Illustration of a rental property and tenancy records checklist
14 Sept 2026

Tenant Abandoned Your WA Rental? Form 12, Form 13 & What Landlords Must Do

Think your WA tenant has abandoned the property? Learn the Form 12 24-hour process, Form 13 seven-day rule, lawful entry and what to do with belongings left behind.

The rent hasn’t arrived.

Your messages aren’t being answered.

Mail is piling up.

A neighbour says they saw a removal truck outside last week.

You drive past and the property looks empty.

At this point it might seem obvious:

The tenant has left.

But for a WA landlord, looks abandoned and legally abandoned are not the same thing.

The tenant might be in hospital.

They might be away for work.

They could be travelling, in prison or staying temporarily with family.

Or they really may have disappeared owing several weeks’ rent.

Western Australian tenancy law provides landlords with a process for dealing with suspected abandonment, but it is important to follow that process rather than simply letting yourself into the property, changing the locks and treating the tenancy as finished.

Two forms are particularly important:

Form 12 — Notice to tenant of abandonment of premises

and

Form 13 — Notice to tenant of termination if premises abandoned.

They do different jobs.

Understanding that distinction can prevent a difficult situation becoming considerably worse.

Important: This article provides general information about residential tenancies in Western Australia and is not legal advice. Always check current WA Consumer Protection requirements and obtain advice where the circumstances are uncertain.

What does “abandoned” actually mean?

A tenant abandoning a rental property is different from an ordinary tenancy ending.

WA Consumer Protection describes abandonment as a situation where a tenant leaves the property without providing the required notice.

Before taking action, landlords should first establish whether the tenant has actually left.

Consumer Protection specifically recommends trying to contact the tenant and, where appropriate, checking with neighbours or known next of kin.

There are many legitimate reasons someone may unexpectedly be absent from their home. Abandoned rental property or park home

The first practical rule is therefore:

Don’t jump from “I can’t contact them” to “the tenancy is over.”

What are reasonable grounds for suspecting abandonment?

Consumer Protection gives a fairly specific test.

For the Form 12 abandonment process, reasonable grounds involve the tenant having failed to pay rent under the tenancy agreement together with at least one additional indicator.

Those indicators include:

One clue on its own should therefore be treated cautiously.

Closed curtains are not proof of abandonment.

Neither is an uncut lawn.

Neither is a neighbour saying:

“Haven’t seen them for a while.”

Build an evidence trail before you act.

Can the landlord enter to see whether the tenant has left?

Not immediately simply because you suspect abandonment.

If you have reasonable grounds and want to enter the property to inspect and secure it, the relevant document is Form 12 — Notice to tenant of abandonment of premises.

Consumer Protection says Form 12 must be delivered to:

  • the rental premises; and
  • the tenant’s last known place of employment, if known.

The tenant then has 24 hours to tell the landlord that the property has not been abandoned. Abandoned rental property or park home; Form 12 - Notice to tenant of abandonment of premises

If the tenant does not respond within that period, the landlord may enter the premises for the purpose of inspecting and securing the property.

Notice what Form 12 does not say:

“You now own everything inside and the tenancy is finished.”

It gives you a lawful process for checking and securing a property you reasonably believe has been abandoned.

Form 12 does not terminate the tenancy

This distinction is crucial.

Form 12 deals with access.

It does not, by itself, end the tenancy agreement.

Once you have established that the premises appear to have been abandoned, you still need to deal with termination.

Consumer Protection gives landlords two principal options:

  1. use Form 13 — Notice to tenant of termination if premises abandoned; or
  2. apply to the Magistrates Court for an order declaring the premises abandoned. Abandoned rental property or park home; Renting out your property - A landlord’s guide (April 2026)

These are different pathways.

How does Form 13 work?

Form 13 formally tells the tenant that the landlord believes the premises have been abandoned.

The tenant then has seven days to dispute the notice.

If the tenant does not dispute it within the applicable period, the tenancy can terminate through that abandonment process. Abandoned rental property or park home; Form 13 - Termination notice if premises abandoned

This creates a useful sequence to remember:

Suspect abandonment → establish reasonable grounds → Form 12 if access is required → 24-hour response period → inspect/secure → Form 13 to terminate → seven-day dispute period.

But there is an alternative.

When might the Magistrates Court be safer?

Consumer Protection specifically notes that where the landlord is unsure, seeking a court order may be the better option.

Why?

Because a tenant can challenge an abandonment termination and seek compensation for loss or expenses.

Consumer Protection says a tenant can challenge the notice through the Magistrates Court within 28 days after the notice was given. Abandoned rental property or park home; Renting out your property - A landlord’s guide (April 2026)

Imagine the landlord gets it wrong.

The tenant was unexpectedly admitted to hospital.

They return home to discover that the locks have been changed, their tenancy supposedly terminated and their possessions removed.

That is considerably more serious than waiting for a court determination where the evidence of abandonment is uncertain.

If there is genuine doubt, certainty can be worth more than speed.

Do you always need Form 12 before Form 13?

No.

This is another easy point to misunderstand.

Consumer Protection says that if the landlord does not need to enter and secure the premises and simply wants to terminate the tenancy because it has been abandoned, Form 12 does not necessarily have to be issued first.

The landlord can instead proceed with Form 13 or seek a Magistrates Court order. Abandoned rental property or park home

Think of the forms by purpose:

Form 12: “I believe you’ve abandoned the property and need to inspect and secure it.”

Form 13: “I believe you’ve abandoned the property and intend to terminate the tenancy.”

That is much easier to remember than treating Form 12 and Form 13 as interchangeable notices.

What should you document before entering?

As much as reasonably possible.

Create a simple abandonment file containing:

  • rent ledger showing arrears;
  • attempted phone calls;
  • text messages;
  • emails;
  • dates and times;
  • returned or unanswered correspondence;
  • photographs of accumulated mail where lawfully observable;
  • information provided by neighbours;
  • known utility disconnections;
  • evidence concerning removal of household goods;
  • copies of Form 12 and Form 13;
  • evidence showing how and when each notice was served; and
  • photographs or video taken when you lawfully enter.

This is exactly the type of situation where a written chronology is enormously valuable.

If the tenant later says:

“I never abandoned the property.”

you want something better than:

“Well, it really looked like they had left.”

What should you do when you enter?

Document the condition before disturbing anything.

Take broad photographs and detailed photographs.

Record:

  • whether furniture remains;
  • whether clothing and personal belongings remain;
  • condition of rooms;
  • food left behind;
  • state of refrigerators and freezers;
  • damage;
  • keys found;
  • open windows or doors;
  • utilities;
  • meter readings;
  • rubbish;
  • vehicles or trailers; and
  • any safety concerns.

If the property genuinely appears abandoned, secure it appropriately.

But don’t assume that everything left behind can go into a skip bin.

That creates the next legal problem.

What if the tenant leaves belongings behind?

Abandoned premises and abandoned goods are related but separate issues.

A tenancy ending does not automatically transfer ownership of the tenant’s belongings to the landlord.

WA Consumer Protection has specific procedures governing what landlords can do with goods left behind. Abandoned goods at a rental property or park home

The correct action depends partly on what was left.

Can you throw away rubbish?

Yes, genuine rubbish can be disposed of.

Consumer Protection gives examples including:

But be careful with the word rubbish.

An old-looking toolbox may be worthless to you and valuable to the tenant.

The same applies to furniture, electronics, jewellery and collections.

Don’t classify something as rubbish merely because you don’t want it.

What about goods of little or no value?

Consumer Protection distinguishes goods whose estimated value is less than the likely cost of removing, storing for the required period and selling them at public auction.

Those goods may potentially be disposed of.

But landlords should be able to justify that assessment.

Consumer Protection recommends obtaining evidence such as:

Why bother?

Because the former tenant can later seek compensation if they believe valuable belongings were unlawfully disposed of.

A photograph plus a written valuation is considerably stronger evidence than:

“I thought the couch was worthless.”

What happens to goods of value?

This is where landlords need to slow down.

If the estimated value of the goods exceeds the likely cost of removal, storage and sale, Consumer Protection says they must be stored safely for at least 60 days. Abandoned goods at a rental property or park home

The former tenant must also be notified.

If you have their contact details, Consumer Protection says you should use Form CP2 — Notice to former tenant as to disposal of goods within seven days of storing them.

If you don’t know their forwarding details, different notification requirements apply, including Form 3 — Notice as to disposal of goods, publication and display requirements. Abandoned goods at a rental property or park home

This is not an area where improvising is worthwhile.

Can the landlord keep the belongings because rent is owed?

No.

This is perhaps the most tempting mistake in an abandonment situation.

The tenant owes:

  • four weeks’ rent;
  • cleaning;
  • damaged walls; and
  • perhaps thousands of dollars in other costs.

There is a television, furniture and tools left behind.

You cannot simply decide:

“They owe me money, so I’ll sell this stuff.”

Consumer Protection explicitly states that landlords cannot seize a tenant’s property as compensation for unpaid rent. Abandoned goods at a rental property or park home

Debt recovery and abandoned-goods disposal are separate processes.

Keep them separate.

What happens after 60 days?

Where qualifying goods of value remain unclaimed, they generally must be sold at public auction.

The landlord can recover reasonable removal, storage and sale costs from the proceeds.

The remaining balance is not simply landlord money.

Consumer Protection says the balance must be dealt with through the Rental Accommodation Fund process using Form 11 — Proceeds of sale of abandoned goods, via the Magistrates Court.

If the landlord is separately owed money from the tenancy, the appropriate claim can be pursued through that process. Abandoned goods at a rental property or park home

Again:

Don’t offset the money informally.

Follow the prescribed process.

What about documents and computers?

Documents need particular care.

Consumer Protection says landlords should take reasonable steps to notify the tenant and retain abandoned documents for at least 60 days.

And “documents” do not necessarily mean paper.

Computers, laptops, phones, tablets, hard drives, USB drives and other digital-storage devices may contain personal documents and should be treated accordingly. Abandoned goods at a rental property or park home

Do not start browsing through someone’s computer looking for information about where they went.

Secure the item and follow the abandoned-goods process.

What if the tenant leaves a pet?

Don’t treat an abandoned animal as property to store for 60 days.

Consumer Protection advises landlords to contact an appropriate animal shelter or refuge where pets have been left behind. Abandoned goods at a rental property or park home

Animal welfare takes priority.

What if you find firearms or illegal items?

Do not handle the situation as ordinary abandoned property.

Consumer Protection’s abandoned-goods guidance directs landlords to contact the appropriate authorities for items requiring special consideration.

If firearms or suspected illegal drug equipment are found, contact Western Australia Police Force. Abandoned goods at a rental property or park home

What about the unpaid rent?

Abandonment does not magically erase money owed.

Depending on the circumstances, there may be claims involving:

But each claim still needs evidence.

Maintain the rent ledger.

Photograph damage.

Keep invoices.

Retain correspondence.

Complete the end-of-tenancy documentation correctly.

Don’t turn one strong claim into five weak ones by guessing amounts.

A practical abandonment workflow for WA landlords

When a tenant appears to have disappeared, resist the urge to immediately change the locks.

Use this sequence instead:

1. Try to contact the tenant.

Phone, email and message them.

2. Establish reasonable grounds.

Check the rent ledger and look for corroborating evidence of abandonment.

3. Record everything.

Start a chronology immediately.

4. If you need access, use Form 12 correctly.

Serve it as required and observe the 24-hour process.

5. Enter only when entitled to do so.

Inspect, photograph and secure the premises.

6. Deal with termination separately.

Use Form 13 correctly or consider applying to the Magistrates Court.

7. Do not dispose of belongings immediately.

Categorise them properly.

8. Store goods of value correctly.

Observe the applicable notification and 60-day requirements.

9. Keep debt recovery separate from abandoned goods.

Don’t seize possessions because rent is owed.

10. Preserve your evidence.

Assume you may eventually need to explain every step to someone who was not there.

The biggest mistake: treating suspicion as certainty

A tenant who disappears is stressful for a landlord.

There may already be thousands of dollars at risk.

Every additional day feels expensive.

That pressure makes shortcuts tempting.

But the abandonment process exists for a reason.

There is an enormous difference between:

“I have reasonable evidence the tenant abandoned the premises, served the prescribed notices, documented the property and followed the termination process.”

and:

“They weren’t answering their phone, so I changed the locks.”

The first is tenancy management.

The second can become a much larger problem than the unpaid rent you started with.

For current official guidance, use WA Consumer Protection — Abandoned rental property or park home and WA Consumer Protection — Abandoned goods at a rental property or park home. The current Consumer Protection landlord guide also confirms the Form 12/Form 13 process. Abandoned rental property or park home; Abandoned goods at a rental property or park home; Renting out your property - A landlord’s guide (April 2026)

Has a WA tenancy gone off track? Explore LandlordLogic’s practical guides for rent arrears, notices, evidence, property access, bonds and end-of-tenancy administration before taking the next step.