As seen in The West Real Estate
Recently I read a news story about a person who had been evicted three times in the past year. The story stated no grounds evictions were still allowed in Western Australia.
The word eviction is very emotionally charged and is frequently mistakenly used to refer to the ending of a tenancy. Evictions and the ending, or non-renewal, of a lease are not the same thing.
Evictions are the last resort for property owners and usually signify a serious breakdown in the owner/tenant relationship. If a tenant is being evicted, there is definitely a reason – or grounds – for the eviction and the tenant will be aware of it.
Legally, before an eviction can be considered, proper processes, such as issuing breach notices and giving the tenant the opportunity to rectify any issues, must take place.
If this happens, and the issues are not rectified, the tenant can be given written notice to leave. If they refuse to leave, the owner must get a court order to end the agreement and take possession of the premises.
If the Magistrates Court makes an order that the tenant must leave, but the tenant believes they are likely to suffer hardship as a result, they can ask for the order to be suspended for up to 30 days.
In addition, the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) protects tenants if they believe any action to evict them is due to steps they have taken to enforce their rights as tenants. In such cases, the tenant can remain in the property until the matter goes to court where they can argue against the eviction.
No grounds terminations occur when an owner ends a lease and chooses not to provide the tenant with a specific reason. These are quite rare as generally most owners will communicate the reason behind ending the tenancy.
While an owner is not legally required to tell a tenant why they are terminating the lease, there is legislation governing the correct way to end a lease. Fixed-term leases have a specified end date. If the owner does not wish to renew the lease they must give the tenant 30 days’ notice. If notice is not given, the lease automatically rolls over into a periodic lease. When a lease is periodic, the tenant must be given 60 days’ notice.
The RTA also protects tenants if they believe their lease is being terminated/not renewed due to retaliatory action from the owner after they have exercised their rights as a tenant.
If you have questions about the ending of your lease, you can contact Consumer Protection on 1300 304 054.
Suzanne Brown
REIWA President
