Understanding tenancy endings through landlord and agent survey data

How tenancies can end under NSW law

NSW tenancy laws say how residential tenancy agreements can be ended.

Tenancies are usually terminated by the tenant, landlord, the landlord's agent, or by a NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal order.

NSW Fair Trading has developed surveys for landlords and agents and questions at time of bond claim for tenants about how and why tenancies can end under the NSW Residential Tenancies Act 2010:

• answers to the mandatory survey from landlords or their agent will help us better understand the rental market, the different reasons landlords are using to end a tenancy and whether these are appropriate.
• answers to voluntary tenant questions when they claim their bond help us understand the renting experience to monitor changes in the rental market and consider future opportunities for improvement.

NSW Fair Trading shares data insights annually from the responses provided by landlords, tenants and agents.

Mandatory end of tenancy questions for landlords and agents

From 1 July 2025, landlords or their agents must complete a short survey when claiming or releasing a rental bond through Rental Bonds Online.

The mandatory survey asks who ended the tenancy and how. If the landlord ended a tenancy, they must also answer questions about the reason for ending it.

Landlords and agents have 14 days from the initial bond claim to complete the survey. NSW Fair Trading can serve a penalty notice for non-compliance.

Voluntary questions for tenants when claiming bond

When a tenancy agreement is ended, tenants are also asked to complete voluntary questions about the reasons why the tenancy ended under NSW tenancy laws. The questions are similar to the questions asked of landlords or the landlord’s agent. 

Every principal tenant can answer the tenant questions when claiming a bond through Rental Bonds Online. A separate email is also sent to the principal tenant inviting them to answer the questions about why the tenancy ended, to ensure that the option of answering the questions is available to them even if they have not accessed Rental Bonds Online. 

Previous voluntary end of tenancy survey after claiming bond

From 2 August 2021 to 30 June 2025, NSW Fair Trading conducted a voluntary end of tenancy survey to collect data about why tenancies end. This was based on previous legislation before the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 was amended and new rental laws started.

For this survey, NSW Fair Trading asked every principal tenant and landlord or nominated agent to complete a survey after a bond claim was finalised through Rental Bonds Online. The results of this end of tenancy survey are available through the Data NSW Portal.