How to Count Notice Days for a WA Tenancy: The Date-Counting Rules

Date counting is where most WA tenancy notices fail. The rules come from the Interpretation Act 1984 (WA) and the Residential Tenancies Act 1987, and they are strict: get the count wrong by one day and the Magistrates Court will dismiss the possession application. No discretion, no cure — you start again from scratch.

The Day-Exclusion Rule

When counting a notice period, exclude the day the notice is served (or deemed received, if sent by post). Day 1 of the notice period is the day after service.

If you personally hand a 60-day Form 1C to the tenant on Monday 1 June, Day 1 is Tuesday 2 June. The 60th day is Friday 31 July. The earliest lawful vacate date is Saturday 1 August — the day after the notice period ends.

The Postal Buffer

If you serve by ordinary prepaid post through Australia Post, the notice is not deemed received on the day you post it. You must allow for postal transit — typically 3 business days within the Perth metro area, potentially more for regional WA.

Using the same example: you post the notice on Monday 1 June. Deemed receipt is Thursday 4 June (after 3 business transit days). Day 1 of the notice period is Friday 5 June. The 60th day is now Monday 3 August. The earliest lawful vacate date is Tuesday 4 August.

Those extra 4 days from the postal buffer are the difference between a valid notice and one that falls short. The most common date-counting mistake in WA tenancy law is forgetting the postal buffer entirely, which shortens the effective notice period and invalidates the notice.

Email Service: No Buffer

If you serve by email (with express written consent in the tenancy agreement), receipt is deemed instantaneous. There is no postal buffer to add. Day 1 starts the day after you send the email.

This makes email service faster — but only if the consent clause exists in the lease. Without it, the email is not valid service at all.

Weekends and Public Holidays

If the final day for the notice period or payment falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or WA public holiday, the deadline extends to the next business day. This can work in the tenant's favour (an extra day or two) or occasionally in yours (if timing is tight).

WA public holidays include state-specific days like Western Australia Day and Perth Royal Show Day, which vary from other states.

Worked Example: 30-Day Fixed-Term Expiry Notice by Post

Lease end date: 15 December 2026 Required notice: 30 days (s 70A, Form 1C) Service method: Ordinary prepaid post

Working backwards:

• The vacate date must be on or before 15 December
• The 30th day of the notice period must end by 14 December
• Day 1 must be no later than 15 November
• Deemed receipt must be by 14 November
• Allowing 3 business transit days, post by Tuesday, 10 November at the latest to set a vacate date of 15 December

Posting after 10 November may leave too little time to set a 15 December vacate date if transit takes 3 business days.

The Vacate Date on the Form

The vacate date you write on the notice must be at least one day after the last day of the required notice period. Writing the vacate date as the same day the notice period ends — rather than the day after — is another common invalidation point.

What Happens When You Get It Wrong

The Magistrates Court has no power to fix a defective notice. If the date count is short, the notice is invalid, the possession application is dismissed, and the landlord has to serve a fresh notice and start the entire timeline over.

For a 60-day periodic tenancy notice, one miscounted day can cost you two additional months of delay and rent loss.

The Ending a Tenancy in Western Australia guide includes a date-calculation worksheet that maps the postal buffer, the day-exclusion rule, and the minimum vacate date into a single form you fill in once per notice — so the arithmetic is checked before you serve.

See more Western Australia guides →