Counting days

If you are serving a notice or issuing documentation (eg property condition reports), you will find certain periods of notice are required for certain actions. 

It is important you allow the correct number of days for the delivery of a notice because a court may determine the notice is ineffective as it was not served correctly.

The count of days for the notice period must exclude the day on which the notice or document is served, and the last day of the notice period.

If a notice or document is being mailed, you will need to allow time for it to reach the recipient by ordinary post. It is recommended that you allow at least two days for the Perth metropolitan area and more than two days for country areas.

Weekends and public holidays need to be taken into account and may be excluded if the last day falls on a weekend or public holiday.  That is, the person receiving the notice can elect for service to be affected on the next working day after the weekend or public holiday.

Notices do not necessarily have to be related to rental payment periods.

Counting days flowcharts

In counting the days, you will find it helpful to refer to our flowcharts.  They are also available at appendices 1 and 2 of Renting out your property- a lessor’s guide.

For mail issued by businesses such as real estate agencies, you may need to refer to Australia Post for information on its service options and estimated delivery times due to the implementation of two delivery timetables for business mail.

Charts for Landlords

• Landlord chart 1 – Service of a Breach notice for failure to pay rent
• Landlord chart 2 – Service of Notice of Termination for failure to pay rent
• Landlord chart 3 – Service of a Breach notice other than for failure to pay rent
• Landlord chart 4 – When your tenant terminates their interest in a lease on grounds of family and domestic violence
• Landlord chart 5 - When the Court orders termination of a perpetrator tenant's interest in a lease on grounds of family and domestic violence
• Landlord chart 6 - Service of Notice of Termination for periodic tenancy agreements
• Landlord Chart 7 - Service of notice of termination for fixed-term tenancy agreements

Charts for Tenants

• Tenant chart 1 – Terminate your interest in a lease on grounds of family and domestic violence
• Tenant chart 2 – When your co-tenant has terminated their interest in a lease on grounds of family and domestic violence
• Tenant chart 3 - Affixing furniture to the wall
• Tenant chart 4 – Service of notice of termination for periodic tenancy agreements

Residential parks also have flowcharts available.