Got a Notice to Vacate Right After Asking for Repairs? That’s Retaliatory Eviction, and You Can Fight It

You did the right thing. You put the repair request in writing, or you queried a rent increase, or you called the tenancy authority when the agent kept letting themselves in. And within a fortnight a notice to vacate arrived. The stated reason is “end of fixed term” or “owner wants to renovate” or, in the states that still allow it, no reason at all. The timing says everything.

Retaliatory eviction is unlawful in every Australian jurisdiction. The tribunals can declare the notice of no effect and let you stay. But the window to challenge it is short, in some states as little as a week, and if you simply move out you lose the argument by default.

Your rights

A tenant cannot be evicted for exercising a right: asking for repairs, complaining to a regulator, applying to the tribunal, refusing an unlawful rent increase, or joining a tenants’ organisation. If a notice is given wholly or partly because you did one of those things, the tribunal can set it aside or refuse a possession order. You don’t need to prove it was the only motive; in most states, “partly motivated by” is enough, and a notice served within weeks of your complaint shifts the practical burden onto the landlord to explain the timing. Separately, a notice that’s defective on its face (wrong notice period, missing ground, wrong form, wrong termination date) is invalid regardless of motive, and you can dispute that too.

By state

• New South Wales. Residential Tenancies Act 2010, s 115. Apply to NCAT for a declaration the notice is retaliatory; since May 2025 landlords must state a permitted ground for every termination, and a ground that doesn’t hold up is a second line of attack.
• Victoria. Residential Tenancies Act 1997, s 91ZZI. Apply to VCAT to challenge the notice to vacate as invalid or retaliatory; VCAT has treated 30 days from the notice as the deadline for a challenge. Notices to vacate must be on the Consumer Affairs Victoria prescribed form with a stated reason.
• Queensland. RTRA Act 2008, s 291. Apply to QCAT to set aside a retaliatory notice to leave within 4 weeks of receiving it. The notice must be on RTA Form 12 with a stated ground; “without grounds” notices have been abolished except at the end of a fixed term.
• Western Australia. Residential Tenancies Act 1987, ss 26A–26B. A tenant who receives a no-grounds notice (Form 1C) may apply to the Magistrates Court for an order that the tenancy is not terminated because the notice was retaliatory; act within 7 days of receiving the notice.
• South Australia. Residential Tenancies Act 1995, s 90A. Apply to SACAT for a declaration that the notice (or the landlord’s termination application) has no effect because it was retaliatory. Since July 2024 landlords must rely on a prescribed ground.
• Tasmania. Residential Tenancy Act 1997. A notice to vacate must state a valid ground; if you stay, the owner must apply to the Magistrates Court for an order to vacate, and the court considers whether the ground is genuine and the notice was properly given. You raise the retaliation there.
• Australian Capital Territory. Residential Tenancies Act 1997, s 57. ACAT must refuse a termination order if the notice was retaliatory (you had applied to ACAT, complained to a regulator, or enforced a right). No-cause evictions were abolished in 2023.
• Northern Territory. Residential Tenancies Act 1999. The landlord must apply to NTCAT for a termination order; you dispute the notice and raise retaliation in that application.

The Claim Done document asks your state first and drafts your response to that state’s grounds, deadlines and tribunal.

What to do right now

1. Don’t move out. Leaving ends the tenancy and the argument. If the notice is defective or retaliatory, you’re entitled to stay until a tribunal says otherwise.
2. Check the notice for defects. Date served, notice period, stated ground, prescribed form, correct names and address. Any error is a separate reason it’s invalid.
3. Line up the timeline. Your repair request or complaint (date, method, to whom), the landlord’s response, and the date of the notice. The closer together, the stronger the inference.
4. Send a written response disputing the notice. State that you dispute the notice, why (defect and/or retaliation, with the section), that you will remain in possession, and that you will apply to (or defend at) the tribunal. Landlords and agents often withdraw at this point rather than have a retaliation finding on the record.
5. File within the deadline. Western Australia’s 7 days and Queensland’s 4 weeks are strict. Elsewhere, file as soon as your response goes out; don’t wait for the landlord to apply.

What “retaliatory” looks like to a tribunal

Members look at three things: what you did (was it a protected act, like a written repair request or a regulator complaint?), when the notice came (days or weeks later?), and whether the landlord’s stated reason holds up (if the owner “needs to move in”, is there any evidence of that?). You don’t need a confession. A repair request on the 3rd, a curt reply on the 5th, and a notice on the 12th with a ground that later turns out to be hollow is the classic pattern. Put the dates side by side in your response and let the timing speak.

Who to complain to

NCAT, VCAT, QCAT, the Western Australia Magistrates Court, SACAT, the Tasmanian Magistrates Court, ACAT or NTCAT to set aside the notice or refuse possession. Your state’s Fair Trading or Consumer Affairs body for the agent’s conduct. Every state has a free tenants’ advice service (Tenants’ Union NSW, Tenants Victoria, Tenants Queensland, Tenancy WA, RentRight SA, Tenants’ Union of Tasmania, Canberra Tenants’ Advice Service, Darwin Community Legal Service) that can check your deadline today.

Dispute the notice in writing — $49

Claim Done drafts a Notice to Vacate Response that identifies every defect in the notice, sets out the timeline showing retaliation, cites the section in your state, states that you will remain in possession, and puts the landlord on notice of your tribunal application.

Fight My Retaliatory Notice — $49 →

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