Tenant Not Paying Rent WA: The Two Pathways for Landlords

When a tenant stops paying rent in Western Australia, the landlord has two statutory pathways — not one. Choosing the wrong one wastes time. Mixing them up invalidates the notice. Both are prescribed by the Residential Tenancies Act 1987, and both apply to fixed-term and periodic tenancies alike.

Pathway 1: Two-Stage (Form 21 → Form 1A)

This is the structured route that gives the tenant a formal chance to pay before termination.

Step 1 — Serve Form 21 (Breach Notice for Non-payment of Rent) Detail the outstanding rent, the period it covers, and the exact amount owed. The tenant then has 14 full days to pay. Those 14 days start the day after service — exclude the service date itself.

Step 2 — If rent is still unpaid after 14 days, serve Form 1A (Notice of Termination for Non-payment of Rent) This gives the tenant a minimum of 7 days to vacate. The clock starts fresh — again, Day 1 is the day after service.

Step 3 — If the tenant does not vacate File a Form 12 application through the eCourts Portal. The Magistrates Court hears the case and, if satisfied the notice was valid, issues a possession order.

Total minimum timeline: 14 + 7 = 21 days from the first Form 21 service, plus any postal transit allowance for each notice served by post.

Pathway 2: Direct (Form 1B)

Form 1B is a Notice of Termination for Non-payment of Rent issued directly — no prior breach notice required. The tenant gets a minimum of 7 days to vacate.

The tradeoff: Form 1B carries a statutory protection for the tenant. If the tenant pays the full outstanding rent (plus any court application fees, if proceedings have started) by the day before the court hearing, the Magistrates Court may refuse to terminate the tenancy and allow it to continue.

Form 1A does not carry this same protection. Once the 14-day breach notice has expired unpaid and a valid Form 1A has been served, the court's discretion is narrower.

Which Pathway to Choose

Use the two-stage route when:

• You want the strongest position if it goes to court
• The arrears are substantial and unlikely to be paid in full
• You want to close off the tenant's right to halt the termination by paying at the last minute

Use the direct Form 1B route when:

• You want to move quickly (7 days vs 21)
• You would accept the tenancy continuing if the tenant pays in full by the day before the hearing
• The arrears are recent and you want to use the direct termination route

Serving the Notice

Same rules for both pathways:

• Personal delivery, ordinary prepaid post, or email (if the lease includes express written consent)
• Never drop it in the tenant's letterbox yourself — that is not lawful service
• Never use registered post — the tenant can refuse to sign, and service has not occurred
• If serving by post, add transit days before the notice period begins

The 7-Day Notice Is Not a Quick Fix

Even 7 days is a minimum, not a total timeline. If the tenant does not vacate, you then need to file with the Magistrates Court, wait for a hearing date, and potentially wait for the Bailiff to enforce a possession order. The Magistrates Court can grant a hardship stay of up to 30 days on top of all of that.

Serving a defective notice — wrong form, wrong amount, wrong dates — resets the entire process to day one.

The Ending a Tenancy in Western Australia guide walks through both rent arrears pathways with worked examples, a date-calculation worksheet, and a pre-flight checklist so you know the notice is valid before you serve it.

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