Your rights as a renter or mortgage holder in financial difficulty — and where to get help
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Whether you are renting or paying a mortgage, you have legal protections when you cannot keep up with payments. Landlords and banks must follow specific processes before they can evict you or repossess your home.
This is general information, not financial or legal advice. For help with your specific situation, call the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 (free, confidential).
A landlord cannot evict you without following the formal process, and the steps for unpaid rent differ by state. NSW and VIC: once rent is 14 days overdue, the landlord can give 14 days' notice. QLD: once rent is more than 7 days late, you get 7 days to pay, then at least 7 days' notice to leave. SA: once rent is 14 days overdue, a breach notice gives you 7 clear days to pay. WA: a notice can give you 7 days to pay or leave, or 14 days to pay followed by 7 days' notice. If you stay, the landlord must still get an order from the tribunal (the Magistrates Court in WA). Other states and territories have their own notice periods; check your state's tenancy authority.
A landlord can never change the locks, remove your belongings, or physically force you out. Only a court or tribunal order carried out by police, a sheriff's officer or a bailiff can lawfully evict you. You have the right to attend the hearing and present hardship circumstances.
Landlords now need a valid reason to end your tenancy in NSW (from 19 May 2025), VIC (including at the end of a fixed term, from 25 November 2025), SA (from 1 July 2024) and QLD (from 1 October 2022, though the end of a fixed-term lease still counts as a reason there). WA still allows no-grounds endings with 60 days' notice for a periodic lease, or 30 days' notice at the end of a fixed term. Tasmania, the ACT and the NT have their own rules; check locally.
You have a legal right to apply for a hardship variation on your mortgage. You can tell your lender, verbally or in writing, that you can't keep up. Ask for a 'financial hardship variation'. The lender must consider your request and respond within about 21 days (if it asks you for information, 21 days after you give it, or 28 days from the date on its request if you don't). If it says no, it must give reasons and AFCA's details, and it generally cannot start enforcement until 14 days after that notice; that pause may not apply to a repeat request within 4 months.
Before taking enforcement action, your lender must send a default notice giving you at least 30 days to catch up, except in limited cases, such as when it can't find you, suspects fraud, or a court allows it. Taking your home after that still needs a court judgment and a writ of possession, which usually takes months.
Your bond must be lodged with the state bond authority, not held by the landlord. It can only be used for genuine damage or unpaid rent at the end of a tenancy. If you disagree, the tribunal decides (in WA, the Commissioner for Consumer Protection or the Magistrates Court). If you're eligible, bond loans are available in NSW (Rentstart), VIC, QLD and WA, and SA offers a bond guarantee instead. Elsewhere, ask your housing authority.
If your lender refuses your hardship request, doesn't reply, or keeps chasing the debt after you ask for help, you can make a free complaint to AFCA (1800 931 678). AFCA can change a credit contract and award compensation. If you accept its final decision within 30 days, the lender must follow it; if you don't, you can still go to court.
If you get income support or Family Tax Benefit and pay private rent above a minimum amount, you may get Rent Assistance. From 20 September 2026, the most a single person without children can get is $223.80 a fortnight; families with 3 or more children can get up to $297.36. Update your rent details with Centrelink whenever your rent changes.
Select your state above to see local ombudsmen, grants, and contact numbers.
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