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Published: June 17, 2026
Evictions from a Tenancy
In Queensland, the residential tenancy laws control how and when a tenancy can be ended, including when a tenant can be evicted from the property. The laws outline the process a rental provider must follow to formally end the tenancy, and provides rights for tenants facing eviction.
Below we provide information to help guide your support to a tenant facing eviction. Slightly different rules apply if a community member is in rooming accommodation or does not have a formal tenancy. If you are unsure what type of agreement a community member has or think that they may not be a formal tenant under an agreement, we suggest you contact QSTARS or a local community legal centre for advice.
Responding to a Notice to Leave
A Notice to Leave is a formal legal document that starts the process for a rental provider to end a tenancy.
Rental providers may give a renter a Notice to Leave if the tenancy is due to end (for example, the 12-month fixed-term is coming to an end) or they believe the renter has failed to remedy a breach of the rental agreement. In some circumstances, a rental provider can give a renter a Notice to Leave without first giving them a Notice to Remedy Breach.
The Notice to Leave should state when the rental provider is asking the tenant to leave by. This is called the handover date.
Importantly, a Notice to Leave is only a step in the eviction process. Some community members may think that that they must leave a property by the handover date or they will be forcibly removed. When initially speaking to the community member, it’s important to explain that the Notice to Leave does not end the tenancy or their right to live at the property. If they do not leave by the handover date, the landlord can apply to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal for a termination order and a warrant of possession. Without these orders, the tenant remains entitled to live at the property.
If a community member leaves the property, that ends the tenancy.
If the community member stays in the property, they should continue to pay rent. If they stop paying rent, it may give the rental provider another reason to issue a Notice to Leave. It may also impact the community members chances of defending any eviction proceedings.
Even where a rental provider has given a Notice to Leave, you can still negotiate for the tenant to remain in the tenancy. There may also be legal protections that will allow the tenancy to continue.
Where a community member receives a Notice to Leave, you may want to:
Contact the Rental Provider
As are starting point, you may want to contact the rental provider (the property owner or their agent) to discuss the Notice to Leave and whether they are open to continuing the tenancy.
Many real estate agents will send a Notice to Leave 2 – 3 months before the end of the fixed-term of the tenancy as a matter of course and will be open to the tenant entering a new agreement. If the tenant is in arrears, the rental provider may also be open to continuing the tenancy if the arrears are paid or a payment plan is entered.
Some rental providers may not be open to negotiating. Even if this is the case, it can be helpful to speak with them about the possibility of the community member remaining in the tenancy.
Consider if the Notice to Leave was Valid
A Notice to Leave must be given in the correct form and must include certain information. We discuss this further below.
In some cases, the Notice to Leave can only be given at a certain time. For example, a Notice to Leave for an Unremedied Breach can only be given after the period a tenant has to rectify the breach.
If the Notice to Leave was not valid, a tenant may have a defence to any eviction.
If you have concerns about a Notice to Leave, we strongly encourage you to support the community member to get legal advice.
Consider if the tenants actions justify the eviction
Even where a Notice to Leave is validly given to a tenant, the Tribunal has a discretion not to end the tenancy.
There are only a limited number of Tribunal decisions that discuss when the Tribunal will exercise its discretion not to order the termination. If the termination of the tenancy would have a significant impact on the tenant (for example, they and their family would face homelessness) and the reason for the termination is relatively minor (for example, a small amount of rent arrears), a Tribunal may decide not to end the tenancy even where the correct process has been followed.
If you think there are reasons why the tenant should be allowed to stay at the property, we strongly encourage you support the community member to get legal advice.
Recent changes to the tenancy laws mean that rental providers can no longer give a Notice to Leave without grounds. Many rental providers will no longer allow tenancies to move from a fixed-term to a periodic (month to month) agreement. It’s common practice for real estates to give a Notice to Leave two or three months before the end of a tenancy, even if they are offering the renter a new agreement. Sometimes the Notice to Leave is given at the same time as a new tenancy agreement.
Technical Requirements for a Notice to Leave
Under the law, a Notice to Leave must be on the correct form and state the grounds (the reason) the rental provider is trying to end the tenancy. The notice should include details about the reason and the date the rental provider wants the community member to move out by (the ‘handover date’).
The law requires rental providers to follow a process to end a tenancy and evict a renter. If the correct process is not followed, or if there are errors in the documents, there may be grounds to challenge the eviction.
The rental provider is required to give renters a set amount of time to leave. This is called the ‘Notice Period’. The Notice Period depends on the reason the rental provider is issuing the Notice to Leave. Tenants Queensland have a useful summary of the different Notice Periods. The Notice Period starts on the day the renter was given notice. If the notice is sent by post it must include extra time to allow for delivery (usually 3–4 business days).
Under the law, a notice to leave must:
- Be in a certain form. Notices cannot be given verbally, by text message, or written in the body of an email.
- Contain the reason for giving the notice to leave.
- Give a minimum notice period.
- Be correctly given, or ‘served’, on the renter. A notice to vacate must be delivered by hand, registered post or by email (if the renter has agreed to receive correspondence by email).
The law sets out all the reasons that a rental provider can give a notice to leave to a renter. The rental provider must give the renter a reason for ending the tenancy.
Common reasons for rental providers to issue a Notice to Leave include:
- The end of a fixed-term agreement.
- A renter has not remedied a breach (for example, unpaid rent) within the allowed time.
- A renter has harassed, intimidated, or verbally abused the rental provider or a neighbour or caused a serious nuisance (called Objectionable Behaviour).
- A renter has engaged in illegal activity or intentionally caused serious damage, endangered others, or significantly interfered with peace and comfort of another tenant to justify ending the tenancy agreement (called Serious Breach).
