Selling Rental Property Victoria: Notice Period and Tenant Rights

Selling a rental property in Victoria while a tenant is living there involves more regulatory steps than most landlords expect. The notice period is longer than it used to be, the evidence requirements are specific, and the renter has counter-rights that directly affect your settlement timeline.

The 90-Day Notice Period

Under section 91ZZB of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, a landlord selling a property with vacant possession must give the renter a minimum of 90 days' notice. Before the November 2025 reforms, this was 60 days. Notices served on or after 25 November 2025 must comply with the current 90-day minimum.

If the renter is on a fixed-term lease, the notice expiry date cannot fall before the end of that fixed term. A renter with eight months left on a 12-month lease cannot be given 90 days' notice and told to leave mid-lease for a sale.

Evidence You Must Attach

A notice to vacate for sale under section 91ZZB is invalid unless accompanied by one of three documents:

1. A fully executed contract of sale — signed by both the vendor and purchaser
2. An active exclusive sales agency authority — a signed agreement between you and a licensed real estate agent
3. A formally drafted contract of sale prepared by a licensed conveyancer or legal practitioner

Sending a notice that says "I'm thinking of selling" without any of these is not valid. The evidence must show that a sale is genuinely underway, not just planned.

Serving the Notice

The notice must be on Consumer Affairs Victoria's prescribed Form RT3. Serve it by hand delivery, registered post, or email (only with prior written consent from the renter). If you send it by registered post, add Australia Post transit business days to the 90-day period before setting the termination date.

The Renter's 14-Day Counter-Notice

Here is where things get interesting for your timeline. Under section 91ZB, a renter who receives a 90-day sale notice does not have to stay for the full 90 days. They can give you a 14-day Notice of Intention to Vacate and leave early, without owing any lease-break fees. Rent liability stops when their counter-notice expires.

This is good news if you need vacant possession quickly for settlement, but it also means the renter might leave sooner than expected — which can affect your cash flow if you were counting on rental income during the notice period.

Sales Inspections While the Renter Is Still There

Serving a sale notice does not give you or your agent unrestricted access to the property for buyer inspections. Entry for open-for-inspections is governed by Part 2, Division 8 of the RTA:

• Maximum two inspections per week
• 48 hours' written notice before each inspection (a formal Notice of Entry)
• Statutory compensation to the renter for each inspection — $30 or half the daily rent, whichever is higher

These compensation payments add up. Ten inspections over five weeks cost at least $300 — and more if half the daily rent is higher — a cost that surprises landlords who assume the sale notice gives them open access.

The Six-Month Re-Letting Ban

Once you serve a notice to vacate for sale, you are prohibited from re-letting or re-advertising the property as a residential rental for six months from the date you gave the notice. If the sale falls through and you want to put the property back on the rental market within that window, you need to apply to VCAT for an exemption under section 91ZZH and demonstrate documented exceptional financial or personal circumstances.

Re-letting without VCAT approval is a statutory offence. The former renter can also file a VCAT claim for relocation costs, emergency housing, and rent differential compensation.

If the Renter Does Not Leave

If the renter stays past the termination date, you apply to VCAT for a Possession Order within 30 days. VCAT will examine whether the sale evidence is genuine and whether possession is reasonable. Standard hearing backlogs run around 12 weeks. If your settlement date is approaching, you need to factor this timeline into your sale negotiations.

Coordinating a sale settlement and a VCAT possession application at the same time is one of the most stressful things a self-managing landlord in Victoria can face. The Victoria Ending a Tenancy guide includes the full sale-specific workflow — from notice and evidence through to VCAT filing — with date-calculation worksheets designed for this exact scenario.

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