Form 1C Notice of Termination WA: When and How to Use It

Form 1C is the most versatile prescribed form in WA tenancy law. It is the Notice of Termination used for five different grounds under the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 — each with a different notice period and different preconditions. Selecting Form 1C is only the first step; filling it in correctly for your specific ground is what matters.

The Five Grounds That Use Form 1C

1. No-grounds termination of a periodic tenancy (s 64) Minimum 60 days' notice. No reason needs to be stated. Still available under WA law as of October 2026.

2. Sale requiring vacant possession (s 63) Minimum 30 days' notice. Applies only to periodic tenancies. Requires an executed contract of sale that explicitly conditions settlement on vacant possession. Issuing a false or misleading s 63 notice is an offence carrying a maximum $10,000 penalty.

3. Fixed-term expiry (s 70A) Minimum 30 days' notice, served before the lease end date. This prevents the fixed term from rolling over into a periodic tenancy. If the landlord files a court application under s 70A, it must be lodged within 30 days of the specified vacate date — otherwise the notice lapses and the lease has already converted to periodic.

4. Non-rent breach after a Form 21 remedy period (s 62) Minimum 7 days' notice. This only becomes available after you have first served a Form 21 breach notice, waited the full 14-day remedy period, and the tenant has not fixed the breach.

5. Uninhabitable or destroyed premises (ss 69/75A) For a landlord termination, Form 1C gives 7 days' notice.

How to Fill in Form 1C

The form requires:

• Full names of all landlords and tenants exactly as they appear on the tenancy agreement
• Complete property address
• The specific section of the RTA you are relying on (s 63, 64, 70A, or 62)
• The date by which the tenant must deliver vacant possession
• Your signature and the date of signing

Getting any mandatory field wrong — including citing the wrong section — makes the notice defective. The Magistrates Court cannot fix a defective notice. Your application gets dismissed and you start the whole timeline again.

Service Rules

Serve Form 1C by one of three approved methods:

• Personal delivery to the tenant, a person apparently over 16 who resides at the premises, or the person who usually pays the rent
• Ordinary prepaid post via Australia Post (add transit days before the notice period starts counting)
• Email, but only if the tenancy agreement includes express written consent for electronic service

Do not drop it in the letterbox yourself, and do not use registered post (the tenant can refuse to sign for it, and then service has not occurred).

Counting the Notice Period

1. Exclude the day of service (or deemed receipt if posted) — Day 1 is the following day
2. Count the full number of required days (60, 30, or 7)
3. Set the vacate date to at least one day after the last day of the notice period
4. If the final day lands on a weekend or public holiday, it extends to the next business day

If you serve by post, add Australia Post transit days to the front of this calculation. Forgetting the postal buffer is the single most common reason notices fail in court.

What Happens After Form 1C Expires

If the tenant has not vacated by the date on the form, you file a Form 12 application through the eCourts Portal of WA. The Magistrates Court hears the case, reviews whether the notice was properly served and the notice period was correctly calculated, and if satisfied, issues a possession order.

The Ending a Tenancy in Western Australia guide includes a step-by-step Form 1C walkthrough with a date-calculation worksheet and a service proof log — so you can verify every element before you serve the notice and have the evidence ready if it goes to court.

See more Western Australia guides →