What to do today
If your Queensland lessor or agent handed you a Notice to leave:
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Get the live Form 12 and check the version. The Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) form is Notice to leave (Form 12). The current published version is v27, 1 May 2025. Compare what you received with that page. The form must state the ground (reason), details of that reason, and the handover day. Wrong form, missing ground, or a handover day that is too soon are the first problems to check.
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Count the notice period for the ground used. Do not count the day you receive the notice; do count the handover day. If the notice was posted, allow extra postal time. RTA's Form 12 table for general tenancies includes:
- End of a fixed term: 2 months (can be given up to one day before the fixed term ends; the handover day cannot be before the fixed-term end date or before the 2-month minimum, whichever is later)
- Unremedied rent arrears: 7 days (after a Notice to remedy breach was not fixed in time)
- Unremedied general breach: 14 days
- Sale contract, owner occupation, significant repairs or renovations, planned demolition or redevelopment, change of use, State government program: 2 months, and these grounds cannot end a fixed-term agreement early (the tenancy finishes on the later of the agreement end date and the notice period)
- Non-livability: the day the notice is given (must be issued within 1 month of the event)
- Non-compliance with a QCAT order: 7 days
- Death of a sole tenant: 14 days (parties can agree earlier in writing)
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Keep paying rent and do not abandon the property on a guess. Tenants Queensland says pay rent up to and including the handover day on the notice. RTA and Tenants Queensland say a lessor cannot self-evict. If you stay past handover, they must apply to QCAT for a termination order and warrant of possession (usually within 2 weeks of the handover day for failure to leave).
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If the ground or period looks wrong, dispute it. Contact the lessor or agent in writing first. If talks fail, lodge a Dispute resolution request (Form 16) with the free RTA Dispute Resolution Service. If RTA cannot resolve it, it issues a Notice of unresolved dispute and you can apply to QCAT. Check the current residential tenancy fee on the QCAT fees page rather than an old dollar figure.
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If you think the Form 12 is retaliatory, move faster. Tenants Queensland says a lessor cannot end a tenancy (or refuse a further agreement) in retaliation for you enforcing your rights (repairs requests, breach notices, tribunal applications, government complaints, and similar). You can apply to QCAT for an urgent order to set the action aside without going through RTA first. Lodge within 1 month of the lessor's action.
Worked example
Sam is on a fixed-term agreement ending 30 November 2026. On 1 October 2026 the agent emails Form 12 v27 for "owner occupation" with a handover day of 1 November 2026.
Sam checks the RTA table: owner occupation needs 2 months' notice and cannot end a fixed term early. A 1 November handover is both short of 2 months and before the fixed-term end date, so Sam writes to the agency the same day identifying those two defects, keeps paying rent, and lodges Form 16 with the RTA if the agency will not withdraw or reissue a compliant notice. If Sam had also recently pressed for urgent repairs and believes the Form 12 is payback, Sam diaries the 1-month QCAT retaliatory clock and gets advice about an urgent tribunal application.
Breach path before Form 12
For rent arrears or other breaches, the lessor usually gives a Notice to remedy breach first. For a general tenancy, unpaid rent that is 7 days late gets 7 days to fix; other breaches get 7 days. If you do not remedy by the due date, the lessor can then issue Form 12 for unremedied breach (7 days for rent arrears, 14 days for other breaches). If you disagree with the breach notice, dispute that as well through RTA dispute resolution.
Mutual agreement and fixed terms
You and the lessor can end early by mutual agreement in writing. You do not have to agree to leave a fixed term early for sale, owner occupation, or renovation. If you do agree, put handover day, bond, and any compensation in the written deal. Some serious matters (serious breach, excessive hardship, objectionable behaviour, and similar) go straight to QCAT rather than by Form 12 alone. See Tenants Queensland's lessor ends the tenancy factsheet for that list.
Where to get help
RTA: 1300 366 311 (Mon to Fri, 8:30am to 5:00pm, excluding public holidays)
Notice to leave (Form 12)
Ending a tenancy agreement
Dispute resolution
QCAT: 1300 753 228 · qcat.qld.gov.au · Fees
Tenants Queensland: Lessor ends the tenancy