Termination 终止合约
One common area of dispute comes from the agreement on lease termination. Either Landlord or tenant giving notice to the other party for terminating a tenancy, such notice must be in writing. One typical good example on what must be included in a notice is from the Fair Trading of NSW:
1. be in writing
2. state the address of premises
3. be signed and dated
4. allow the required period of time
5. given all details/reasons for ending the agreement
6. include a statement about tenant’s rights and obligations in the agreement
7. can be posted or given personally (A notice cannot be stuck to/put under the door)
Notice period, in particular, is not quite straight-forward, as each State has slightly different rules. In general, a tenant cannot end a fixed term tenancy, only if there is a breach from the landlord. Here are some examples:
SA Both landlord and tenant cannot give notice of the intention to vacate prior to the final day of the term. However, tenant may give 7 days notice to the landlord if there is a breach of the agreement, to remedy the breach. Landlord, on the other hand, also may give 7 days notice if there is a breach by the tenant. For non-payment of rent, landlord cannot give notice to the tenant until the 15th day, and tenant has minimum of 7 days pay the rent owing (ie, total of 22 days).
Even the notice to terminate Periodic Tenancy is not the same. Therefore readers should always refer to the relevant authority for correct information.
SA 21 days
NT 14 days to landlord; 42 days to tenant
WA 21 days