If you are a tenant and you pay rent to a landlord or agent, they have to follow rules to end the lease or agreement. The landlord or the agent cannot make you leave anytime. They must follow the law.
- Your landlord or agent must give you a notice (a piece of paper) to end the tenancy agreement or lease.
- The paper must tell you
- If you don’t agree with the reason, you don’t have to move out.
- If your lease doesn’t have an end date, your landlord or agent must tell you 42 days before they want you to move out.
- If your lease has an end date, then your landlord or agent must tell you 14 days before the end date that they will not make a new lease so you have to move out by the end date.
- If you and the landlord don’t agree, the landlord must ask the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal (like a court) to order you to leave.
- The tribunal will hear both sides of the story and decide.
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Who Can Help? (Service Providers)
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| Termination of Tenancy by Landlord
Darwin Community Legal Service’s Termination of Tenancy by Landlord factsheet tells you what reason the landlord or agent can end your lease and have you to move out of the house and how much time you have in different circumstances. |
| Tenancy Disputes in the NTCAT
This factsheet tells you about taking disputes to the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal. |
Glossary: What these words mean
| end date | The date you and the landlord or agent agreed that you will move out of the place you rent. This date will be written on your lease. |
| lease | The written agreement about the property that you are renting that you make with your landlord or agent. It’s signed by both of you. A lease is also called a tenancy agreement. |
| Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NTCAT) | The Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NTCAT) is a special kind of court that helps people quickly solve problems that might take a long time in other courts. It tries to be low-cost, easy, quick, and informal; to use plain language; and to help people with special needs. It helps with problems like disputes between tenants and landlords, and other kinds of problems. |
| landlord | The person or company who owns the place that you pay rent to live in. |
| agent | Someone who is looking after the house for the landlord and collecting rent money. |