How to Calculate Clear Days for a Notice Period in Tasmania

Why Date Calculation Trips Up So Many Landlords

If a notice sets its date of effect one day too early, it is not invalid for that reason alone: under s 43(3B), it takes effect after the full statutory period. Other defects can still invalidate a notice and require the landlord to start again.

Tasmania uses clear-day counting for notice periods under the Residential Tenancy Act 1997. The rule itself is simple, but its interaction with postal service, public holidays and the 42-to-60-day fixed-term window catches landlords who count on their fingers.

The Clear-Day Rule

When you serve a Notice to Vacate, the day of service — Day 0 — is excluded. Count complete calendar days between the service date and the date of effect; neither endpoint counts. Weekends and public holidays count between those dates, but a notice cannot be served or take effect on a public holiday.

For a 42-day notice served in person on 1 November 2026:

• Day 0 (excluded): 1 November — the day you hand the notice to the tenant
• Day 1: 2 November — counting starts here
• Day 42: 13 December — the last clear day
• Earliest date of effect: 14 December — after all 42 clear days

If you wrote 13 December as the date of effect, the notice is one day short, but it takes effect on 14 December under s 43(3B).

How Postal Service Adds Days

For prepaid post, Day 0 is the date the letter would be delivered in the ordinary course of post, not the posting date. The transit time depends on the route and delivery service.

If you post a 42-day notice on Monday 2 November 2026 and standard delivery is three business days, deemed service falls on Thursday 5 November. The 42 clear days run from 6 November to 17 December, so the earliest date of effect is 18 December. Posting on a Friday before a long weekend pushes the deemed-service date further still.

Build in a buffer. Posting a 42-day notice with 48 or 49 calendar days before your intended date of effect protects you against postal delays.

The 42-to-60-Day Fixed-Term Window

Fixed-term lease expiry notices must be served no fewer than 42 and no more than 60 days before the lease end date. Miss the early edge and the notice is premature (void). Miss the late edge and the tenancy rolls into a non-fixed-term agreement by operation of law, which eliminates the no-fault ground entirely.

For a fixed-term lease ending on 31 January 2027:

• Earliest service date (60 clear days before): 1 December 2026
• Latest service date (42 clear days before): 19 December 2026

If you serve on 30 November (61 clear days before expiry), the notice is premature. If you serve on 20 December (41 clear days before expiry), the tenant may stay until 42 days after service; the notice is not invalid just because fewer than 42 clear days remained before the lease end date.

The 28-Day Filing Window After the Date of Effect

Once the notice takes effect and the tenant has not vacated, the clock shifts from the tenant to the landlord. You have 28 days from the date of effect to lodge an application for an Order for Vacant Possession in the Magistrates Court. If you miss this window, the notice lapses completely and cannot be revived.

Count the 28 days the same way — the date of effect is Day 0, and the 28th calendar day is the last day you can file. Filing on day 29 is too late.

A Worked Timeline: Sale of Property

Common Calculation Mistakes

Counting the service date as Day 1. If you include the day of service in your count, the effective date arrives one day early and the notice is short.

Ignoring postal transit time. Posting a notice 42 days before the intended effective date gives you fewer than 42 clear days because deemed service happens after delivery, not after posting.

Confusing business days and calendar days. Notice periods run in calendar days. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays all count toward the 42 or 14 days.

Letting the 28-day court window expire. Landlords sometimes wait for the tenant to "come around" after the effective date passes. Every day of waiting eats into the 28-day filing window.

How to Get the Dates Right the First Time

The Ending a Tenancy in Tasmania guide includes a notice-period calculator worksheet that walks through each ground, the minimum days, and a postal-buffer row. Fill in your service date, choose the method, and the worksheet gives you the earliest valid date of effect and the 28-day filing deadline — no mental arithmetic required.

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