Information for tenants
Any person with an interest in a property being acquired has rights. This includes leaseholders, tenants, or renters.
How it works
When a property needs to be acquired, you will be informed via either your landlord, or the acquiring authority. The acquiring authority will appoint a dedicated acquisition support team. The team will arrange a meeting with you to discuss the acquisition and relocation process in more detail.
If possible, the acquiring authority will try to allow you to stay in your rented property until your current lease expires, unless you choose to leave earlier. The rights and obligations of you and your landlord continue under the existing lease agreement until the property is acquired by the acquiring authority. This includes you paying ongoing rent as the tenant.
Once the property has been acquired from the owner, all existing tenancies are transferred to the acquiring agency. As a tenant, you will be given advance written notice of the date you need to vacate your premises.
Relocation support
If you have a Personal Manager, they can provide you with relocation support to suit your circumstances. This may include advice and referrals to help with your move.
Disadvantage resulting from relocation
Compensation for disadvantage as a result of the relocation will only be paid when the property being acquired is your principal place of residence, and considers:
- your interest in the property
- the length of time you have lived in the property and how long is left on your lease
- the inconvenience likely to occur
- the length of time after the property acquisition that you can remain in the property.
Disturbance
Compensation for disturbance might include any or all of the following:
- reasonable legal cost
- reasonable relocation costs such as general removal fees, mail redirection, lease transfer fees, utility reconnection and other relevant professional services
- in some situations, any reasonable costs as a result of breaking your lease early.
Please speak to your acquisition support team for more information about compensation.
Compensation
In limited instances, you might be eligible for compensation, for example if your lease period continues for several years beyond the timeframe for vacant possession.
In these situations, the acquiring authority will explain the types of compensation you might be eligible for, including disadvantage resulting from relocation and disturbance.
More information
Our property acquisition guides take you through the acquisition process step by step.
The guides are available in English, Arabic (العربية), Cantonese (廣東話), Mandarin (國語), Greek (Ελληνικά), Hindi (हिन्दी), Italian (Italiano), Korean (한국어), and Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt Nam).