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Topic
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Hello,
I left my apartment two weeks before end of my lease. I notified my agent well in advance and requested him to issue me lease break receipt.
My rent was deducted till the end of lease period. But my agent did not issue me a lease break receipt. Instead, he provided me a rental ledger.
He stated that as per Australian Govt law, a lease is technically broken only if a suitable replacement tenant is found within the period. As in my case, no tenant was found between my vacating date and lease end date, the agent was unable to break the lease. Hence he was unable to provide any lease break receipt.
Please let me know whether my agent is right.
Does Australian Govt states that a Lease Break receipt is issued only when a tenant is found within the lease period?
Thanks.
N Roy
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Replies
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Breaking a lease earlier than the stated termination date can be complicated. There are responsibilities on the part of both the tenant and the agent that should be complied with.
Yes, the agent may be correct.
Information that may assist you is here:
Did your lease have a break clause?
If so, then my recent experience with a lease break fee may be useful.
I am a landlord and in my case there was provision in the lease for a break fee to be paid by the tenant if he breaks the lease before expiry. But not all leases include this clause.
Getting the fee out of the tenant required a hearing at NCAT.
After being paid the exact sum I emailed the tenant that the money (I spelled out the amount) was received.
Regardless of whether there was or there was no break fee in your lease it is only proper that whoever receives money from you must offer a receipt of some kind. Even a simple email like I did is good enough.
Also, if your lease had a break fee clause you need NOT pay rent until the end of the lease. The break fee is to be paid when you vacate the premises. If say you vacated on 1st of the month and paid rent until the 15th, then you should reduced the break fee paid by 2 weeks, because you have overpaid the rent.
The standard lease break fee (below) is based on how much of the tenancy has run but is not obligatory.
41. The tenant agrees that, if the tenant ends the residential tenancy agreement before the end of the fixed term of the agreement, the tenant must pay a break fee of the following amount:
41.1 if the fixed term is for 3 years or less, 6 weeks rent if less than half of the term has expired or 4 weeks rent in any other case, or
41.2 if the fixed term is for more than 3 years, [specify amount]:If there is no break fee, the Tenants Union advises this in their Factsheet No 16: Ending Tenancy Early
Negotiate an agreed amount of compensation with the landlord/agent. (The landlord may agree not to be compensated.) Discuss whether the landlord will claim from your bond. Put any agreement in writing.
If you cannot come to an agreement, the landlord/agent may apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal for an order that you pay a certain amount in compensation. The landlord must:
provide the Tribunal with details of their losses (e.g. lost rent, advertising costs, an agent’s re-letting fee)
outline the steps they took to minimise their losses (e.g. advertising for a new tenant without delay).
In the meantime:
Keep negotiating. You may come to an agreement before the Tribunal hearing.
Claim your bond back. See Factsheet 03: Bond.
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@RoyalN said:
Hello,I left my apartment two weeks before end of my lease. I notified my agent well in advance and requested him to issue me lease break receipt.
My rent was deducted till the end of lease period. But my agent did not issue me a lease break receipt. Instead, he provided me a rental ledger.
I’m not sure what the problem is here. What difference does it make?
NB: I changed the Screen Name for this user as they had used their real name – NOT a good idea when you are involved in an actual dispute.
If you want to be alerted when anyone replies to your posts or responds to this topic, please register and login, then you will be able to subscribe to the topic. The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers. NB: Longer threads may spill over to additional pages - look for the numbers on the bottom right, under the last post.