What does it cost to break a lease early in Tasmania?
In Tasmania, there is no fixed break fee. If you break a lease early, you are legally responsible for paying the rent until a new tenant moves in or your lease ends. You may also have to pay reasonable re-letting costs, such as advertising fees.
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How it works in practice
Understanding Lease Break Costs in Tasmania
Breaking a fixed-term lease in Tasmania means you are ending your tenancy agreement before the agreed-upon end date. Unlike some other Australian states, Tasmania does not have a set statutory break fee that automatically caps your financial liability.
Your Financial Responsibilities
When you break a lease, your primary obligation is to ensure the landlord does not suffer a financial loss. You are legally required to continue paying your normal rent until a new tenant moves into the property or until your original lease term officially expires, whichever happens first.
Additional Re-letting Fees
In addition to ongoing rent, landlords can charge you for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred while finding a replacement tenant. This typically includes advertising costs and property management re-letting fees.
The Duty to Mitigate Loss
The landlord is legally obligated to mitigate their financial losses. This means they must actively advertise the property and try to find a suitable new tenant as quickly as possible. They cannot simply leave the property empty, make no effort to find a replacement, and expect you to keep paying rent for the remainder of the lease.
Important exceptions
There are specific exceptions where you can end a fixed-term lease early in Tasmania without paying break lease costs.
You may be released from your lease without penalty if you can prove severe domestic or family violence. In these cases, you must apply to the Magistrates Court for a formal termination order.
Additionally, you can break the lease without financial penalty if the landlord significantly breaches the tenancy agreement, such as failing to perform urgent repairs, and ignores a formal Notice to Perform. You can also mutually agree with the landlord in writing to end the lease early without extra costs.
What you should do now
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Read your tenancy agreement carefully to understand your specific obligations and any terms related to breaking the lease early.
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Notify your landlord or property manager in writing as soon as possible about your exact intended move-out date.
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Keep paying your rent on time until the property is officially re-let to a new tenant or your original lease expires.
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Ask your landlord for an itemized breakdown of any advertising or reasonable re-letting costs they expect you to cover.
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Monitor online rental listings to ensure the landlord or agent is actively advertising the property to mitigate your ongoing financial loss.
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