Ending or breaking your lease

You should use a notice of intention to vacate to end your lease if:

• Your fixed-term lease (officially called the rental agreement) is about to come to an end, and you do not want to renew it, or have it automatically turn into a periodic (month-by-month) lease once the fixed term ends
• You want your periodic (month-by-month) lease to end
• You need to leave the rental property because you need a different type of property (such as special accommodation due to disability, or because you have an offer of public housing). Note: See our page on modifications, in case changes can be made to the property to suit your needs
• You have received a certain type of ‘notice to vacate’ from the landlord (officially called the rental provider) and you want to leave
• The landlord has repeatedly failed to carry out certain duties they have under the law or failed to follow a VCAT compliance or compensation order. See the information on this page about when your landlord ignores breach of duty notices or VCAT order
• The property is unfit or unsafe to live in
• You need to ‘break’ your lease (leave before the end of a fixed term without a valid reason). See the information on this page about breaking your lease and paying costs

The notice of intention to vacate needs to:

• Be in writing
• Be signed by you
• Include the required minimum notice period (the minimum amount of advanced warning the law says you must give)
• Include the date you will be moving out and returning the keys

We recommend you use the official Consumer Affairs Victoria form, Notice of intention to vacate rented premises [Word 95 KB].

This is so you include all of the information that the rules require. If you use this form, it will need to be signed by any co-renters (other renters whose names are on the lease).

How much advanced warning you need to give the landlord (officially called the rental provider) depends on why you are leaving. The minimum amount of warning (called a notice period) is usually 28 days but can sometimes be 14 days, or even immediately (although this rarely happens).

You can give more advanced warning than is required but not less. You can also move out before the end of the minimum notice period, but you will still be responsible for the rent for the entire time. For example, if 28 days notice is required, and you leave at day 20, you must still pay the other 8 days of rent.

When 28 days is required

In most cases, the required minimum notice period is 28 days.

This includes if:

• Your fixed-term lease (officially called the rental agreement) is coming to an end, and you don’t want it to continue past the end-date
• You want your periodic (month-by-month) lease to end
• You have a long-term lease (5 years or more) that isn’t the ‘standard’ format (such as in writing)

When 14 days is allowed

There are some circumstances where you can give a notice period of 14 days.

Landlord ignores breach of duty notices or VCAT order

• The landlord has repeatedly failed to carry out certain duties they have under the law or failed to follow a VCAT compliance or compensation order. See the information on this page about when your landlord ignores breach of duty notices or VCAT order

You need a different type of property

If any of these situations apply to you, you can give your notice of intention to vacate with a minimum of 14 days notice, whether you are in a fixed-term or periodic (month to month) lease:

• You need special or personal care and must leave to get care (You will need to include evidence of this with your notice of intention to vacate.)
• You have received and accepted an offer of public housing from the Victorian Government’s Homes Victoria or an offer of community housing (You will need to include evidence of this with your notice of intention to vacate.)
• You need to move to temporary crisis accommodation (You will need to include evidence of this with your notice of intention to vacate.)
• You have a disability and have asked to make reasonable modifications (custom-built changes to your home), but the landlord has refused (Please see our page on modifications in case there is a way to get the modifications done and avoid having to move out.)
• You have been given a ‘notice of intention to sell’ by the landlord and were not told of the rental provider’s intention to sell the property before you entered into the lease
• You live in special disability accommodation and the landlord’s registration for this accommodation has been cancelled
• The rental property is provided under the Victorian Affordable Housing Programs (VAHP) and you have found another property to live in

You are given a ‘notice to vacate’ and want to leave

You can also give a reduced notice period of 14 days, if the landlord has given you a ‘notice to vacate’ for any of these reasons:

• Repairs, renovations or reconstruction
• Demolition
• The property is to be used as a business
• The landlord, or a dependent family member of theirs, needs to move in
• The property has been, or is being, sold
• The property is required for a public purpose
• Your fixed-term agreement is ending
• You are a public housing renter and are no longer eligible for public housing
• You are a National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) renter and are no longer eligible for NRAS housing
• You are a Victorian Affordable Housing Programs (VAHP) housing renter and are no longer eligible for VAHP housing

Note: Just because you receive a ‘notice to vacate’ from the landlord, it doesn’t necessary mean you have to move out. If you have received a notice to vacate, but don’t want to move out, see our page on notices to vacate and eviction, to see whether the landlord has followed the rules and what to do if they haven’t.

When no minimum notice period is required

You can give an ‘immediate notice to vacate’ if your property is, or becomes, unfit or unsafe to live in. See the information on this page about what to do when a property is unfit or unsafe to live in.

If you end your lease (officially called the rental agreement) with a valid reason and notice to vacate, with the correct amount of advanced warning, you cannot be asked to pay any additional rent beyond the end of the notice period or asked to pay costs (compensation) to the landlord (officially called the rental provider).

If the landlord or agent asks you to pay any costs, we recommend you do not pay anything. The landlord would then need to make a claim at VCAT, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, where they will have to prove that they should receive the costs. VCAT is similar to a court and hears many disputes in Victoria between renters and landlords, who must follow its decisions. If you need support or advice about going to VCAT, this page has information on how to get help.

You do not have to wait until your rent is due before you give a notice of intention to vacate.

If you want to leave in the middle of a rent cycle, you can. You will be responsible for paying the rent up to, and including, the vacate date in your notice.

Example of calculating final rent payment

You have a lease that says the rent is payable per calendar month, due on the first of each month. You paid your usual monthly rent on 1 August but later decided you want to move out. You gave 28 days’ notice that you will be moving out on 14 September.  When 1 September comes around, you do not need to pay another whole month’s rent. You only need to pay the rent up to and including 14 September.

To work out how much you need to pay multiply your monthly rent by 12 then divide that figure by 365 to get the daily rent amount. Then multiply the daily amount by 14 to calculate the amount you need to pay to cover the period from 1 September to 14 September.

You can also calculate your daily rent amount using Consumer Affairs Victoria’s Rent calculator.

If you have a fixed-term lease (officially called a rental agreement) and you leave before the end of the fixed term, without one of the legally valid reasons outlined on this page, this is known as ‘lease-breaking’.

Lease-break costs can be expensive, because the landlord (officially called the rental provider) may be able to recover the money that they spent renting the property to you as well as any rent that they lose before another renter is found. See the information on this page about how to calculate and minimise ‘lease-break’ costs

If you would like to negotiate with the landlord about lease-break costs, you can use the Tenants Victoria template ‘Letter about intention to break lease’ [Word 46 KB]. It aims to help you to give notice correctly, negotiate the best outcome on lease-break costs and remind the landlord of their responsibilities.

If you have a periodic (month-by-month) lease (officially called a rental agreement) but cannot give the current amount of notice before you leave (usually 28 days; sometimes 14 days), you will most likely be asked to pay rent for the rest of the notice period or up until a new renter is found, whichever is lower. For example, if you were meant to give 28 days notice and you only gave 7 days, you will need to pay 21 days of rent to the landlord (officially called the rental provider), unless a new renter is found before that time.

VCAT will look at whether:

• You, or your children, would suffer severe hardship if the lease (officially called the rental agreement) is not ended
• This hardship would be more than any hardship that the landlord (officially called the rental provider) would suffer if the order was made
• It is reasonable to make the order, given the interests of any other renters, except any person excluded from the property under an intervention order
• The other renters on the lease, if any, support your application

If you are also seeking to create a new lease, you will need to show that:

• You are able to pay the rent
• You can be reasonably relied upon to follow your duties under the lease, such as keeping the property reasonably clean and not causing damage
• Your hardship if the new lease is not created would be greater than the hardship of the landlord

To apply, fill out VCAT’s form for family or personal violence applications.

You can complete the form online or download a PDF and fill it in electronically or print it and complete it by hand. If you want a hard copy form posted to you, call VCAT on 1300 018 228.

When you get to the section ‘What orders do you want VCAT to make?’, write section 91V.

If you want to end the lease (officially called the rental agreement) but you don’t want to move out, you can ask VCAT to make an order that a new lease is created with only your name on it (and the name of any co-renters) but not the name of the person who committed the violence.

For more information, see our page on applying to VCAT.

VCAT will let you know the time, date and place of the hearing.

At VCAT the person who hears and decides a case is called a member. The member listens to each side, reviews any evidence and resolves the dispute, either at the end of the hearing or in writing later.

It is best that you go to the hearing to tell your side of the story. If you don’t go, you run the risk of not having your side heard, or your application may be dismissed. While you may feel stressed about the hearing, VCAT is less formal than a court and Tenants Victoria and other organisations can help. If you need advice or support, this page has information on how you can get help. VCAT also has a family violence support team, which can assist you during the hearing, including helping you to attend via phone or video-conference, if required.

In making an order to reduce the fixed term or to end the lease, VCAT will need to agree that:

• There has been an unforeseen (unexpected) change in your circumstances: for example, you have lost your job, or you need to move to care for a sick relative, and
• You would suffer severe hardship if your lease (officially called the rental agreement) continues, or you are experiencing or are at risk of personal violence but there is not an intervention order in place, and
• The hardship you would likely suffer if your fixed term were not reduced, or your lease was not ended, would be greater than the hardship the landlord (officially called the rental provider) would suffer if the order was made

In deciding whether to end the lease, VCAT must consider any severe hardship you would suffer, such as financial or non-financial hardship, or a risk to your safety and that of your children.

In deciding on how much lease-break costs are payable (if any), VCAT must balance the reasons for you wanting to end the agreement due to you hardship, and the loss the landlord will suffer due to the order being madeIn cases involving family violence, VCAT often awards little or no compensation. However, if the lease was ended early for reasons such as a new job opportunity, the compensation awarded may be higher. VCAT also considers factors such as how much notice was given to the rental provider and what efforts they made to relet the property before the hearing.

If VCAT reduces the fixed term, rather than ends the lease, you still need to give a notice of intention to vacate that says when you want to move out.

To apply, fill out VCAT’s general application form. If the hardship relates to personal violence, fill out VCAT’s form for family or personal violence applications.

You can complete the form online or download a PDF and fill it in electronically or print it and complete it by hand. If you want a hard copy form posted to you, call VCAT on 1300 018 228.

When you get to the section ‘What orders do you want VCAT to make?’, write section 91U.

For more information, see our page on applying to VCAT.

VCAT will let you know the time, date and place of the hearing.

At VCAT the people who hear and decide cases are called members. A VCAT member listens to each side, reviews any evidence and resolves the dispute, either at the end of the hearing or in writing later.

It is best that you go to the hearing to tell your side of the story. If you don’t go, you run the risk of not having your side heard, or your application may be dismissed. While you may feel stressed about the hearing, VCAT is less formal than a court and Tenants Victoria and other organisations can help. If you need advice or support, this page has information on how you can get help. VCAT also has a family (and personal) violence support team, which can assist you during the hearing, including helping you to attend via phone or video-conference, if required.

If your landlord (officially called the rental provider) breaks the same duty three times, and you have already given them two ‘breach of duty notices’ and they haven’t fixed the problem in the required time, you have two options:

• You can give your notice of intention to vacate, provided you outline the third breach of duty in that notice, or
• You can issue a third breach of duty notice, and wait the required time, before issuing your notice of intention to vacate

You can end your lease (officially called a rental agreement) by giving 14 days’ notice, if:

• You gave your landlord (officially called the rental provider) one or more breach of duty notices
• You then applied to VCAT, which issued a compliance order, and
• Your landlord didn’t follow the order

1. Check that what your landlord did is a failure to follow one of their duties under rental laws (a ‘breach’ of those duties)
2. Gather evidence (photos, letters, reports) to prove the breach
3. Serve the breach of duty notice correctly (by post, email, or in person)
4. Wait the required time (as stated in the notice) to let the landlord fix the problem
5. If the issue continues:

• You can give another breach notice (up to 3 in total), then give a notice of intention to vacate, or
• You can apply to VCAT for a compliance order. If the landlord ignores it, you can give your notice of intention to vacate

Keep copies of all notices and evidence in case you need to show them to VCAT.

For more information about how to follow this process, see our pages on Landlord (rental provider) breaches and other notices.

Note: If you follow all the steps properly, you cannot be asked to pay any lease-break costs.

To succeed in having a lease (officially called a rental agreement) created in your name, you must show:

• You are able to pay the rent on your own
• You can be reasonably relied upon to comply with the duties of the lease, such as keeping the property reasonably clean and not causing damage
• Your hardship if the new lease is not created would be greater than the hardship of the landlord if it was

Note: Many private renters may not be able to afford the rent on their own. However, if you can find someone willing to live with you and be added to the lease, VCAT may consider this a reasonable option. You will usually need to provide references and other information about the person (similar to what would be required in a rental application) to show that it would be unreasonable for the landlord to refuse to add this person as a  co-renter if the creation of a new lease is ordered by VCAT.

To apply, fill out VCAT’s general application form.

You can complete the form online or download a PDF and fill it in electronically or print it and complete it by hand. If you want a hard copy form posted to you, call VCAT on 1300 018 228.

When you get to the section ‘What orders do you want VCAT to make?’, write section 91S.

For more information, see our page on applying to VCAT.

VCAT will let you know the time, date and place of the hearing.

At VCAT the people who hear and decide cases are called members. A VCAT member listens to each side, reviews any evidence and resolves the dispute, either at the end of the hearing or in writing later.

It is best that you go to the hearing to tell your side of the story. If you don’t go, you run the risk of not having your side heard, or your application may be dismissed. While you may feel stressed about the hearing, VCAT is less formal than a court and Tenants Victoria and other organisations can help. If you need advice or support, this page has information on how you can get help.

First fixed-term lease

You moved into a new property under a 12-month fixed-term lease lease (officially called the rental agreement), starting 1 January and ending 31 December.

The landlord (officially called the rental provider) paid $240 in advertising costs to find you and a letting fee of $480 to their agent. The letting fee included the agent’s costs for showing the property to prospective renters, including yourself, and preparing the lease.

In July, you decided you wanted to move to a different property in an area that you liked better. You gave the landlord more than a month’s written notice that you would end your lease early and move out on 27 August.

A new renter was found and entered into a lease to rent the property from 1 September. You paid the landlord compensation equal to 4 days’ rent to cover the time the property was vacant, up to 31 August.

Because you moved out 4 months before the end of your fixed term, the landlord did not get the full value of the advertising and letting costs they spent for your lease, so they can ask you to pay the proportion of these costs.

Those costs are to be worked out on a ‘pro-rata’ basis, so they are only for the 4-month period between 31 August and 31 December, when your fixed-term lease would have ended if you didn’t leave early.

To work out how much you can be asked to pay for those 4 months, calculate the monthly amount. Do this by dividing the amounts by 12 then multiplying the result by 4.

Pro-rata advertising costs:

$240 ÷ 12 = $20 a month

$20 × 4 = $80 for 4 months

Pro-rata reletting fee:

$480 ÷ 12 = $40 a month

$40 × 4 = $160 for 4 months

The total pro-rata costs you can be asked to pay to cover the months from 31 August until 31 December are:

$80 (advertising costs) + $160 (reletting fee) = $240

Second fixed-term lease

You moved into a new property under a 12-month fixed-term lease, starting 1 January 2023 and ending 31 December 2023.

At the end of your first fixed-term lease, you and the landlord agreed to enter into a second fixed-term lease starting 1 January 2024 and ending 31 December 2024.

The landlord had paid $240 in advertising costs to find you and a letting fee of $480 to their agent for preparing the agreement for your first lease. However, they did not have to pay any of these costs for your second lease.

In August 2024, you decided you wanted to move to a different property in an area that you liked better. You gave landlord 2 weeks written notice that you would end your lease early and move out on 31 August.

A new renter was found and entered into a lease to rent the property from 15 September 2024.

Because the landlord did not spend any money for advertising or letting fees for your second lease, they cannot ask you to pay any of those costs.

However, they can ask you to pay costs to cover the rent for the 14 days from the time you moved out, on 31 August 2024, and the time the new renter moved in, on 15 September 2024.

The monthly rent under the lease was $1,200. To work out how much you need to pay for the 14 days between 31 August and 15 September calculate the daily rent amount. Do this by multiplying the monthly rent by 12 and then dividing that amount by 365.

$1,200 × 12 = $14,400 yearly rent

$14,400 ÷ 365 = $39.45 daily rent

$39.45 × 14 days = $552.33

So, the total amount you pay is $552.33.

You can also calculate your daily rent amount using Consumer Affairs Victoria’s Rent calculator

The more notice you can give that you will break your lease (also called your rental agreement) and move out, the better.

This will give the landlord (also called the rental provider) more time to find a new renter, which reduces the amount of money you have to pay to the landlord for the time the property was vacant.

We recommend you use the official Consumer Affairs Victoria form, Notice of intention to vacate rented premises [Word 95 KB].

Make sure it is clear in your notice that you will move out before the end of the fixed term. Include the exact date you will move out, and be sure to return the keys.

Make it clear on the notice that you want the landlord (officially called the rental provider), or agent, to start looking for a new renter straight away.

The landlord is expected to ‘mitigate’ their losses. This means they are expected to take all reasonable steps to keep any losses as low as possible. This includes finding a new renter as quickly as they can.

If the landlord or agent does anything to make it harder to find a new renter, such as putting up the rent, or if they do not make an effort to find a new renter, you can argue that they have not ‘mitigated’ their losses and that you should not have to pay for all their compensation costs for loss of rent.

The more you can do to help find a new renter, such as having the property available for inspection, or advertising the property yourself, the less you are likely to have to pay lease-break costs.

If you offer to help find a new renter, but the landlord (officially called the rental provider) refuses your offer or unreasonably rejects an application of someone you find to rent the property, you can argue that they have done enough to reduce their losses and that you should not pay compensation costs unless ordered to by VCAT.

Make sure the landlord (officially called the rental provider) is taking steps to relet the property after you have given your notice.

Check if the property has been advertised for rent online, including on the agent’s own website. If the property is not being advertised, or is being advertised at a higher rent, or the ad is misleading, keep this as evidence, in case the landlord makes a claim to VCAT for ‘lease-break’ costs.

You can also remind the landlord that they are expected to take reasonable steps to find a new renter as quickly as possible and to keep their costs to a minimum.

If the reason the property is not being advertised is because a new renter has already been found, check the date the new renter will move in, so you know how long the property was vacant for, as this is relevant to calculating compensation costs to the landlord.

If you need support to end your lease, help is available.

There are resources to assist you with understanding more about ending or breaking your lease.

The Residential Tenancies Act 1997 is Victoria’s main law for renting. It describes the rights and duties of renters and landlords in numbered sections.

The sections in this list relate to ending or breaking your lease. Click on a link to see more about the section.

• Section 81 – Assignment and sub-letting by a renter
• Section 82 – Renter may apply to VCAT
• Section 84 – Rental provider cannot ask for fee for giving consent
• Section 91C – Termination by agreement
• Section 91D – Termination by consent
• Section 91L – Termination by renter before possession
• Section 91N – Termination after death of a sole renter
• Section 91Q – Creation of periodic rental agreement
• Section 91S – Application to Tribunal for creation of residential tenancy agreement
• Section 91U – Reduction or termination because of hardship
• Section 91V – Termination or creation because of family or personal violence
• Section 91W – VCAT termination or creation orders
• Section 91X – VCAT may determine parties’ liability under terminated rental agreement
• Section 91Z – Notice of intention to vacate
• Section 91ZB – Reduced period of notice of intention to vacate in certain circumstances
• Section 91ZC – Rental agreement of more than 5 years does not comply with standard form
• Section 91ZD – Premises destroyed or unfit for habitation
• Section 91ZE – Failure of rental provider to comply with VCAT order
• Section 91ZF – Successive breaches by rental provider
• Section 91ZG – Order of Tribunal that premises are abandoned
• Section 91ZZN – Form of notice of intention to vacate
• Section 91ZZQ – How can a notice be withdrawn
• Section 208 – Breach of duty notice
• Section 209 – Application for compensation or compliance for breach of duty
• Section 211A – Matters to be considered by VCAT in a compensation matter
• Section 322 – Application for possession order by rental provider
• Section 506 – Service of documents

The Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021 provide more detail and definitions, and specify updates to the Residential Tenancies Act.