The need to change addresses may be created by a number of different scenarios. At times, tenants are forced to move to a different address before the end of the tenancy agreement. This article provides answers to two questions that a tenant may have in relation to the early termination of tenancy agreements in New South Wales.

What Does It Cost To Terminate A Tenancy Agreement Early?

A number of expenses may be involved in the early termination of a residential lease agreement. The nature of these costs varies according to the specific circumstances of each tenant. For example, the terms and conditions in some tenancy agreements include a "break-fee" clause, which stipulates the penalty for ending the lease agreement prematurely.

In a large number of cases, the formula to be used when calculating the amount to be paid as "break-fee" is agreed upon at the time of signing the agreement.

In other cases, the landlord and the tenant agree on a definite amount to be paid in the event that the tenancy agreement is terminated pre-maturely.

It is important to point out that the "break fee" is non-refundable even when the landlord gets a replacement tenant immediately.

In the absence of the clause discussed above, a tenant may be required to continue paying rent until the end of the lease agreement or until the landlord gets a new tenant, depending on which one happens first.

Does Early Termination Deny Tenants Their Bond Refund?

Tenants in New South Wales are entitled to a full refund of the bond money paid at the time of commencing the tenancy agreement. The decision to terminate a lease agreement before its time is not sufficient grounds for the denial of a bond refund.

In the ideal situation, a bond refund is denied for one of two reasons. The first of these reasons is that the tenant is responsible for physical and structural defects (e.g. broken sinks, damaged doors and/or locks) within the rental unit.

The second reason is that the tenant has failed to clean the rental unit properly so that the rental unit will sparkle in the eyes of prospective new tenants. Fortunately, the cost of hiring a professional end-of-lease cleaning Brisbane company is often much lower than the amount to be refunded to tenants as bond money in the event of a premature termination of their tenancy agreement.

FOr more information, talk to your landlord.