Life doesn't always align with a fixed-term lease. Job change, relationship breakdown, financial hardship — sometimes you need to leave before your lease ends. The good news: South Australia changed its break lease rules in July 2024, and most tenants are now better protected than they realise.
- There is no fixed break lease fee in SA — costs depend on what stage of the lease you're at and what the landlord actually loses.
- Since July 2024, if less than 24 months remain on your lease, the maximum lost rent you can be charged is one month's rent.
- Your landlord must actively try to find a new tenant — they can't just let the property sit empty and bill you.
- Some grounds let you end a fixed term early with no break lease costs, provided you haven't breached the agreement yourself: premises that don't meet the standard, landlord breach, or domestic violence. Hardship is different — SACAT decides, and can order compensation either way.
Fixed-term vs periodic — which lease do you have?
The type of lease you have changes everything about your options.
Fixed-term lease
- Set end date in your agreement (e.g. 12 months)
- Leaving early means you may owe costs to the landlord
- Most common lease type in SA
- This guide covers this type in detail
Periodic (rolling) lease
- No fixed end date — goes week to week or month to month
- You can end it with 21 days' written notice (or one rental period, whichever is longer)
- No break lease fees apply
- Much simpler process
What the July 2024 law changes mean for you Updated law
Before July 2024, calculating break lease costs in SA was more complex and less predictable. The Residential Tenancies Act amendments that took effect on 1 July 2024 introduced clearer caps on what tenants can be charged for lost rent.
If you break a fixed-term lease and less than 24 months remain, the maximum amount of rent you can be charged as compensation for the landlord's lost rent is one month's rent. If more than 24 months remain, the cap is one month's rent for every 12 months left — up to a maximum of six months' rent in total.
This is significant. Many tenants on standard 12-month leases who break their lease after the first few months are now looking at a maximum of one month's lost rent — not the full remaining term.
Important: the lost rent cap applies separately from advertising and re-letting costs, which are worked out using the formula CBS publishes.
What can a landlord actually charge you?
There is no single break lease fee. What your landlord can claim depends on three categories of cost:
| Cost type | What it covers | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Lost rent | Rent from the day you vacate until a new tenant starts paying, or the lease ends | Capped at 1 month if less than 24 months remain (July 2024 rule). Landlord must actively seek a new tenant. |
| Advertising costs | Cost to advertise the property for a new tenant | Worked out using the CBS formula, which SACAT generally applies. |
| Re-letting fee | Property manager's fee for finding a new tenant | Also under the CBS formula, and capped at two weeks' rent plus GST. |
Your landlord cannot charge you rent for the entire remaining lease term. They cannot claim advertising or re-letting costs unless they genuinely advertise and make reasonable efforts to find a new tenant. They cannot recover costs they haven't actually incurred.
The CBS formula — how advertising and re-letting costs are calculated
There's no formula in the Act itself. Consumer and Business Services publishes one (fact sheet 117), and SACAT generally applies it. The key principle: the further through your lease you are, the lower the costs.
How the formula works
If you break the lease in the first quarter of the tenancy, you're liable for the full re-letting and advertising costs. After the first quarter, costs are calculated on a pro-rata basis — your liability reduces proportionally as the lease progresses toward its end.
Example: Breaking a 12-month lease at month 9 means you're 75% through the tenancy. Re-letting costs would be calculated accordingly — significantly less than breaking at month 2.
This is why it matters to document exactly when you give notice and when you vacate.
When you can leave without penalty
Several circumstances allow you to end a fixed-term lease early. For the first two below, and for domestic violence, neither the Act nor the Regulations gives the landlord a claim for break lease costs — provided you haven't breached the agreement yourself (s.84A, reg 27). You still owe rent up to the day the tenancy ends, and the place has to be left in reasonable condition. Hardship and mutual agreement work differently.
The property is uninhabitable
If the property doesn't meet the minimum housing standards — structural problems, no running water, serious pest infestation — or has been destroyed to the point of being unsafe, you can end the tenancy on 7 days' notice (s.85B). If, through no breach of the agreement, it has been destroyed, made uninhabitable, or can no longer lawfully be lived in, you can end it immediately (s.86B).
The landlord has breached the tenancy agreement
If your landlord has breached the agreement (such as not maintaining the property or unlawful entry), you can give written notice on the required form (Form 11) naming the breach and allowing at least 7 days to fix it. If it isn't fixed, the tenancy ends on the date in your notice, which must be at least 7 days after that deadline (s.85) — the form itself tells you to allow 8. Your landlord can ask SACAT to rule there was no breach, or to reinstate the tenancy.
Undue hardship
You can apply to SACAT to terminate the lease if continuing it would cause you undue hardship. The Act's test is simply "undue hardship" (s.89). It doesn't rule out financial hardship, but there's no guarantee SACAT will agree it applies to you. SACAT can also order compensation for the early end, either way.
Mutual agreement with the landlord
The simplest path. If you and your landlord agree in writing to end the tenancy early without penalty, that agreement is binding. Many landlords prefer a known exit date over an empty property. Always get any waiver of costs in writing.
If you need to leave because of domestic violence, a different process applies. You can end the tenancy yourself by giving your landlord notice — you don't have to go to SACAT, and it can be part-way through a fixed term (s.85D). The notice needs evidence with it: a copy of an intervention order, or a report from an authorised professional such as a lawyer, a registered health practitioner, a social worker, or a worker at a domestic violence or sexual abuse support service (reg 30). 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 (24/7, free) or speak with a community legal centre before taking any steps with your landlord. See housing rights if you have an intervention order → for the full picture, including ending a tenancy the same day notice is given.
How to give notice correctly
Getting your notice right matters — errors can affect how costs are calculated.
Put it in writing
Notice must be in writing. Email to your property manager is acceptable and creates a clear timestamp. Use the official Form 4 (Notice of Termination by Tenant) from Consumer and Business Services.
State your vacate date clearly
Be specific. The break lease cost clock runs from when you actually hand back the keys and vacate — not when you give notice.
Keep a copy of everything
Your notice, the timestamp, and any reply from your landlord. If costs become contested, this documentation is your foundation.
Follow up on their advertising efforts
Your landlord must take reasonable steps to find a new tenant as quickly as possible. If they drag their feet, your liability for lost rent reduces. Ask them to keep you updated on advertising activity.
If your landlord overcharges you
If your landlord claims costs that seem excessive, don't follow the CBS formula, or exceed the lost rent cap, you have options.
First, put your objection in writing to the property manager or landlord. Clearly state what you are willing to pay and why, referencing the section 75A cap and the CBS formula. Many overcharges resolve at this stage.
If that doesn't resolve it, you can apply to SACAT for a determination on the disputed costs. The application fee is $93, or $69.70 with a concession card (from 1 July 2026), and it can be waived for hardship. The process is designed to be navigated without a lawyer. Before you do, contact RentRight SA on 1800 060 462 for free advice.
Finding a replacement tenant yourself
One practical option that reduces your costs: find a suitable replacement tenant yourself and propose them to your landlord. If the landlord accepts them and the new tenancy begins quickly, your liability for lost rent ends from the date the new tenant moves in. Your landlord decides whether to accept them, but putting forward a suitable replacement is a strong negotiating position.
The bottom line: Breaking a lease in SA isn't free, but since July 2024 the costs are more predictable and better capped than before. Understanding what your landlord can and can't charge — and making sure they're doing their part to find a new tenant — puts you in a much stronger position than most tenants realise.
Sources
This page doesn't ask you to take our word for it. Here is exactly where these figures come from.
The advertising and re-letting cost formulas come from Consumer and Business Services fact sheet 117 (June 2024), the formula published by South Australia's tenancy regulator. These amounts are not set by a section of the Act, which is why none is cited for them.
The tenancy framework — how a fixed-term agreement ends, and what a landlord may claim — sits under the Residential Tenancies Act 1995 (SA), authorised version 15.1.2026. On that page, take the link marked Current.
Disputes about these costs are decided by SACAT, which generally applies the same formula.
The grounds for ending a fixed term early are in sections 85, 85B, 85D, 86B and 89 of the Act, and the landlord's entitlement to termination costs is in section 84A. The circumstances section 84A applies to are set by regulation 27, the breach notice (Form 11) by regulation 28, and the evidence needed for a domestic abuse notice by regulation 30, of the Residential Tenancies Regulations 2025 (SA).
Being straight with you: fact sheet 117 is dated June 2024, weeks before the July 2024 rental reforms commenced, and it does not mention them. It is still what CBS publishes today, and it is the best available source for these figures — but if your amounts are significant, confirm them with CBS on 131 882 before relying on them. We would rather tell you that than pretend to a certainty we don't have. How we check this.
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