Eviction of a tenant from a rental property
A landlord or agent must follow a lawful process before they can evict a tenant.
Major changes to rental laws started on 19 May 2025
The changes include requiring landlords to give a reason to end a tenancy and making it easier to keep pets in rental homes.
Laws to limit rent increases to once per year and to prevent extra charges at the start of a tenancy started on 31 October 2024.
If a tenant refuses to leave a rental property
If a tenant has been given the appropriate notice to vacate the rental property and has not left by the date specified in a termination notice, the landlord will need to apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (the Tribunal) for termination and possession orders.
A landlord may also be able to apply to the Tribunal for a termination order (and possession order) on certain grounds without giving a termination notice first.
If the tenant does not comply with the Tribunal order, only a Sheriff’s Officer can legally remove the tenant from the rental property under a warrant for possession issued by the Tribunal or a court.
Only a Sheriff’s Officer can enforce a warrant for possession.
A tenant cannot be locked out of their home unless a Sheriff’s Officer is enforcing a warrant for possession issued by the Tribunal or a court.
It is illegal for a landlord or agent to lock a tenant out of their home without following this process and heavy penalties apply. If a tenant has been locked out, they can contact NSW Fair Trading by phone or lodge a complaint online.
Retaliatory eviction
If a landlord or agent gives a termination notice to end a tenancy when a tenant tries to enforce their legal rights (for example asking for repairs), a tenant can apply to the Tribunal for an order that the termination notice was retaliatory and has no effect.
Tenants must apply before the termination date in the notice and within 30 days of getting a termination notice for:
- proposed sale of the property
- significant renovations or repairs
- demolition of the property
- the property no longer being used as a rental home
- the landlord or their family moving into the property
- the tenant no longer being eligible for student accommodation
- the tenant no longer being eligible for affordable or transitional housing, or
- the property being used as key worker accommodation.
For any other termination notice, tenants have 14 days to apply.
If the landlord or agent has applied to the Tribunal for a termination order, a tenant can attend the hearing and argue that the application was retaliatory.
If the Tribunal does make a termination order, it will also make an order for possession.
If the tenant refuses to leave, a warrant for possession will apply.