NSW Change of Use Termination: Exiting the Rental Market as a Landlord

What the Change of Use Ground Covers

The change of use ground under the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 applies when a landlord is withdrawing a property from the residential rental market for at least 12 months. This means genuinely not renting the property under the Act for that full period — not a brief gap between tenants.

Common uses that qualify:

• Converting the property to short-term rental accommodation (Airbnb, Stayz) under the STRA register
• Converting to commercial premises, office space, or retail
• Using the property as personal storage, a workshop, or studio
• Withdrawing the property from the market entirely while deciding what to do with it long-term, provided you commit to not re-letting for 12 months

This ground does not apply if you're simply between tenants, if you plan to renovate and then re-let (that's the renovation ground with different notice periods and a shorter exclusion), or if you intend to re-let to a different tenant in less than 12 months.

Notice Periods

The notice period depends on the type of tenancy agreement:

• Fixed-term lease of 6 months or less: 60 days' notice, with the vacate date on or after the fixed-term expiry
• Fixed-term lease over 6 months or periodic agreement: 90 days' notice

You cannot serve this notice during a fixed term with a vacate date before the lease expires. The change of use ground is a non-fault ground, so the fixed-term protection applies.

Evidence You Must Attach

Every termination notice for change of use must include:

1. The notice itself (written, signed, dated, with the property address, vacate date, and statutory ground)
2. The Termination Information Statement from NSW Fair Trading
3. A signed and dated written statement from the landlord confirming the property will not be rented under the Act for at least 12 months
4. Objective proof of the intended non-rental use — one of:
   • STRA registration on the NSW Short-Term Rental Accommodation Register
   • Commercial development approval or council planning permission
   • A registered ABN connected to the property's new use

The signed statement alone is not enough. Fair Trading and NCAT expect corroborating documentation that shows the intended use is genuine and already in progress.

The 12-Month Re-Letting Exclusion

This is the longest re-letting restriction in the NSW termination framework. From the termination date (or the date the tenant actually vacates, whichever is later), you cannot advertise or re-let the property as a residential tenancy for 12 full months.

Re-letting within this period without Fair Trading approval is an offence carrying statutory fines. The restriction is enforced through cross-referencing bond lodgement records, re-letting advertisements, and the mandatory end-of-tenancy survey data that Fair Trading collects through Rental Bonds Online.

If genuine unforeseen circumstances force you to abandon the planned use and return the property to the rental market (for example, a serious financial emergency or collapse of the business you intended to run from the premises), you must apply for a re-letting exemption through NSW Fair Trading before advertising the property. Fair Trading assesses the evidence and may grant an exemption — but you cannot re-let first and apply afterwards.

The STRA Angle

Converting a long-term rental to short-term accommodation is one of the most common reasons landlords use this ground. NSW requires STRA properties to be registered on the state register, and the registration serves as your evidence when attaching it to the termination notice.

Be aware that local council rules may cap the number of nights per year you can operate as STRA, particularly if the property is not your principal place of residence. Some councils impose a 180-day annual cap for non-hosted properties. These local rules don't affect the validity of your termination notice, but they do affect whether the intended use is commercially viable.

Tenant Rights Under This Ground

When you serve a change of use termination notice on a periodic agreement, the tenant can leave at any point before the vacate date without paying rent beyond the date they return keys. For fixed-term agreements, the tenant may serve a minimum 14-day Early Exit Notice with a vacate date in the final 60 days of a term of 6 months or less, or the final 90 days of a longer term.

The tenant can also challenge the notice at NCAT within 14 days of receiving it if they believe the ground is not genuine or that the notice was served in retaliation for exercising their rights (for example, reporting maintenance issues or challenging a rent increase).

Our Ending a Tenancy in NSW guide covers every prescribed ground including change of use, with the evidence requirements, re-letting exclusion tracker, and a service date calculator for mapping your notice timeline.

See more New South Wales guides →