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Home > Moving Out > Just the Facts > Ending Fixed-term Tenancy > Giving up Possession

Possession of Rented Premises

It can be important to know when a tenant has actually taken possession or given up possession of rented premises.

For example, your landlord may let you store belongings in the premises before you really move in yourself. For some purposes such as paying rent or carrying out an inspection of the property, it will be important to know when the tenancy officially began.

Likewise, you may physically move out of the premises before the end of the term, but leave belongings there a little longer. For the purposes of carrying out an inspection or for the return of the security deposit, it will be important to know when the tenancy officially ended. However, the Act gives you some increased protection in this circumstance so that you cannot be presumed to have left without good reason.

You can agree with your landlord when you both want the tenancy to begin and end officially. This agreement should be recorded as a term of the tenancy agreement. If you do not have an agreement to this effect, the Residential Tenancies Act sets out when you will be deemed to have taken and given up possession of the premises.

Giving Up Possession

If you have paid rent to the end of the tenancy, but still have your keys, your landlord cannot presume you have given up possession unless:

  • you have agreed with the landlord that you have given up possession, or,
  • there are reasonable grounds for your landlord to believe that you have abandoned the property or you no longer want to be bound by the terms of the tenancy agreement.

Time a tenancy will end on the last day of tenancy

You can agree with your landlord as to what time you have to leave the rented property on the last day of the tenancy. If you have no agreement, the Act states the tenancy ends at 12:00 noon.

This provision does not apply if the reason for the tenancy ending is because a landlord has served a 24-hour notice to end the tenancy due to the tenant causing damage to the property, or assaulting or threatening to assault the landlord or another tenant.

May 2005



Ending Fixed-term Tenancy:Under Terms of the ContractFrustration of AgreementGiving up Possession