the listed reasons, the notice to vacate is not valid.
There are different timeframes for giving a renter a notice to vacate depending on the reason the notice is being given.
Read more about some of the common reasons rental providers give renters a notice to vacate:
| Reason for notice to vacate before a rental agreement ends | Minimum notice required |
|---|---|
| The renter or their visitor intentionally or recklessly causes serious damage to the property, including safety equipment and common areas | Immediate |
| The renter or their visitor puts neighbours, the rental provider or the provider's agent, or the rental provider or agent’s contractors or employees, in danger | Immediate |
| The premises are unfit for human habitation, destroyed totally, or destroyed to the extent that they are unsafe | Immediate |
| The renter or anyone else living in the rental property seriously threatens or intimidates the rental provider, their agent, or the rental provider or agent’s contractors or employees | 14 days |
| The renter owes at least 14 days rent | 14 days |
| The renter has failed to comply with a VCAT compliance order | 14 days |
| The renter has already been given 2 breach of duty notices and the same breach occurs | 14 days |
| The property is being used for illegal purposes | 14 days |
| The renter has brought in other renters or sub-letters without consent | 14 days |
| The renter has not paid the bond as agreed | 14 days |
| The renter has a child under 16 years of age living at the premises when the rental agreement says this is not allowed | 14 days |
| The rental provider is a government housing authority and the renter misled the authority so they could get social housing | 14 days |
| The renter has been involved in a drug-related activity in public housing | 14 days |
| The renter is keeping a pet without consent and VCAT has made an order excluding the pet | 28 days |
If rental providers (landlords) want renters to move out when an agreement ends, they will still need to give them notice.
How much notice they need to give depends on the reason for the notice. See the list below.
In some cases, the rental provider must include evidence with the notice to vacate, such as a building permit or statutory declaration. See the evidence requirements in the table below.
The notice to vacate for an end of fixed-term agreement must specify a termination date on or after the end date listed in the rental agreement. To end the rental agreement early, the rental provider must give a notice to vacate for a different reason.
See more information on the rules for different types of agreements.
If rental providers want to issue a notice to vacate at the end of a fixed-term agreement without a reason, they can only do so at the end of the first fixed-term agreement. Where renters stay in a property on a subsequent fixed-term agreement after the initial fixed-term expires, a notice to vacate at the end of the agreement can only be issued using another one of the reasons listed in the table below.
If a renter is on a periodic residential rental agreement (month-by-month), a rental provider can issue a notice to vacate at any time, providing it is for a valid reason.
Some of the reasons for notice to vacate have specific evidence requirements. This means that the rental provider must supply a form of evidence demonstrating that the reason they have given in the notice to vacate is genuine.
If a notice to vacate requires specific evidence that is not supplied, the notice is invalid.
Detail on the required evidence is described in the table below, where applicable.
Both of the following:
Both of the following:
Or the following:
Both of the following:
And one or more of the following:
A witnessed Statutory Declaration signed by the rental provider, stating either:
The property is to be sold or put up for sale, and vacated immediately after the rental agreement ends. If you are giving a notice to vacate for this reason you must include evidence with the notice to vacate.
Note: The rental provider cannot shorten the length of the rental agreement to give a notice to vacate for this reason.
In addition, if a notice to vacate is issued for this reason, the rental provider must not re-let the premises to a person for use primarily as a residence before the end of 6 months after the date on which notice was given, unless approved by VCAT.
One of the following:
One of the following:
A mortgagee (lender) such as a bank can give a renter a notice to vacate if they are repossessing the property. There are specific provisions for this. For more information, refer to the Residential Tenancies Act or contact us.
To give a renter notice to vacate a property, rental providers should use this form:
If you want to know what the law says about notices to vacate, you can read these sections of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997:
Last updated: 9 February 2023