Welcome back to our Property Management Knowledge Sharing Series. This series aims to better serve our landlord clients and address the questions you may encounter. In this video, we’ll discover some common concerns of landlords and tenants when it comes to breaking lease.
What happened when it comes to break lease?
In general, breaking a lease can occur in 2 scenarios: when the landlord decides to terminate the lease prematurely and when the tenant decides to do so. Let’s first discuss the landlord’s perspective.
If a landlord wishes to terminate a lease before expiration, typically, this isn’t allowed under a signed fixed-term agreement without valid reasons. However, there are exceptions, such as financial difficulties for landlords, which may require QCAT (Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal) approval. In most general cases when landlords need to sell the property or move in as owner occupied, negotiations can be made with tenants, often involving compensation or assistance in finding a new rental for tenants.
For periodic leases, landlords need to provide a 2-month notice to tenants before terminating the lease. In rare cases where immediate contract termination is necessary, such as non-livability, same-day notice may apply, considering it poses a threat to the tenant’s life.
Now, let’s explore the second scenario, where tenants need to move out before the lease ends. The notice period depends on the reasons for moving. Normally tenants must give 14 days’ notice. Urgent situations, such as domestic and family violence, may require 7 days’ notice but can vacate immediately. In emergencies like a house explosion or fire, tenants can vacate the premises on the same day. For grounds like excessive hardship, tenants may apply to QCAT and provide relevant evidence to end the agreement. In situations where tenants have notified property managers and landlords several times about severe issues in the property and without prompt repairs, the tenants can give 14 days notice and move out after 2 weeks.
If tenants wish to move out without grounds, they need to provide a 14-day notice for periodic leases. For fixed-term leases, tenants are required to pay reletting fees (typically a week’s rent plus GST) and advertising costs. Current tenants are obliged to continue paying rent, until property management or landlords approve new tenants to move in. Communication with the landlord may help to end the lease early on a specific date when both parties mutually agree in writing.
Why is professional property management team so important?
In most cases, to protect the interests of both landlords and tenants, we always facilitate negotiations to aim for mutually agreeable solutions and try to avoid legal disputes whenever possible.
Conclusion
That’s all about the break lease and how tenants and landlords should deal with this. I hope this video has been helpful to you, see you next time!
If you have any questions about this topic or would like to know more about our property management service, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
