What are the Tenants’ Rights in Qld – If Your Landlord Decides to Sell ?

What a pain. I’ve never met a tenant happy when they hear the property they call home is being sold. It’s awkward for everyone involved. Luckily, as there are tenants’ rights in Qld, the owner has rights too, and sometimes this needs to be clarified. 

TENANTS’ RIGHTS WHEN A HOUSE IS FOR SALE IN QLD?

Many tenants must learn the tenant’s rights when the house is for sale. I’ve had all sorts of interesting situations where tenants have become extremely hostile towards me, not knowing what this means to tenants being incredibly accommodating and helpful as if it was their property. 

FIRST 8 WEEKS

If you’ve just signed a lease and the owner decides to sell in the first eight weeks of the lease being signed. Guess what. You can leave. Yep, rip up the lease and move out. Yay. Well, with two weeks’ notice and using the Form 13 notice to go here

But if they come along at week 9, you have legally bound to the tenants’ rights QLD lease agreement and need to stay. So come along for the ride. 

NOTICE OF LESSOR’S INTENTION TO SELL PREMISES

The owner or the agency selling through needs to supply you with an official form called an intention to sell. It’s rude if they pop this through to your email. Ideally, they should meet and discuss a plan, so you understand what’s involved. 

So if they plan to sell and you have not seen this form, please ask for one. It’s called Form 10, and you can see one here.

CAN REAL ESTATE AGENTS IN QUEENSLAND TAKE PHOTOS OF YOUR FURNITURE?

Did you know they can’t just take photographs of the property with your “stuff” in it unless you are OK with it? Which needs to be in writing. You might have a shiny new TV or your pet dog’s ashes in a big expensive vase, and you don’t want the world to know about it. 

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But the truth is. Really? I’ve never had a tenant broken into or things stolen because of their furniture being seen online, so while you do have Queensland tenants’ rights, my advice is to work with the sales agent and just let them get on with the sale so they can get our of your hair as fast as possible. 

You can read more about this here on the RTA site.

OPEN HOMES

As a tenant, you can refuse to have advertised open homes. Yep not a stranger’s going through “your home” on weekends. But this might bite you on the bum. You can read more about it on the RTA site here. If you keep the sales agent from doing an open home, they can bring buyers through 6 days a week with 24 hours’ notice. 

PRIVATE INSPECTIONS

As mentioned above, agents can legally send you a Form 9 entry notice with 24 hours’ notice and show buyers Mon to Sat, 9 am to 5 pm, without your permission. Just send the message and rick on up at that time. They can even do this several times a day. You can read more about entry and entry notices for a property being sold at the RTA site.

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QUIET ENJOYMENT

This is where the legislation is very grey. As a tenant, you are entitled to quiet enjoyment of the property. So if the agent shows the property daily three times a day, you’d have a claim with the RTA, and you can read more about your right to quiet enjoyment here. 

RIGHT TO SELL

But the owner has a right to sell that you can’t obstruct. So if you leave the property a mess or hang around for an inspection making noise, you’ll have an issue.

WHO WILL BUY YOUR HOME?

You might not own the property, but it’s still your home. I get it. But who’s going to buy it? If you are in a long lease, it makes sense that the buyer will be an investor, and you will become their tenant. But if your lease ends, it will likely sell to a homeowner who wants to live in the property. The best thing for you to do is to keep open communication with the sales agent to get a feel of who’s showing the most interest, so you have a heads-up. 

CHANGE OF PROPERTY OWNER

It’s called Form 5. Once the property is sold and has settled, you need to be supplied with a Form 5 notifying you who the new owner is. The agency can do this once the sale is unconditional, and you can see what these forms look like here on the RTA site. 

YOU ARE PROTECTED BY YOUR LEASE

I’m surprised how many tenants assume they will have to leave because of the house sales Qld. But you are protected by your lease. If the house sells in March and your lease ends in Nov, they can only ask you to leave later. Nice yay.

WHAT IF YOUR LEASE HAS EXPIRED?

If you are on a periodic agreement because your lease has expired, the good news is that you can give two weeks’ notice and move whenever you want. If it sells and the new owners want to move in, they need to give you 30 days’ notice to leave.

WHAT IS THE BEST OUTCOME FOR EVERYONE?

As a tenant, you have a few choices. You can make the sale hard by leaving the place messy and creating access to a challenge. It’s my experience when a tenant does that; it’s not good for anyone, including them. It makes the sale harder, so the home takes longer, and the sales agent needs to show it to more people. It’s counterintuitive. 

I have found what works best for everyone involved is a fast sale. The sooner the house is sold, the sooner the sales agent will be out of your hair. So how can a short deal happen? Well, as a tenant, you can help. Let them take photos of your furniture, let them do Sat open homes, and let them show people throughout the week. By your cooperating, the sales agents can do their job, get the place sold, letting you get on with your life. 

So, now you are aware of the tenants’ rights QLD but also understand as owners’ rights, they can sell too, so do what you can to get it done. 

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