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Definitions in renting

Term or phraseDefinition
Tenanta tenant is someone who rents a property from the property’s owner
Ownerthe owner may employ a property manager/agent to look after the property while it is being rented to the tenant. Where ‘owner’ is written on this website, it means the owner or the owner’s agent/property manager.
Exclusive possession exclusive possession means a tenant has access to the property as they please, without anyone else also having that right of access
Leasea lease versus a tenancy: a lease is the agreement between a tenant and owner to rent the property
Tenancya tenancy is the duration of the time the tenant leases/rents the property (which may be made up of more than one lease)
Tenancy agreementa residential tenancy agreement is a lease
Security deposita security deposit is a bond
Contravening / breaching the leasecontravening or breaching the lease means an owner or tenant has done something that the lease says they cannot do, or they failed to do something that the lease says they must do
Notice to vacatea notice to vacate is a letter given to a tenant by an owner to end the lease early
Notice to terminatea notice to terminate is a letter given by a tenant to the owner to end the lease early
Date of effectthe date of effect of a notice is the date the tenant is to deliver vacant possession to the owner, meaning the date they return the keys after moving out
Possession possession means that the property can be entered and used
Remedying a noticeremedying a notice means fixing the reason for which a notice was served, making the notice invalid/void
Breaking the leasebreaking the lease or a lease-break both mean the tenant moved out before the end of the lease
Financial lossfinancial loss is where the owner has had to pay money from themselves to another business, because of something the tenant has done or not done
Inconsistent lease provision

an inconsistent lease provision is a part of the lease that requires an owner or a tenant to do something (or to not do something) that is not the same as what the Act says. An owner or a tenant does not have to comply with inconsistent lease provisions

Last updated: 27 Jul 2022

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