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S

Sale of property

If the landlord wishes to place the rented property on the market for sale, they must advise the tenant of this in writing.  

To show the property to prospective tenants, purchasers or a registered valuer who is engaged in the preparation of a report, the landlord needs the prior consent of the tenant to enter the property. The tenant cannot unreasonably refuse consent but may attach reasonable conditions to their consent. 

Tenants may not have to agree to open homes or auctions on site and can insist that the property be shown by appointment only. If a landlord wants to include open homes or an on-site auction in their sale plan, they should discuss this with the tenant first and get their tenant’s prior consent for specific dates and times for these to occur.  

If the tenancy is for a fixed term, the property must be sold tenanted, unless the landlord and tenant come to an arrangement for early termination of the tenancy.  

Unless the tenancy was terminated by agreement or notice, the new owner would inherit the tenancy agreement that was already in place and the vendor should provide a photocopy of the tenancy agreement to the purchaser.  

The landlord should notify the tenants in writing that the property has been sold, who the new owner is, and when the new owner will take over. The new owner should advise the tenant in writing of their details, when they take over, and where the tenant should pay the rent.

The landlord and purchaser should complete a change of landlord/agent form [PDF 146 KB, 2 pages] and forward it to the Department of Building and Housing to update the bond record. The bond should pass to the purchaser at the date of settlement or the date of possession whichever is the earlier.  

Serving notices 

Notices to terminate tenancies, to increase the rent, to remedy a breach, or any other document or notice that is required or authorised by the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 to be given to or served on the landlord or tenant, should be served in accordance with section 136 of the Act.

  • In general, if the notice or document is handed to the tenant or landlord, it is served immediately.
  • If it is left in their letter box or attached to the door of the property in a prominent position, it is served 2 working days after the date on which it was delivered in absence of evidence to the contrary.
  • If it is properly addressed and posted it is considered (in absence of evidence to the contrary) to have been served on the fourth working day after the date on which it was posted.
  • If it was faxed after 5 pm it is considered to have been served on the next working day after it was transmitted, in absence of evidence to the contrary.

Although not mentioned in the Act, notices may be able to be served by email if the email address was supplied as a part of the landlord's or tenant’s address for service, or the landlord and tenant habitually use email to communicate such notices to each other. If email is used to serve a notice, it would be for the person sending the notice to prove that the notice was sent and that the other party received it. The notice would not be considered served until it was received by the other party.