Can I transfer my lease to a new tenant?

So you need to break your lease and you have someone interested in taking it over for you.  This is more common than you may think, and it can be great news, for both you and the landlord.

It is certainly possible to transfer a lease to a new tenant, but there are several key steps which must be followed before this is able to be done.

The first thing to do, if you find yourself in this situation, is to contact your property manager and inform them.

The tenant that you have found will need to arrange a viewing of the property with the property manager (irrespective of whether they’ve been there before, or feel they need to view the property).  The new tenant will also need to complete the standard application form, and have their references checked.

Once in place, this information will be submitted to the landlord for their approval.  It is worth noting that the landlord is under no obligation to automatically accept a new tenant.  Assuming that the landlord is happy to approve the new tenant the only question that remains is the transfer of the bond monies.

In the state of Queensland, it is not possible for bond monies to be released from the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) mid-lease.  What is possible is the completion and lodgement of Form 6 (Change of Bond Contributors) which transfers the bond obligation onto the new tenant, thereby releasing the exiting tenant from their monetary obligation.  Once the Form 6 has been submitted, the new tenant simply needs to pay the cash bond to the exiting tenant.  This process allows the RTA to keep an accurate record of who has contributed to the bond to ensure the refund process goes smoothly at the end of the tenancy.

Assuming that the above steps are closely followed, transferring a lease to a new tenant can work out well for all parties.  The tenant can move onto their next home when they need/want to, without having worry about continuing to pay rent.  The landlord will not need to worry about the property sitting vacant upon the end of the lease, or have to go through the process of advertising for a new tenant.

At Professionals Priority we have an experienced Leasing and Property Management Team that guides both tenants and landlords through the leasing process to make it as smooth as possible for all parties. Call the office to have your leasing questions answered.