Hi there. The Residential Tenancies Act 1987 (WA) has strict rules designed to protect the rights of tenants. The information you provided suggests the landlord has breached several of these rules, as explained below.

Eviction notice

You received an eviction notice on your phone. The reason for the eviction notice is not clear. If the eviction was because you were behind in paying your rent, the landlord should have used a Form 1B ‘Notice of Termination for Non Payment of Rent’, giving you 7 days to pay the rent owed otherwise the landlord could apply to court for a termination order ending your lease. The court date must be at least 21 days from when you received the Form 1B.

If the landlord’s eviction notice was for another reason, the minimum notice period varies depending on the reason for the eviction. If you were in breach of your tenancy agreement (other than for rent arrears), you should have received a breach notice and been allowed 14 days to fix the issue. If you did not fix it, the landlord could have used Form 1C ‘Notice of Termination’ giving you 7 days to vacate the property. If the landlord simply chose to evict you for no specific reason, they should have given you 60 days’ notice for a periodic tenancy (i.e. a month-to-month lease) or 30 days’ notice for a fixed term tenancy but no earlier than the end of the fixed term.

While it is not clear what type of eviction notice was used or the exact grounds on which the landlord tried to evict you, it appears that the landlord did not properly serve you with the notice. Notices of eviction must be served by post or in person. They can only be sent electronically or by email (including an image sent to your phone), but only if there was a prior agreement in writing between you and the landlord permitting notices to be sent electronically. Furthermore, it appears your landlord did not give you sufficient notice, as you said you only received the notice 3 days before the end of the notice period.

Locked out of property

It is illegal for a landlord to evict you without a court order, and the landlord cannot personally lock you out. Only the Sheriff (or their representative) can do this when they are acting in accordance with a court order. From the information you provided, it is unlikely the landlord obtained a court order for your eviction, especially as they changed the locks and welded the gate only one day after the end of the notice period.

As it appears you have been evicted illegally, you should make a court application as soon as possible. You can ask for court orders allowing you to stay at the property, to get your personal belongings (if any remain at the property), or for financial compensation. You can start your court application by lodging the relevant forms with the Magistrates Court (www.magistratescourt.wa.gov.au), but you may want to obtain legal advice before doing so. You can also lodge a formal complaint against your landlord with the WA Department of Commerce (www.commerce.wa.gov.au) by phoning 1300 304 054.

Suggested way forward

It sounds like the landlord has failed to follow the rules of the Residential Tenancies Act and that you have strong grounds to seek court orders to fix the situation. You should contact Tenancy WA as soon as possible on (08) 9221 0088 or 1800 621 888 or visit their website (www.tenancywa.org.au). You may also want to consider speaking to a lawyer who can help you take action to enforce your legal rights. By pressing the “Consult a Lawyer” button, LawAdvisor can help you search for experienced lawyers and obtain fee proposals for their services. Costs for legal advice and representation will vary between providers based on experience and the scope of services.