A recent survey revealed that nearly 30 percent of renters in Australia don’t have written leases. It seems high and you wonder if it includes tenants who have allowed their leases to run out and who then automatically become ‘periodic’ tenants.
That said, there are plenty of tenants and landlords who fly under the radar whether it’s to dodge tax or help out family and friends. And if things turn sour, the good news is that they have the same basic protections as those with formal leases.
“Tenancy agreements … can also be oral (e.g. a conversation with the landlord), or partly written–partly oral,” says a fact sheet on the excellent Tenants NSW website (tenants.org.au), adding, “All agreements must follow the Residential Tenancies Act 2010.”
That law also provides a safety net for verbal agreements, including that the landlord can’t increase the rent or end the tenancy without grounds during the first six months.
However, without a written lease your problem will be proving that you ever had an agreement to begin with, let alone its terms, and that’s without even getting to before-and-after condition reports and bond repayments.
Leases protect both sides of the tenancy deal and, as Hollywood legend Sam Goldwyn famously said, a verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.
Are you one of the great unleased? Does a verbal agreement work for you? Let us know here on the Forum.