CribCheckTypical notice periods
- Weekly tenant: about one week.
- Monthly tenant: about one month.
- Quarterly or half-yearly tenant: about three months.
- Yearly tenant: about six months.
An agreement can set different periods, so read yours. Where the agreement is silent, the statutory position for your state applies.
Two notices, not one
After a valid notice to quit expires, the landlord normally serves a seven-day notice of intention to recover possession before filing in court. Skipping or misdating either notice commonly sends the landlord back to the beginning.
What to do when you receive notice
- Keep the notice and the envelope, and note the date you received it.
- Check it names the right tenant, the right property and a lawful expiry date.
- Keep paying rent as it falls due unless advised otherwise.
- Take legal advice early rather than after a court date.
General information for house hunters, not legal advice. Tenancy law differs by state and reforms are debated regularly — confirm the current position in your state, and take advice from a lawyer before acting on a dispute.