Forced to leave a rental property? We want to hear your experience

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23

I have to vacate my rental property as my lease is ending and owner is going to sell. Before putting on the market she needs to renovate, so I need to leave for her to be able to do this, but I have not been successful in securing another rental to move into.
Do I have any rights to have lease extended till I find another place to live?

24

Information on rights of a tenant when a landlord wishes to sell a property are outlined here (assuming the landlord is trying to breaking a lease agreement):

I assume that you currently donā€™t have new rental agreement when the existing one expires (either fixed term or periodic?). If you do, then this applies:

If the landlord wants you to leave

What the landlord can do depends on which type of agreement you have.
Fixed-term agreement
The landlord cannot terminate your agreement for sale of the premises.
Periodic agreement
The landlord can issue a 30-day notice of termination but only if both the following conditions are met:
ā€¢ they have exchanged a contract for sale with a buyer, and;
ā€¢ the contract requires them to give ā€˜vacant possessionā€™ of the premises to the buyer

If you havenā€™t been able to or have a new lease agreement with the owner, then at the end of the existing lease period you donā€™t have any rights to continue on the rent of the property. One has to remember that the landlord may need to book in tradespeople for the renovation and flexibility of temporary extensions beyond the end of the fixed term lease may not be possible.

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25

Welcome to the community @rturner,

Members of the forum are unable to give legal advice, only personal opinions as we are not licensed to do more, nor are we necessarily experts although some of us have particular experience that may assist.

In NSW the tenants organisation may be able to advise you.

In normal circumstances once a lease expires a tenant is expect to timely vacate on the date. If the landlord wants you to vacate prior to the end lease for their convenience to renovate, you will find excellent guidance on the above linked web site.

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26

Thanks pretty much as I thought
But hearing what others might knowā€¦ You just never know hey. Was being hopeful but itā€™s the same info I have found
Cheers for the feedback

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27

2 Years old topic but renters appear to be open game to fund property purchases in Qld and perhaps other states and territories.

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28

Seems like the idea here is to make it clear that once a fixed term rental has ended, a tennant either enters into a new fixed term lease, or vacates.
It is less desirable from a landlordā€™s position with new tennant protections coming into force on periodic leases to allow a lease to roll over into a periodic monthly lease by default.

1 Like