When you break a lease, two things happen at once — you become liable for break lease costs, and your landlord has the right to claim those costs from your bond. Understanding how these two things interact is essential to knowing what you'll actually get back, and what you can do to protect your position.
- Your bond is the first thing a landlord claims against when you break a lease — lost rent, advertising, re-letting fees, and damage all come out of it.
- Don't count on getting your full bond back when you break a lease early.
- If costs exceed your bond, your landlord can pursue the difference through SACAT.
- Since July 2024, section 75A caps the rent you can be made to pay after breaking a fixed-term lease.
- Leaving the property in excellent condition and following the correct process gives you the best chance of maximising your bond refund.
Your bond's role when you break a lease
Your rental bond — up to four weeks' rent, held by Consumer and Business Services (CBS) — is not just a security deposit against damage. In a break lease situation, it functions as the first pool of money your landlord draws from to cover all costs arising from your early exit.
This means the same bond that might otherwise be returned in full at the end of a normal tenancy becomes the financial buffer against break lease costs. The landlord doesn't need separate permission to apply it — they simply lodge a claim with CBS.
What can be claimed against your bond — and in what order
A bond claim after a break lease typically includes some or all of these:
- Unpaid rent — any rent outstanding at the date you vacated.
- Lost rent — rent from when you vacated until a new tenant moved in or the lease ended, whichever came first, and subject to the section 75A cap (one month's rent if less than 24 months remain on the lease).
- Advertising costs — reasonable costs to advertise the property for a new tenant, calculated using the CBS formula based on how far through the lease you were.
- Re-letting fee — the property manager's fee for finding a new tenant, also calculated using the CBS pro-rata formula.
- Damage — judged against the condition when you moved in, allowing for reasonable wear and tear (s.69(4)). The same standard as the end of any tenancy.
- Cleaning costs — only if the property was left in genuinely worse condition than when you moved in.
If you end a fixed-term tenancy early and less than 24 months of the term remain, you can't be made to pay more than one month's rent. If more remains, it's one month's rent for each whole 12 months left, up to six months. One thing to know: section 75A(2) says the cap doesn't affect the landlord's entitlement to compensation. It limits rent, not every cost.
A worked example
An illustration only, with assumed figures: a tenant on $500 a week breaks a 52-week lease after 26 weeks, with a $2,000 bond. A new tenant moves in 3 weeks later. The agent's re-letting fee is one week's rent plus GST ($550) and advertising cost $150. Under the CBS formula, those are multiplied by the weeks left from re-letting to the end of the term (23) divided by three-quarters of the term (39).
Example — breaking a 12-month lease at month 6
In this example the tenant gets back $88. Real fees vary, so check your own agent's figures against the formula. If the property had been left with any damage or cleaning costs, the bond would be exhausted entirely and the landlord could pursue the shortfall through SACAT.
What if your break lease costs exceed the bond?
This is where things become more serious. If the total of all legitimate claims against you exceeds your bond, the landlord can apply to SACAT for an order that you pay the difference.
A landlord or agent can only list you on a tenancy database — often called a "blacklist" — in limited circumstances (s.99F): the tenancy has ended, you breached the agreement, and because of that breach either you owe more than the bond or SACAT made an order ending the tenancy. If what you owe is covered by the bond, the first of those isn't met. Before listing you they must generally give you a copy of what they plan to list, free, and at least 14 days to object (s.99G). If you pay the amount within 3 months of it falling due, the listing is out of date and has to be removed (s.99A, s.99H).
This is one of the least-talked-about consequences of a poorly managed break lease. The financial exposure is one thing — the impact on your rental history is another. A listing can be kept for up to three years (s.99K).
What limits the landlord's claim
Your landlord can't simply keep your bond. Some limits come from the law, and some from the formula CBS publishes:
What the law says
- You're liable for rent until the place is re-let or the lease ends, whichever comes first
- The landlord has a duty to mitigate their loss (s.78), so they need to try to re-let it
- Rent is capped by section 75A
- You get 14 days to dispute a bond claim (reg 15)
- If you dispute it, CBS refers it to SACAT to decide (s.63(6))
What CBS's formula says
- Advertising and re-letting costs are shared in proportion to the part of the term you didn't use
- The re-letting fee is capped at two weeks' rent plus GST
- The formula only applies if you stayed at least a quarter of the term
- The fees can't be claimed unless the property is promptly re-advertised or re-let
- This is published guidance that SACAT generally applies, not a section of the Act
How to protect your bond position before you leave
Leave the property in excellent condition
Damage and cleaning costs are entirely within your control. Professional clean, fill minor holes, replace any broken items. The less the landlord can claim for condition, the more of the bond is protected against break lease costs.
Take timestamped photos on exit
Walk through every room and photograph everything, the same way you did on entry. If the condition report said the carpet was already worn, you need evidence it wasn't you who damaged it.
Get any cost agreements in writing
If you and your landlord reach an agreement on what break lease costs you'll pay — or if they agree to waive any costs — put it in writing before you hand back the keys. Verbal agreements are hard to enforce.
Track the landlord's advertising efforts
Ask for updates on when the property was listed and at what rent. If they delay advertising or set an unreasonably high rent that deters applicants, their claim for lost rent weakens. Your liability for lost rent stops when a new tenant moves in — the sooner that happens, the better for you.
Dispute anything that seems wrong
If the bond claim comes through and the numbers don't match what you expected, contact CBS and lodge a dispute before agreeing to the claim, and before the 14-day response window runs out.
If you disagree with the bond claim
You don't have to accept a bond claim you think is wrong. Once CBS notifies you of a bond claim, you have 14 days to lodge a written dispute. If you don't respond within that window, CBS can pay out the bond automatically — so act quickly. Through CBS's online bond system you can each make counter-offers. If you can't agree, CBS refers the matter to SACAT to decide what the landlord can keep.
Before going to SACAT, contact RentRight SA on 1800 060 462 for free advice. They can help you assess whether the claim is legitimate and how to respond.
If you are leaving because of domestic violence, different rules apply. You may be able to end the tenancy yourself by notice, with evidence, even part-way through a fixed term (s.85D). Nothing in the Act or the Regulations gives a landlord break lease costs because you ended the tenancy this way: the costs provision only applies where a tenant has breached the agreement (s.84A, reg 27). Unpaid rent or damage can still be claimed in the ordinary way, so get advice on your own situation. If you're in this situation, contact the Domestic Violence Crisis Line on 1800 800 098 (24 hours, free) before making any decisions about your bond or tenancy. See housing rights if you have an intervention order → — SACAT can also transfer the lease into a co-tenant's name and split the bond so you aren't liable for damage you didn't cause.
The bottom line: Your bond is the first thing that gets hit when you break a lease. The July 2024 rent caps limit your exposure on that front, but advertising, re-letting, and damage costs can still absorb most or all of it. The tenants who come out best are the ones who leave the property in excellent condition, follow the process carefully, and hold their landlord to their legal obligations on mitigation and costs.
Sources
This page doesn't ask you to take our word for it. These are the provisions it relies on — look them up yourself.
- s.63(6)
- s.69(4)
- s.75A
- s.78
- s.84A
- s.85D
- s.99A
- s.99F
- s.99G
- s.99H
- s.99K
Residential Tenancies Act 1995 (SA) — authorised version 15.1.2026. On that page, take the link marked Current.
The 14-day dispute window is set by the Residential Tenancies Regulations 2025 (SA) (reg 15); the circumstances in which a landlord can recover termination costs are set by reg 27. The advertising and re-letting formula is published by Consumer and Business Services in fact sheet 117 (June 2024) — it predates the July 2024 reforms.
Every rule on LucidLaw is read at the source and recorded with its section. Where something can't be verified against the legislation, we don't state it. Sections on this page last checked 29 September 2026. How we check this.
LucidLaw is building the platform for exactly this.
Plain-language guidance on your tenancy rights, employment, consumer law, and family law — with warm referral to a verified SA lawyer when you need one. Launching in Australia in 2026.
Join the waitlist →No spam. No legal advice. Just early access when we launch.