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What breaking a lease can actually cost you.
Queensland caps what you can be charged for leaving a fixed-term lease early, on a sliding scale that depends on how far through the lease you are. A quoted figure may not match the current reletting-cost rules. This calculator checks the number, and shows the date the cap drops to fewer weeks.
How the cap works The cap is the most you can be charged for breaking the lease: 4, 3, 2 or 1 weeks’ rent, depending on how far through the fixed term you are on the day you hand the keys back. It covers the agent’s re-letting work, advertising and the empty days. Nothing can be added on top. If a new tenant moves in sooner, you pay just the rent for those days instead.
Start and end dates are on the first page of your tenancy agreement (Form 18a).
The day you actually leave, not the day you give notice.
You pay the rent for the days until they move in, if that's less than the cap. Leave it blank if you don't know, and the calculator shows the most it can be.
Do I pay for the days between me leaving and the new tenant moving in?
Yes, but only up to your cap. You pay whichever is less: the cap for how far through the lease you are, or the rent for the days between you handing back the keys and the new tenant moving in. If the agency re-lets it in four days, you pay four days' rent, not the cap. The agent must take all reasonable steps to re-let quickly; they can't leave it empty and bill you. RTA: reletting costs
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Your cap, by how far through the lease you are on the day you hand back the keys:
This is an estimate from the figures you entered, using the RTA's published reletting-cost rules. It is general information, not legal advice, and it isn't the official figure. That comes from your agent's written calculation, which you can check against the RTA's reletting costs page. Your agreement, its start date, and your circumstances can change the outcome. Use it to understand the rules and ask better questions, not to decide what to pay.
Where the official answer comes from
The RTA's reletting costs page sets out the rules this tool applies. Read it before you accept or dispute a figure. rta.qld.gov.au → ending a tenancy → reletting costs
Your agent's written calculation. Ask for the figure in writing, showing the lease dates, the percentage of the term expired, the weeks applied, and the date the new tenant starts. That document, not this page, is what you're agreeing to or disputing.
The RTA Contact Centre on 1300 366 311 (weekdays 8:30–5:00, free interpreter service) for questions about how the rules apply to your agreement. RTA contact
Tenants Queensland (QSTARS) for free, independent advice on your side of the table: 1300 744 263, weekdays 9–5, with an evening service Tuesday and Wednesday. tenantsqld.org.au
The part most people miss
The reletting cost is the whole of what you can be charged for the break itself. Advertising, a "break lease fee", an admin charge, rent after the new tenant moves in. None of that can be added on top. What is separate: rent up to the day you hand the keys back, any arrears, water or service charges you owe, and any damage beyond fair wear. Those aren't break-lease costs; you'd owe them anyway.
What the rules actually say
For fixed-term agreements entered into on or after 30 September 2024 (three years or shorter), the reletting cost is capped by how much of the term had expired when you left: under 25% → four weeks' rent; 25% to under 50% → three weeks; 50% to under 75% → two weeks; 75% or more → one week. You pay the lesser of that cap and the rent until a new tenant moves in. No other reletting costs can be requested. (That's the scale at the top of this page.) RTA: reletting costs
The forms, the notice, the times you can leave without paying it, and how to get the bond back: breaking a lease, step by step.
The owner has to try to re-let it. The agent must take all reasonable steps to mitigate the loss, which means advertising promptly and showing it. They can't leave it empty and bill you.
Periodic agreement? There's nothing to break. You give at least 14 days' notice on a Notice of intention to leave (Form 13), pay rent to the hand-back day, and that's it. RTA: Form 13
Older agreements. If your fixed term was entered into before 30 September 2024, the old rules apply: rent until a new tenant is found or the term ends (whichever comes first), plus whatever reasonable reletting costs your agreement specifies. This tool doesn't calculate those. Read the special terms of your agreement and talk to the RTA or Tenants Queensland.
Leases longer than three years use a different formula: the lesser of one month's rent for each 12 months remaining (capped at six months) and the rent until a new tenant moves in.
How to make the number smaller
In our experience on the leasing side, the tenants who pay the least are the ones who make re-letting easy. That usually means:
Give notice in writing, early, on the proper form. A Form 13 with a clear hand-back date lets the agency list the property straight away. Every week of notice is a week the gap can shrink.
Say yes to open homes, and keep it presentable. A property that shows well re-lets faster. You're allowed reasonable notice for entry; work with the agent on times rather than refusing them.
Ask whether they'll take a referral. A friend or colleague who applies and is approved is the fastest re-let there is. The agency still has to approve them, but you can shorten the search.
Leave on the day you said, clean, with everything back. A delayed or messy hand-back pushes the new tenant's start date, and that gap is yours.
Ask for the re-let date in writing. Once a new tenant is signed, your liability stops. Get the date, and check the final figure against this tool before you pay it.
If you're being asked for more than this
Ask the agent, politely and in writing, to show how the figure was calculated under the reletting-cost rules. If it doesn't add up, call Tenants Queensland or the RTA before you pay. The RTA's dispute resolution service is free, and any part of the bond you dispute is held by the RTA, not paid to the agent, until that process has run. RTA: disputes
The rest of leaving properly
Breaking the lease is one cost. The others are decided by how you leave: notice on the right form with a clear hand-back date; the exit condition report completed against your entry report, with dated photos; cleaning to the standard you received it (fair wear and tear excepted); a final water meter reading; every key and remote back on the day. Then the bond refund request through RTA Web Services or Form 4, and 14 days to respond if the agent claims. The bond section of the move-in cost calculator explains the refund and dispute process; a step-by-step bond-back planner is on our renter help list. RTA: ending a tenancy
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