You cannot evict the tenant yourself, even with a warrant
A possession order says the tenancy has ended and the tenant must leave by a date. A warrant of possession is the enforcement document that follows if they do not. In every state the warrant is addressed to an officer of the state, not to you. In NSW that officer is the Sheriff. In Queensland it is the police. In Victoria it is the police for residential tenancies, with the Sheriff involved in some other types of possession matter. Only that officer can physically remove the tenant and hand possession back to you.
That means, until the warrant has been executed, you must not:
- Change or add locks, remove doors or windows, or otherwise block the tenant's access
- Enter and remove the tenant's belongings, or have anyone else do it
- Disconnect electricity, gas, water or internet, or stop paying for services you are responsible for
- Turn up with friends or contractors to pressure the tenant into leaving
- Accept the keys from one occupant and lock out another who is still in possession
Landlords who do any of this after a warrant has issued usually feel justified, and tribunals do not care. The tenant can apply for compensation, for an order restoring them to the property, and in some states the landlord faces penalties on top. It also hands the tenant a reason to delay. The warrant process exists precisely so that nobody has to decide on the doorstep who is right. Let it run.
Important: Procedures, time limits and forms change and differ between states and territories. This page is general information for residential tenancies in NSW, Victoria and Queensland. Check the current requirements with the tribunal and enforcement office in your state, or speak with a property lawyer.
Warrant of possession procedure by state
New South Wales
NCAT makes a termination order that sets a date by which the tenant must give vacant possession. If the tenant is still there after that date, you apply to NCAT for a warrant of possession. The warrant is not issued automatically with the termination order, and it cannot be issued before the vacate date has passed.
Once NCAT issues the warrant, you need to contact the NSW Sheriff's Office within the period stated, generally 7 days, to arrange execution and pay the fee. If you miss that window the warrant can lapse and you are back to NCAT. The Sheriff then serves a notice on the tenant stating the date and time by which they must leave. If the tenant has not gone by then, Sheriff's officers attend the property, remove any occupants, and hand possession to you or your agent. You or your agent must be there, with a locksmith.
Victoria
VCAT makes a possession order that states the date by which the renter must leave. If they do not, you apply to VCAT to purchase the warrant of possession. The possession order usually states the period within which the warrant must be purchased, so note it. VCAT can also delay when the warrant may be purchased in some circumstances.
The warrant is directed to the police. You take it to the police station responsible for the property's area. The police then contact you to arrange a date and time to execute it within the period the warrant remains in force. If the police are unable to execute it within that period, you may need to return to VCAT to have it extended or reissued. Police remove the renter and any occupants and give you possession. Again, you attend with a locksmith.
Queensland
QCAT makes a termination order and, at the same time or on application, issues a warrant of possession. The warrant states the day it takes effect and is valid for 14 days from that day. QCAT forwards the warrant to the Queensland Police rather than giving it to you to deliver.
The police then contact you or your agent to arrange a time to attend. On the day, police enter, remove the tenant and anyone else there, and hand over possession. If the police cannot execute the warrant within the 14 day period, you will need to go back to QCAT. Keep your contact details current with QCAT and the police so you do not lose days waiting to be reached.
Other states and territories
South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory each have their own version of the same two step process: an order for possession from the tribunal or court, then a warrant or order executed by a bailiff, Sheriff or police. The same core rule applies everywhere. Only the officer named in the warrant can remove the tenant.
How long it takes from order to eviction
Landlords usually ask this expecting one number. There is not one, because the clock is made up of several parts, and the tenant controls some of them.
| Stage | What sets the time |
|---|---|
| Hearing to vacate date | The tribunal sets the vacate date in the order. It may be immediate in serious cases, but for rent arrears and most other grounds it is often a period of days or weeks after the hearing, and tribunals can extend it where the tenant shows hardship. |
| Vacate date to warrant | In NSW and Victoria you must apply for the warrant after the vacate date passes. Processing takes days rather than hours. In Queensland the warrant is often issued with the termination order and takes effect on the stated day. |
| Warrant to enforcement contact | Depends on how quickly you lodge it (NSW and Victoria) and how quickly the Sheriff or police can list it. Busy metropolitan offices often have a queue. |
| Notice to tenant | In NSW the Sheriff gives the tenant a final notice with a date to leave before attending. Police in Victoria and Queensland set an execution date rather than a separate notice step, but there is still a gap. |
| Execution | On the day, the removal itself is usually quick if the tenant has gone or leaves when asked. It takes longer if occupants resist or goods need to be dealt with. |
Put together, a realistic expectation is several weeks from the hearing to the day you get the keys, and longer if any of the delays below occur. If you have a specific date in mind, for example a sale settlement or a new tenant waiting, tell your lawyer or agent early so they can plan around the enforcement queue rather than a hoped for date.
What can delay or stop the eviction
A warrant is not the end of the tenant's options. These are the most common reasons the process stalls after an order has been made.
- Application to set aside or for a rehearing. If the tenant did not attend the hearing, they can apply to have the order set aside or reheard, usually on the basis that they had a reasonable excuse for not attending and a case to argue. Tribunals often stay the warrant while the application is dealt with. An appeal to an internal appeal panel or a court can also come with a stay.
- Pay to stay in NSW rent arrears cases. Where the NSW termination is for rent arrears, the tenant can generally stop the termination and the warrant by paying all the arrears, or complying with a repayment plan ordered by NCAT, before the warrant is executed. NCAT can order that this does not apply where the tenant has repeatedly fallen behind, so ask for that order at the hearing if it fits your history with the tenant.
- Hardship applications. Tenants can ask the tribunal to postpone the warrant or extend the vacate date on hardship grounds. In Victoria, VCAT can also postpone the issue of the warrant for a period where the renter would suffer severe hardship.
- Missed deadlines on your side. Not contacting the Sheriff in time in NSW, not purchasing the warrant within the period in Victoria, or being unreachable when police call in Queensland can mean the warrant lapses and you start again.
- Enforcement officer unable to execute. If the officer attends and cannot gain access, or the situation is unsafe, they may reschedule. If the warrant's validity runs out in the meantime, you return to the tribunal.
- Tenant leaves but someone else is in. If a sub occupant or relative remains, the warrant usually covers all occupants, but confirm the enforcement officer is prepared to remove them.
Tenant behaviour during this period is not a reason to act yourself. If the tenant is damaging the property or threatening people, that is a matter for police and, if needed, an urgent tribunal application, not a lock change.
The day of eviction
You or your agent must attend, because the enforcement officer hands possession to a person, not to an empty house. Plan the day as a documentation exercise, because everything that happens afterwards about bond, damage and goods will rest on what you can show from this point.
- Book a locksmith for the time the officer gives you. Locks are changed only after the officer confirms possession has been given to you. Change every external lock, including garage, sheds and letterbox, and keep the receipt.
- Bring the paperwork. The warrant, the termination or possession order, photo ID and your management authority if you are the agent.
- Photograph and video everything before anyone touches it. Every room, every wall, floors, fixtures, appliances, outdoor areas, and the condition of any goods left behind. Time stamped images, wide shots and close ups. This is the evidence for your damage claim and your defence to any later claim about goods.
- Record meter readings and note the state of utilities.
- Do not argue with the tenant. Let the officer manage any interaction. If the tenant asks for extra time, the answer belongs to the officer, not you.
- Do not remove goods on the day unless the officer directs it and the abandoned goods rules for your state allow it. Secure the property with the goods inside and start the process in the next section.
- Prepare a condition report as soon as possible after, in the same format as the one from the start of the tenancy so the comparison is clear.
If the tenant has already left before the execution date, do not assume you can walk in. In most states you still either have the warrant executed or follow the abandonment process to confirm the premises are abandoned before you retake possession. The enforcement officer attending an empty property is the cleanest way to end it.
Goods left behind after eviction
Tenants who are evicted often leave furniture, appliances, rubbish, vehicles and sometimes personal papers. The temptation is to clear it all into a skip and get the property relet. Each state has abandoned goods rules that set out what you may dispose of straight away, what you must store, for how long, the notice you must give, and how you may sell what is not collected. Getting this wrong is one of the most common ways a landlord who has done everything else properly ends up on the wrong end of a compensation claim.
The general pattern
- Perishables and rubbish can normally be disposed of immediately. Photograph them first.
- Goods of low value, where storage would cost more than they are worth, can generally be disposed of after a short process or immediately depending on the state.
- Other goods must be stored safely for a minimum period after you give the required notice to the former tenant (and in some states to the regulator). The period is measured in weeks, not days, and differs between NSW, Victoria and Queensland. Check the current period for your state before you act.
- Personal documents such as passports, photographs, certificates and medical records are treated separately in every state. They must be kept for a longer period and either returned to the tenant or handed to the nominated authority. They are never to be thrown out early.
- Sale or disposal after the period must follow the method the rules require. In some states goods above a value threshold must be sold at public auction, and any surplus after your costs belongs to the tenant or is paid to a public fund.
State notes
NSW: Goods left behind by a tenant are dealt with under the uncollected goods regime, which sets different notice and holding requirements depending on the value of the goods. Give the notice in the required form, keep a copy, and do not sell or dispose before the period ends.
Victoria: The Residential Tenancies Act sets out what may be removed or disposed of and what must be stored, with a notice to the renter and a minimum storage period before goods may be sold. The renter can reclaim goods during that period by paying reasonable removal and storage costs.
Queensland: The tenancy legislation lets you dispose of goods whose market value is less than the cost of removing, storing and selling them, and requires other goods to be stored for a period after you give notice, with sale by auction if not collected and surplus paid to the public trustee.
Keep a written inventory with photographs against each item and a log of every notice, phone call and message. If the tenant comes to collect, record what was handed over and get a signature.
The storage cost trap
Storage is the part landlords underestimate. If you store a house worth of goods for the required period, you pay removalists and storage fees up front. You can deduct reasonable costs from the sale proceeds, or require the tenant to pay them before collecting, but if the goods are worth little and the tenant never returns, the costs end up as another unrecovered debt. Before you commit to commercial storage, value the goods honestly, consider whether on site storage in a locked garage or room is lawful and practical, and get advice on whether the goods meet the low value threshold that allows disposal. Do not solve the problem by inflating the condition of the goods in your paperwork, because that record will be tested if the tenant later claims.
Bond, arrears and damage: getting your money
Once you have possession, the financial clean up starts. It runs in three stages, and the third is where expectations most often meet reality.
1. Claim the bond
Lodge your bond claim with the bond authority in your state as soon as the condition report and quotes are ready. Itemise it: unpaid rent to the date possession was given, cleaning, repairs, rubbish removal, lock changes where the tenant failed to return keys, and any other amount the tenancy agreement and legislation allow. Attach the ingoing and outgoing condition reports, photographs, invoices and the rent ledger. If the tenant disputes the claim, the bond authority holds the disputed amount and the tribunal decides. Claims that are specific and documented are paid quickly; vague claims for "general wear" are refused.
2. Apply to the tribunal for the balance
Where arrears and damage exceed the bond, apply to NCAT, VCAT or QCAT for a compensation order for the difference. There are time limits for these applications measured from the end of the tenancy, so do not let it sit. The tribunal will want a clear calculation: rent owed per the ledger, less bond received, plus repair costs supported by quotes or invoices, less an allowance for fair wear and tear and depreciation on items that were not new. Loss of rent after the tenant left can be claimed for the reasonable period it took to relet, provided you made genuine efforts to relet. Bring evidence of those efforts.
3. Enforce the order against a tenant who has gone
A tribunal order is a piece of paper. If the tenant does not pay voluntarily, you enforce it through the court system, and that depends on two things: finding the tenant, and the tenant having income or assets. The usual steps are:
- Register the tribunal order as a judgment of the local or magistrates court in your state. This converts it into a debt the court's enforcement tools apply to.
- Examination notice or summons. The court requires the debtor to disclose their income, employer, bank accounts and assets. Failure to respond can lead to further orders.
- Garnishee order. Directs an employer to pay part of the debtor's wages, or a bank to pay funds from an account, to you until the debt is cleared. Only useful if you know where they work or bank.
- Writ or warrant against property. The Sheriff or bailiff seizes and sells goods or, rarely, land. Most former tenants have nothing worth seizing.
- Instalment orders and payment arrangements. Sometimes the realistic outcome is a small regular payment that is actually made.
Each step carries a court fee and takes time. Before spending more, weigh the size of the debt against the likelihood of recovery. If you hold landlord insurance, lodge the claim promptly and check what it covers for arrears, damage and legal costs, because the insurer may be the only party that pays in full. A lawyer can also run a skip trace and advise whether enforcement is worth pursuing or whether the order is better kept on file in case the tenant's circumstances improve, since judgments remain enforceable for years.
When a property lawyer helps, and when the agent can handle it
Your agent is usually enough when
- The tenant did not contest the hearing and has not applied for a rehearing
- The warrant is issued and the only task is lodging it with the Sheriff or police and attending on the day
- The bond covers most of the loss and the tenant is not disputing the claim
- Goods left behind are clearly rubbish or low value and the agent knows the state's process
Good agents do warrants regularly and know the local enforcement office. Ask them to confirm in writing the date they lodged the warrant and the date they were given for execution.
Bring in a property lawyer when
- The tenant has applied to set aside the order, for a rehearing, an appeal or a stay, and you need to respond and oppose it properly
- You have a settlement, redevelopment or new lease riding on a date and need the process managed tightly
- You are self managing and unsure of the deadlines for lodging the warrant or the abandoned goods steps
- The tenant is alleging unlawful eviction, retaliation or a defective notice, or threatening a counterclaim
- Arrears and damage are well above the bond and you want the compensation claim and enforcement done once and done well
- There is a commercial element, multiple occupants, a sub tenant or a boarding arrangement that complicates who the warrant covers
Ask for a scope and a fixed or capped fee for the specific task, such as opposing a rehearing application or preparing the compensation claim, so you can weigh the cost against what is at stake.
Tell us what stage you are at and which state the property is in. We'll match you with a property lawyer who handles tenancy enforcement and email you their introduction. Reply to it and they'll be in touch.
Warrant of possession FAQ for landlords
The warrant of possession has been issued but the tenant is still there. What happens next?
The warrant has to be executed by the officer named on it: the Sheriff in NSW, the police in Queensland and Victoria. You lodge it or arrange execution with that office (in Queensland QCAT sends it to police for you), they notify the tenant or set a date, and they attend to remove the tenant. You attend with a locksmith and change the locks once they hand you possession. Until then, you do nothing to the property or the tenant's access.
How long does it take to get a warrant of possession and have it executed?
Allow several weeks from the hearing to the day you get the keys, made up of the vacate date in the order, the time to issue the warrant, the enforcement office's queue and any notice period to the tenant. Add more time if the tenant applies for a rehearing, a stay or pays arrears under pay to stay rules. Nobody can give you a firm date until the Sheriff or police have one.
What happens after a warrant of possession is issued in NSW?
Contact the NSW Sheriff's Office within the stated period, generally 7 days, and pay the fee. The Sheriff serves the tenant with a notice giving a final date to leave, then attends if they have not. You or your agent must be there to receive possession.
What happens after a warrant of possession is issued in Victoria?
You purchase the warrant from VCAT within the period allowed in the possession order, take it to the police station covering the property, and the police contact you to arrange execution within the time the warrant is valid. If it cannot be executed in that time you go back to VCAT.
What happens after a warrant of possession in QLD?
QCAT forwards the warrant to the Queensland Police. It takes effect on the date stated and is valid for 14 days. Police contact you or your agent to arrange a time to attend and remove the tenant. Make sure QCAT and the police have a phone number that is answered.
What happens after you receive a possession order but before the warrant?
The tenant has until the vacate date in the order to leave. You wait. If they leave, inspect, document and retake possession. If they do not, apply for the warrant the day after the vacate date in NSW and Victoria, or confirm the warrant's effective date with QCAT in Queensland. Use the waiting time to book a locksmith, line up your condition report and check the abandoned goods rules.
Can the tenant stop the eviction by paying the rent?
In NSW, where the termination is for rent arrears, generally yes, by paying all arrears or complying with a repayment order before the warrant is executed, unless NCAT has ordered that this does not apply because of repeated arrears. In other states payment does not automatically cancel the order, but a tenant can still apply to the tribunal and a tribunal may take payment into account. Get advice if the tenant pays part way through.
The tenant has already left. Can I just go in?
Be careful. If you have not been handed possession by the enforcement officer or confirmed abandonment under your state's rules, entering and changing locks can still be challenged if the tenant claims they had not actually moved out. The safest options are to have the warrant executed anyway or follow the abandonment process. Photograph everything either way.
Can I keep or sell the tenant's belongings to cover the rent?
No. Goods left behind are dealt with under the abandoned goods rules, not as security for the debt. You may recover reasonable removal and storage costs from the goods or their sale proceeds, but arrears and damage are claimed through the bond and the tribunal.
Is it worth chasing a tenant who has disappeared for arrears above the bond?
Get the tribunal order anyway, because the time limit to apply runs out and the order lasts for years. Whether to spend money enforcing it depends on whether you can locate the tenant and whether they have wages, a bank account or assets. A lawyer can advise on a skip trace, the cheapest enforcement step, and whether your landlord insurance should be paying instead.
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