New Mandatory Survey Exposes Most Common Reason NSW Landlords Are Evicting Tenants

The NSW Government has revealed property sales and returning to occupancy are among the most common reasons NSW landlords are evicting their tenants. 

The data, which has been made available to the public, comes from the End of Tenancy Survey all landlords and agents have been required to complete since the Government’s landmark ban on no-grounds evictions in May 2025. 

The survey requires landlords to record a specific reason that is legally valid under the Residential Tenancies Act for evicting their tenant, including but not limited to tenancy violations, property sales, major repairs, and the owner’s return to occupancy.

The Survey Results

The survey collected over 275,000 responses, representing around 90 per cent of bonds refunded during the period, and found that where a landlord ended the lease, almost two-thirds of evictions were related to: the owner or a family member moving back into the property (28 per cent); the proposed sale of the property (20 per cent); or the actual sale of a property (14 per cent).

Notably, 85 per cent of leases were ended by renters rather than landlords.

Prior to the change, almost 45 per cent of leases ended without landlords offering any reason. Now, a separate exclusive survey by the NSW Department of Customer Service has found almost three in four renters feel better protected since the ban on no-grounds evictions.

“The Minns Labor Government made a promise to make renting fairer – and that goes hand-in-hand with making the market more transparent,” said Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading Anoulack Chanthivong.

“That’s exactly what these results are achieving: a better understanding of renting so that we can achieve better outcomes for renters and landlords. This data reflects the Government’s ban on no-grounds evictions in action, providing renters with the security and stability that only Labor can deliver.

“The NSW Liberals failed to introduce this level of reform and transparency at every turn. They’re continuing to send a clear message to renters: they don’t care about you.”