| Term or phrase | Definition |
|---|---|
| Tenant | a tenant is someone who rents a property from the property’s owner |
| Owner | the 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 |
| Lease | a lease versus a tenancy: a lease is the agreement between a tenant and owner to rent the property |
| Tenancy | a tenancy is the duration of the time the tenant leases/rents the property (which may be made up of more than one lease) |
| Tenancy agreement | a residential tenancy agreement is a lease |
| Security deposit | a security deposit is a bond |
| Contravening / breaching the lease | contravening 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 vacate | a notice to vacate is a letter given to a tenant by an owner to end the lease early |
| Notice to terminate | a notice to terminate is a letter given by a tenant to the owner to end the lease early |
| Date of effect | the 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 notice | remedying a notice means fixing the reason for which a notice was served, making the notice invalid/void |
| Breaking the lease | breaking the lease or a lease-break both mean the tenant moved out before the end of the lease |
| Financial loss | financial 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 |
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