The short answer
For a fixed-term lease of 3 years or less signed on or after 10 December 2024, the break lease fee is 6 weeks' rent if less than half the term has passed, or 4 weeks' rent otherwise. It's the most you pay for leaving early, and it drops if the lessor finds a new tenant within those 6 or 4 weeks.
Some situations let you leave a fixed term early with no fee: family violence, moving into aged care or social housing, an undisclosed sale or drawn-out sale inspections, a home that's unfit to live in, and others. Always give written notice.
The break lease fee (leases signed on or after 10 December 2024)
If you end a fixed-term lease early without one of the reasons the law allows, the break lease clause in the standard terms applies (standard term 89A):
| Length of your fixed term | How much of the term has passed | Break lease fee |
|---|---|---|
| 3 years or less | Less than half | 6 weeks’ rent |
| 3 years or less | Half or more | 4 weeks’ rent |
| More than 3 years | Any | The amount you agreed with your lessor |
What the clause means for you:
- The fee is a cap. It’s all the lessor can claim as compensation for you leaving early.
- The lessor must try to re-let. If they ask for the fee, they must take reasonable steps to find a new tenant.
- It isn’t due straight away. You pay after the 6 or 4 weeks (the “defined period”) after you move out have passed.
- It drops if the home is re-let. If a new tenant signs within that period, you pay the fee minus the rent the new tenant pays for the rest of it. If you left more than 4 weeks before your lease ended, you may also pay reasonable advertising and re-letting costs, capped at 1 week’s rent (less than half the term passed) or two-thirds of a week’s rent (half or more).
The test is the date your lease was entered into (signed), not the date it started.
How the fee works out: a calculation from the ACT Government’s Renting Book
A 12-month lease at $600 a week with 4 months left, so the fee is 4 weeks’ rent: $2,400. A new tenant moves in 3 weeks later at $610 a week, leaving 1 week of the 4-week period. Re-letting costs are $550. You pay $2,400 − $610 + $550 = $2,340.
Leases signed before 10 December 2024
The break lease fee only applied if your lease included the optional break lease clause. If it didn’t, the lessor can accept your notice or apply to ACAT for compensation (section 84). That compensation is capped at the lesser of 25 weeks’ rent and the rent for the rest of the term, plus advertising costs of up to 1 week’s rent. It’s reduced by any loss the lessor could reasonably have avoided, for instance by re-letting.
Leaving a fixed term early with no fee
| Situation | Notice | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Family violence against you or a dependent child | Family violence termination notice with a supporting document; you can leave on or after the day you give it | Sections 46C–46M |
| Accepted into aged care or social housing | At least 14 days | Section 46A |
| Home offered for sale within 6 months of your lease starting and the sale wasn’t disclosed before you signed; or sale inspection requests stretching past 8 weeks | At least 14 days | Section 46B |
| You or your partner posted away from the ACT, if your lease includes the posting clause | 8 weeks, with evidence | Schedule 2 clause 102A |
| Home unfit to live in | 2 days | Standard terms 86–87 |
| Lessor breached the lease and didn’t fix it within 2 weeks of your notice to remedy | 2 weeks | Standard terms 90–91 |
| Loose-fill asbestos (Mr Fluffy) home | 2 days | Section 64AA |
For family violence, the supporting document can be a family violence order protecting you or your child, a Family Law Act injunction, or a declaration from a “competent person” such as a doctor, nurse, psychologist, social worker or family violence service worker. The lessor can’t ask for other information. Get help from the Tenancy Advice Service.
Other ways ACAT can end a fixed term
You can also apply to ACAT to end a fixed-term lease for significant hardship (section 44), if the lessor has threatened or harassed you (section 45A), if the home doesn’t meet the minimum insulation standard (section 46AA), or if you signed because of false or misleading statements (section 46).
How to leave properly
- Give written notice to your lessor or agent with the date you’ll leave. Keep a copy.
- Pay rent up to that date.
- Leave the home clean and return the keys. See moving out and the final inspection.
- Check the bond release form before you sign it.
Don’t just walk away. A lessor can claim more for an abandoned tenancy than through the break lease clause.
Common questions
My lease is periodic. Do I pay a break fee?
No. A periodic tenancy (including one that continued after a fixed term ended) can be ended with at least 3 weeks' written notice, with no reason and no fee.
I've seen a 4, 3, 2 or 1 week break fee scale online. Does that apply?
No. That sliding scale is New South Wales law. In the ACT the fee is 6 or 4 weeks' rent for terms of 3 years or less.
Can I find a replacement tenant myself?
You can suggest one, and it may help the lessor re-let quickly, which reduces what you owe. The lessor still chooses the new tenant. If you want to hand the lease to someone else, that's an assignment and needs the lessor's consent.
Do I keep paying rent after I leave?
You pay rent up to the vacating date in your notice. After that, the break lease fee covers the lessor's loss for leases signed on or after 10 December 2024. For older leases, the lessor may claim lost rent through ACAT, capped and reduced by what they could reasonably have avoided.
Sources for this guide (3)
- Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (ACT), sections 44–46M and 84, Schedule 1 clauses 86–91 and 89A, Schedule 2 clause 102A (republication R84) (ACT Legislation Register)
- The Renting Book, January 2026 (ACT Government)
- Termination of a lease (ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal)
This guide is general information about ACT renting law as at the date above. It isn't legal advice. Laws and notices change and details matter, so check your own situation with a free advice service before you rely on it.