Break Lease compensation

For a tenant to break a lease they must compensate the owner for out of pocket costs due to the tenant moving out earlier than agreed.

The Individual States and Territories in Australia have specific rules about calculating the compensation payable to the homeowner (see below) however as a general guide this is what it might look like:

Compensation (general guide)

All states except NSW and QLD

$359 advertising fee
- $199 re-advertising fee
- $160 professional screening feature fee
Continue to pay rent until new tenants move in or until the lease end date

NSW

Mandatory break fees may apply which is payable based on the stage of the agreement.

The set fee payable is:

four weeks rent if less than 25 per cent of the agreement has expired
three weeks rent if 25 per cent or more but less than 50 per cent of the agreement has expired
two weeks rent if 50 per cent or more but less than 75 per cent of the agreement has expired
one weeks rent if 75 per cent or more of the agreement has expired.

NSW Fair Trading

Break lease agreements are handled inside Cubbi on a case by case scenario based on the general guidelines above, state legislation (see below) and any negotiations between homeowner and renter.

Note: Cubbi does not request a letting fee of 1-2 weeks rent as compensation which is charged by many real estate agents and varies from state to state (according to legislation and percentage of lease remaining).

QLD

Reletting costs for fixed-term agreements are calculated based on the proportion of the lease that has expired. The specific reletting costs are as follows:

% of lease that has expired	Reletting cost
Less than 25%	4 weeks rent
25% to less than 50%	3 weeks rent
50% to less than 75%	2 weeks rent
75% or more	1 weeks rent

Use this online reletting costs calculator to calculate the reletting costs payable.

For more information see our reletting costs FAQs webpage.

Notice Period and Other Responsibilities:

Cubbi’s lease agreements (from October 2024) require tenants to give the owner a minimum of 14 days’ notice before vacating the property. The tenant is responsible for paying rent up to and including the vacate date, as well as the reletting costs outlined above.

No additional costs can be charged to the tenant. Reletting costs are strictly calculated based on how much of the lease remains. However, any outstanding amounts such as unpaid rent, service charges, or damages to the property must still be covered by the tenant.

Important Dates:

This policy takes effect from October 2024. By default, all new break lease agreements will state that rent must be paid up to the vacate date along with reletting costs as compensation.

For lease agreements entered into before 30 September 2024 that include a term requiring tenants to pay reasonable costs for reletting the premises, these terms will still apply. If the owner wishes to maintain the terms specified in the original lease agreement, please notify Cubbi.