Landlords play a crucial role in the rental market, balancing property management responsibilities with tenants' rights. Evictions, while often seen from a tenant’s perspective, also significantly impact landlords.

Understanding the reasons and processes behind evictions is vital for landlords to manage their properties effectively. This article explores some key principles behind what constitutes grounds for eviction and how to handle the process in the best way possible.

Grounds for eviction

There are several reasons why a landlord may want to evict a tenant from their property. Overall, the most common and heard reason for eviction is non-payment of rent. However, there are a few other grounds for which a landlord may evict a tenant:

• Breaking of rental agreement terms or conditions
• Damage to the rental premises
• Disturbing or endangering others in the rental premises
• Not maintaining clean rental premises
• Not vacating when a tenancy ends
• Interference with the landlord or landlord’s employees
• Assaults or threatens to assault the landlord or other tenant

Practice tip

All notices for eviction must be in writing. The notices must include the address, reasons for eviction, and end date of the tenancy and must be signed by the landlord. If the notice is delivered via email, ensure that you are using read receipts so there is confirmation that the tenant has received it, although the tenant can refuse the request to send a read receipt.

A physical copy is strongly recommended to be delivered via registered mail or physically to the property. If the notice was posted to the property's front door, ensure that a photo is taken of the notice posted and record the date and time that the notice was posted.

Be sure to collect and save all documents relating to the eviction, as they may be used as evidence if the matter is brought before the courts or the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS). Documents can include photographs, emails, text messages, recordings, etc.

Notice types for evictions

24-hour notice to vacate – This is used when a tenant has caused significant damages to the rental premises or physically assaulted or threatened to assault either the landlord or another tenant physically.

48-hour notice to vacate – This is used if an unauthorized occupant is living at the rental premises.

14-day notice to vacate – This type of notice would be used if there was a substantial breach by the tenant in the rental property (grounds noted above).

Important note: For notices about non-payment of rent, the landlord must include a statement that the tenancy will not be terminated if the tenant pays the due rent and any overdue rental payments on or before the termination date specified in the notice.

If a landlord has provided the eviction notice to the tenant, they may object to the reasoning behind it. The landlord can then apply to either the courts or the RTDRS for a court order to terminate the tenancy. Until the courts or the RTDRS issues the order, the tenant will remain at the property until the case has been heard.

This stage will be covered in a future article, discussing the differences between the RTDRS versus the courts and how landlords can effectively navigate this process.