Queensland legislation does not specify an exact number of days before a property becomes available that it must be advertised.

The requirement is to take reasonable steps to minimise loss associated with the early termination of the tenancy.

Advertising significantly before a property is available is not necessarily the most effective way of securing a replacement tenant.

This issue was considered in Gerrard v Emerald Lakes Residential [2025] QCAT 33. The tenant gave notice on 14 August that he intended to leave in late October — more than two months later — and argued that the agent should have advertised the property earlier.

The original adjudicator accepted evidence that advertising too early could cause the property advertisement to move down search results and become “stale”. The evidence also referred to approximately one month before departure as a generally accepted advertising timeframe in those circumstances.

The tenant subsequently sought leave to appeal. QCAT refused leave, finding that the evidence was capable of supporting the adjudicator's conclusions.

For this reason, we generally aim to commence advertising approximately 3–4 weeks before the property becomes available, while considering the circumstances of each individual property.

Reference: Gerrard v Emerald Lakes Residential [2025] QCAT 33.

There is no fixed advertising period prescribed by the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (Qld).

The relevant principle is mitigation of loss — reasonable steps must be taken to minimise loss or expense resulting from the early termination.

What is reasonable will depend on the circumstances, including the property's availability date, market conditions, advertising activity, enquiries, inspections and applications.

This means that advertising immediately is not automatically required simply because a tenant has provided early notice.

This timeframe is intended to place the property in front of prospective tenants when they are more likely to be actively looking for somewhere to move.

There is also Queensland Tribunal authority relevant to this timeframe.

In Williams v Ray White Cairns Beaches [2016] QCATA 16, evidence before the Tribunal was that the agency's normal practice was to commence advertising approximately 2–3 weeks before the premises became available.

Together with Gerrard, this demonstrates why the timing of advertising needs to be reasonable — neither unnecessarily early nor unreasonably late.

Our 3–4 week timeframe is therefore a general guide, not an inflexible rule.

References:
Gerrard v Emerald Lakes Residential [2025] QCAT 33
Williams v Ray White Cairns Beaches [2016] QCATA 16.

Mitigation does not mean that every conceivable action must be taken or that a property manager must be available at every time requested by a prospective tenant.

The issue is whether reasonable steps have been taken in the circumstances to minimise the loss.

These steps can include advertising at an appropriate time, responding to enquiries, providing reasonable inspection opportunities, processing applications and working towards securing a suitable replacement tenant.

In Burlington Realty Pty Ltd t/as Belle Property Paddington v McComb [2016] QCATA 110, the Appeal Tribunal examined the evidence of the agency's actual efforts to secure another tenant and found that the agency had taken reasonable steps to mitigate its loss.

The decision demonstrates that mitigation is assessed by looking at the actual circumstances and efforts made, rather than applying a single rigid procedure to every break lease.

Reference: Burlington Realty Pty Ltd t/as Belle Property Paddington v McComb [2016] QCATA 110.

Queensland tenancy legislation does not require a property manager to personally conduct an inspection at every time requested by a prospective tenant.

We provide scheduled inspection opportunities based on our team's availability and the applicable Queensland entry requirements.

Where a prospective tenant cannot attend one of our scheduled inspections, we will consider whether another suitable opportunity can reasonably be arranged.

Where our team is unavailable, we may also ask whether you are willing to assist with an additional viewing.

If neither our team nor you can accommodate the requested additional time, the prospective tenant may need to wait for one of the next available scheduled inspections.

Tenants must work with the property management team and reasonably cooperate with inspection times when the agent and prospective tenants are available. Not doing so may cause delays in the inspection process and in finding a replacement tenant.

The relevant question from a mitigation perspective is whether reasonable steps are being taken overall to secure a replacement tenant, rather than whether every individual requested inspection time can be accommodated.

Reference: Burlington Realty Pty Ltd t/as Belle Property Paddington v McComb [2016] QCATA 110.

Our property management team provides scheduled opportunities for prospective tenants to inspect the property.

Sometimes an interested prospective tenant cannot attend those times and requests an alternative time when our team is unavailable.

In these circumstances, we may ask whether you are willing to assist by showing the prospective tenant through. We can organise the appointment and communicate with the prospective tenant for you.

If you are unable to assist, the prospective tenant may need to wait for our next available inspection. This could potentially delay that person's application or result in them securing another property.

For this reason, additional cooperation can be beneficial to everyone involved and may help reduce the financial impact of ending the tenancy early.

Yes.

We encourage tenants who are breaking their lease to help spread the word through Facebook, community groups, rental groups, social media, friends, family, colleagues and other appropriate networks.

Where possible, please share our official property advertisement or application link rather than creating a separate advertisement.

This ensures the rent, availability date, property details and application process remain accurate.

Anyone interested in the property should then be referred to our property management team. All applications remain subject to the normal assessment and owner approval process.