How to End an ACT Periodic Tenancy After the Fixed-Term Expires

If your ACT fixed-term lease has expired and the tenant stayed, the tenancy has automatically rolled into a periodic tenancy — and you cannot simply ask the tenant to leave. The ACT abolished every form of no-cause termination on 1 April 2023. You now need a lawful ground under Division 4.4 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 to end the tenancy; depending on the ground, that means a specific notice or pre-application process, with evidence and any applicable notice period.

This is the single most common trap for ACT landlords. The lease end date passes, the tenant continues paying rent, and the landlord assumes they can serve a notice to vacate at any time for any reason. They cannot. The rules changed, and most online resources — including interstate guides — still describe a system that no longer exists in the Territory.

What Actually Happens When a Fixed-Term Lease Expires in the ACT

Under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, a fixed-term agreement that reaches its end date without a valid notice to vacate being served (or a new agreement being signed) rolls automatically into a periodic tenancy. The tenant does not need to sign anything. The landlord does not need to agree. It happens by operation of law.

Once the tenancy becomes periodic:

• No-cause termination is not available. You cannot serve a notice to vacate simply because the fixed term ended. This was abolished on 1 April 2023.
• All existing lease terms carry over. The periodic tenancy inherits the same conditions as the expired fixed-term agreement — rent amount, maintenance obligations, pet permissions, everything except the end date.
• The tenant can stay indefinitely until either the tenant gives notice to leave, or the landlord invokes a lawful ground with a valid notice served correctly.

The Lawful Grounds You Can Use

With no-cause gone, ending a periodic tenancy requires a specific ground under Division 4.4. Common grounds include:

Each ground has its own required notice form or pre-application procedure. Using the wrong form or omitting required evidence can lead ACAT to dismiss the application.

The Three Mistakes That Reset Your Timeline

Mistake 1: Serving a no-cause notice. Some landlords attempt to serve a generic notice to vacate citing the end of the fixed term. This is not a valid ground in the ACT since April 2023. ACAT will dismiss the application.

Mistake 2: Assuming the NSW rules apply. Landlords managing a Canberra property from interstate frequently apply NSW notice periods (such as a 30-day notice after an actual sale in NSW). The ACT minimum is eight weeks. A notice that is too short by even one day is invalid.

Mistake 3: Serving by email without written consent. The ACT does not recognise email as a default service method for formal notices. Unless the tenant has provided explicit prior written consent authorising electronic service, a notice sent by email is not validly served — regardless of whether the tenant read it.

Who This Is For

• Landlords whose fixed-term lease expired months ago and who have been operating on a periodic tenancy without realising the legal implications
• Owners who assumed the lease end date meant the tenant had to leave and are now discovering that no-cause termination was abolished
• Landlords planning to sell a property or move back in who need to understand the ground-specific notice requirements for a periodic tenancy
• Interstate owners managing a Canberra property who need the ACT rules, not the NSW or Victorian equivalents
• ADF personnel returning from a posting who need to invoke the posting clause on what is now a periodic tenancy

Who This Is NOT For

• Landlords whose fixed-term lease has not yet expired — during the fixed term, the grounds for termination are even more limited, and most grounds only become available on a periodic tenancy
• Situations where the tenant wants to leave — if the tenant is willing to go, they can give their own notice, and you do not need to invoke a ground
• Landlords seeking to remove a tenant without a lawful ground — the ACT no longer provides this option on any tenancy type
• Commercial or retail tenancies — the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 covers residential tenancies only

Tradeoffs

You trade flexibility for certainty. Under the old no-cause system, landlords could end a periodic tenancy for any reason with 26 weeks' notice. The current system requires a specific ground; ACAT examines whether that ground is genuine and whether the notice and evidence comply with the statutory requirements.

For the eight-week grounds, that notice period is a minimum, not a target. For property sale, owner move-in, or the posting ground, you can serve a longer notice but not a shorter one. Other grounds have their own notice periods or application procedures. Plan your timeline around the period for your ground plus any postal service allowances.

The two-stage breach process takes longer than a single-ground notice. For an ordinary rent-arrears sequence, expect at least 21 days for the 7-day remedy and 14-day vacate notices; after two prior notices to remedy during the tenancy, arrears can proceed without another remedy notice once rent is again at least one week overdue. Other remediable breaches require at least 28 days for the 14-day remedy and 14-day vacate notices. The ACAT application and hearing add further time. If the breach is remedied and then recurs, the applicable process starts again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I refuse to renew the lease and tell the tenant to leave at the end of the fixed term?

No. In the ACT, the landlord cannot unilaterally end a tenancy at the expiry of the fixed term. If you do not serve a valid notice to vacate on a lawful ground before the lease expires, the tenancy rolls into a periodic tenancy automatically. The tenant has no obligation to leave simply because the fixed term ended.

What if I want to renovate the property — is that a ground for termination?

The ACT has a major renovation or reconstruction ground for periodic tenancies, with 12 weeks' notice. The work must be major enough that it cannot reasonably be carried out while the tenant remains; evidence may include quotes or building plans. Minor cosmetic updates are not enough.

Can the tenant end a periodic tenancy more easily than the landlord can?

Yes. A tenant on a periodic tenancy in the ACT can give three weeks' notice to vacate without providing any reason. Landlords, by contrast, must invoke a lawful ground and follow its procedure: sale and owner move-in grounds require eight weeks' notice, while breach and unsafe-premises grounds have shorter notice sequences. This asymmetry is deliberate — the 2023 reforms strengthened tenant security of tenure.

What if I served a no-cause notice before reading this — is it still valid?

If the notice was served after 1 April 2023, it is not valid. A no-cause notice served after that date cannot be enforced, regardless of whether the tenant initially accepted it. You will need to identify a lawful ground and serve a fresh notice under the correct provisions.

The Ending a Tenancy in the Australian Capital Territory guide covers every lawful ground, its notice or pre-application procedure, and service method for periodic tenancies — including the grounds matrix, day-counting method, and ACAT filing process — verified to the rules as at October 2026.

See more Australian Capital Territory guides →