Ending a Tenancy in Tasmania: Step-by-Step Landlord Guide

Ending a residential tenancy in Tasmania is not something you can do with a phone call or an informal email. The Residential Tenancy Act 1997 sets out a strict sequence — pick the wrong ground, miss a deadline, or skip a required step, and the Magistrates Court may send you back to the start.

Here is the process from beginning to end.

Step 1: Classify Your Tenancy

Tasmania recognises two types of residential tenancy agreement:

• Fixed-term — has a set end date (minimum four weeks by law)
• Non-fixed term (periodic) — no end date, rolls on month to month

This distinction matters because it determines which termination grounds are available to you. Some grounds only apply to non-fixed term leases, and the notice window for a fixed-term lease is tightly defined.

If a fixed-term lease reaches its end date without a valid Notice to Vacate and the tenant remains in occupation and keeps paying rent, the tenancy automatically converts to a non-fixed term lease. Once that happens, your grounds narrow to the specific reasons listed in Section 42.

Step 2: Identify Your Statutory Ground

Under Section 42 of the Act, you must have a genuine reason. The main grounds are:

• Fixed-term lease expiry (42 days' notice, served 42–60 days before the end date)
• Rent arrears or breach of lease (14 days)
• Substantial nuisance (14 days)
• Property sale — requires an executed contract, not just an intention to sell (42 days, non-fixed term only)
• Owner or family member occupation (42 days, non-fixed term only)
• Significant renovation rendering the property uninhabitable (42 days, non-fixed term only)
• Cessation of residential use (42 days, non-fixed term only)
• Mortgagee repossession (60 days)

There is no "no reason" ground in Tasmania. Every notice must cite a specific statutory basis.

Step 3: Prepare the Notice to Vacate

Your notice must include the date of service, full names of both parties, the property address, the specific Section 42 ground with factual details, and the date of effect.

For rent arrears, you must state the exact amount owed on the date the notice takes effect. For a property sale, you must attach a copy of the signed contract (financial details can be redacted).

Step 4: Serve the Notice Correctly

Tasmania allows three service methods under Section 64:

1. Personal delivery — hand it directly to the tenant
2. Prepaid post — add postal delivery time to the notice period
3. Email — only if the tenant has given express written consent to receive formal notices electronically

Keep a proof-of-service record: a copy of the notice as served, the date and method of delivery, and any supporting evidence (postal receipt, witness statement, email delivery confirmation).

Step 5: Monitor the Remedy Window

If your notice is for rent arrears or a lease breach, the tenant has the full 14-day notice period to fix the problem. Pay the outstanding rent in full, and the notice becomes void — you cannot proceed to court.

For rent-arrears notices, the "three-strike" rule applies: if you have served two rent arrears notices in the past 12 months and the tenant cured both, a third notice served within that same period remains valid even if the tenant pays up.

Step 6: Apply to the Magistrates Court

If the tenant does not vacate by the date of effect, you must lodge an Application for an Order for Vacant Possession in the Magistrates Court within 28 days of the effective date. The filing fee is $78.40 (as at 1 July 2026).

You cannot change the locks, disconnect utilities, remove belongings, or physically remove the tenant. Any of these would be an unlawful eviction under the Act.

Step 7: Attend the Hearing

The Magistrate will check three things: was the notice properly served, was the ground genuine, and did the tenant fail to vacate. If satisfied, the Court issues an Order for Vacant Possession with a specific move-out date.

Step 8: Enforce the Order

If the tenant still does not leave after the court order, a Magistrates Court Bailiff executes a Warrant of Possession. The bailiff fee is $205.80. Only the bailiff can carry out the physical eviction — you cannot do it yourself.

Step 9: Handle Abandoned Goods and Bond

After the tenant vacates, deal with any property left behind under Section 48: goods worth nothing can be disposed of immediately (with a statutory declaration), goods under $300 can be sold, and goods worth $300 or more require a court order before sale. Bond claims go through the Rental Deposit Authority via MyBond.

The Ending a Tenancy in Tasmania guide covers each of these steps in detail, including a notice-period calculator, proof-of-service log, and a Magistrates Court filing checklist — all dated to the current rules.

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