Eviction Notice WA: Unpaid Rent (Form 21 + Form 1A)

Your tenant hasn’t paid rent. You’ve waited, you’ve followed up, and nothing has changed. Under Western Australian law, there’s a specific two-step legal process you must follow before you can require a tenant to vacate — and skipping a step, or getting the timing wrong, means starting over from the beginning.

This guide covers the exact process: what forms to serve, when to serve them, how to count the notice periods correctly, and what happens if your tenant still doesn’t leave. Every legal requirement referenced here is drawn directly from the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 (WA) and the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety’s Renting Out Your Property guide.

If you’re dealing with a tenancy that may end in formal notice, keep the WA lease agreement guide and broader WA residential tenancies act guide guides nearby. If money is likely to be disputed at the end, our WA rental bond guide guide is the next page to read.

What WA Law Requires

The Residential Tenancies Act 1987 sets out the only legal way a landlord can terminate a tenancy for non-payment of rent. You cannot simply tell a tenant to leave, and you cannot remove them yourself regardless of how much rent is owed. The process is entirely governed by statute, and getting it wrong means a court will reject your application and you start over.

There are two separate paths available under the Act. This guide focuses on the more common one — the Form 21 → Form 1A path — but both are explained below. Note that separate termination pathways exist for other breach types (Form 1C) and for family violence situations (Form 2, under Sections 71AA–71AE) — see our complete eviction guide for details.

Option 1: Form 21 then Form 1A (the standard two-step process)

Under Section 62(4)(a), a termination notice for non-payment of rent is ineffectual unless a breach notice specifying the failure to pay rent was given to the tenant not less than 14 days before the termination notice is given. This means you must first serve a breach notice (Form 21) giving the tenant 14 days to pay, and only then — if rent remains unpaid — can you serve a termination notice (Form 1A) giving 7 days to vacate.

This is the recommended path for most landlords because it creates a clear paper trail, gives the tenant an explicit opportunity to remedy the breach, and produces stronger evidence if the matter goes to court.

Option 2: Form 1B (termination without prior breach notice)

Under Section 62(5), a landlord can give a termination notice immediately after the breach occurs — without first issuing a 14-day breach notice. This uses Form 1B instead of Form 1A.

However, the Form 1B path comes with significantly stronger tenant protections that many landlords are not aware of:

• If the tenant pays all rent due in full before the vacate date, the landlord cannot apply to court at all (Section 62(5)(a))

• If the tenant pays all rent due plus the court application fee at least one day before the hearing, the landlord cannot continue proceedings (Section 62(5)(b))

• The court hearing cannot take place less than 21 days after the Form 1B notice was given (Section 62(5)(c))

If a landlord proceeds in contravention of any of these protections — for example, by applying to court after the tenant paid in full before the vacate date — any order made under Section 71(2) is of no effect (Section 62(5a)).

By contrast, with the Form 21 → Form 1A path, payment of rent after Form 1A is served does not automatically stop the landlord from applying to court. This is stated explicitly on the Form 1A itself and is one of the key reasons most landlords and property managers use this path rather than Form 1B.

Counting the notice period correctly

This is where many landlords make errors. The Renting Out Your Property guide is explicit: when counting the notice period, you must exclude both the day the notice is served and the last day of the notice period. The required action (payment or vacating) should take place on the day following the last day of the notice period.

Example for Form 21: If you serve the breach notice on Monday 1 June, you exclude that day. The 14-day period runs from Tuesday 2 June to Monday 15 June. You exclude the last day (15 June). The tenant’s deadline to pay is therefore the end of Tuesday 16 June. You cannot serve Form 1A until Wednesday 17 June at the earliest.

Example for Form 1A: If you serve the termination notice on Wednesday 17 June, you exclude that day. The 7-day period runs from Thursday 18 June to Wednesday 24 June. You exclude the last day (24 June). The tenant must vacate by Thursday 25 June.

If the last day of the notice period falls on a weekend or public holiday, the person receiving the notice can choose for service to be effected on the next working day.

Step 1 — Form 21: Breach Notice for Non-payment of Rent

Form 21 is a formal written notice to your tenant under Section 62(4)(a) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1987. It tells the tenant they are in breach of their tenancy agreement for failing to pay rent and gives them 14 days to pay the outstanding amount in full.

An important distinction: Form 21 is classified as a “suggested helpful form” in the Landlord’s Guide — meaning you could technically write your own letter instead, as long as it specifies the breach and requires payment of rent within 14 days. However, using the official Form 21 is strongly recommended because it is explicitly designed to satisfy Section 62(4)(a) and a Magistrate will immediately recognise it if the matter goes to court.

The form requires:

• The tenant’s name/s

• The rental property address

• The dollar amount of rent currently owing

• Your signature and address as landlord

• The date of the notice

The 14-day remedy period begins the day after the notice is served — not the day you send it. If you are serving by post rather than email, allow additional days for delivery as the period does not begin until the notice is received (see the section on service methods below).

Important: Form 21 is not a termination notice. You are not ending the tenancy at this stage — you are giving the tenant an opportunity to pay. If the tenant pays the outstanding rent in full within 14 days, the breach is remedied and the process stops here. You cannot proceed to Form 1A if the arrears have been cleared.

Step 2 — Form 1A: Notice of Termination for Non-payment of Rent

If the rent or any part of it remains unpaid after the 14-day remedy period, you can serve Form 1A under Section 61(a) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1987.

Unlike Form 21, Form 1A is a prescribed form — meaning you must use the official government form exactly as published. You cannot substitute your own letter or modify the form. The form states in bold at the top: “This form is ONLY to be used if not less than 14 days notice of breach of the agreement to pay rent (Form 21) has been given.”

Form 1A can only be validly served if Form 21 was served at least 14 days earlier, counting the notice period correctly as described above. Serving Form 1A too early — even by one day — makes the notice ineffectual under Section 62(4)(a) and you must start the entire process again.

Form 1A requires:

• The tenant’s name/s

• The address of the rental premises

• The date by which the tenant must vacate (at least 7 days from the date of service)

• The date on which the Form 21 breach notice was originally served

• Your signature and address

Payment after Form 1A does not automatically stop the process

This is one of the most important — and most commonly misunderstood — points in the entire eviction process. Once Form 1A has been served, the tenant paying rent does not automatically stop the termination.

The Form 1A itself states this clearly: “If you pay the rent due under the agreement after receiving this notice, the payment will not prevent the lessor applying in court for an order terminating your residential tenancy agreement and requiring you to vacate the premises.”

This is fundamentally different from the Form 21 stage, where paying in full stops the process entirely. After Form 1A is served, the decision to accept payment and withdraw the termination, or to proceed with a court application, is the landlord’s.

How to Correctly Serve a Notice in WA

Getting the service method right matters. If the matter goes to the Magistrates Court, you will need to prove the notice was properly served. Under Section 85 of the Act, there are three valid methods of service.

1. Personal delivery (hand delivery)

You can hand the notice directly to the tenant, to a resident of the property who appears to be over 16 years of age, or to a person who ordinarily pays the rent. If there are multiple tenants, serving any one tenant is sufficient — although the notice should refer to all parties to the agreement. You may also engage a bailiff from the Magistrates Court or a process server for personal delivery.

Personal delivery is the strongest method from an evidence perspective. Note the date, time, and who received the notice immediately after serving it.

2. Ordinary post

You can post the notice by standard mail — not registered post. Under Section 85(2), service is deemed to have occurred at the time the letter would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post. The Landlord’s Guide recommends allowing two to three business days for delivery within the same city or town, and up to six business days for delivery between regional areas. Australia Post also offers a priority option which delivers one to two business days faster than regular post.

Factor postal delivery time into your timeline calculations — the 14-day remedy period does not begin until the notice is deemed to have arrived.

3. Email or facsimile

Under Section 85(1)(c), electronic service is only valid with the consent of the recipient. In practice, this means email is only a valid method of service if the tenant agreed to it in the tenancy agreement. If you used the current Form 1AA, there is a dedicated section in Part A where each party explicitly indicates (Yes or No) whether they agree to receiving notices by email or facsimile. Check this before relying on email service.

If the tenant did consent to email service in the tenancy agreement, email is the fastest and most convenient method — it creates an automatic timestamp and delivery record. The Landlord Wise platform lets you send notices directly to the tenant by email from within the app, creating a record of when the notice was sent.

Keep evidence of service

The Renting Out Your Property guide emphasises that if a tenancy issue goes to court, the magistrate is likely to require proof the notice was served correctly. Keep a copy of each notice, including a written record of the method you used to serve it, the time and date it was sent or handed to the person, and who received it. The person who sends the notice should sign these records.

If you cannot prove proper service, the magistrate may reject your claim and order the process to restart from the beginning with correct service of notices.

If the tenancy ends and money or damage is disputed, our WA rental bond guide and WA property condition report guide guides explain the evidence side. If the dispute began with a fixed-term agreement, our WA break lease guide guide is the other page most landlords usually need.

Common Mistakes Landlords Make

These are the errors that cost landlords the most time. Every one of them results in the same outcome: starting the process again from the beginning.

1. Serving Form 1A too early

This is the single most common mistake. Section 62(4)(a) requires “not less than 14 days” between the breach notice and the termination notice — and the counting rules (excluding both the service day and the last day of the period) mean the gap is often longer than landlords expect. If you serve Form 1A even one day too early, it is ineffectual and you must start the entire process again from Form 21.

2. Using the wrong form

The Act provides different forms for different situations. Form 1A is only valid when a Form 21 breach notice has been issued at least 14 days earlier. Form 1B is for situations where no breach notice has been issued. Form 1C is for termination on grounds other than non-payment of rent (such as sale of property, breach of other terms, or end of periodic tenancy). Using the wrong form invalidates the notice entirely.

3. Not counting the notice period correctly

Many landlords count from the date they send the notice rather than the date it is received. For personally delivered notices, service happens on the day it is handed over. For posted notices, service is deemed to occur when the letter would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post — not when you post it. For email, service occurs when the email is sent (provided the tenant consented to email service in the tenancy agreement).

Additionally, many landlords forget that the counting rules exclude both the service day and the last day of the notice period. Getting this wrong by even one day can invalidate the notice.

4. Accepting partial payment without understanding the implications

If a tenant makes a partial payment during the 14-day Form 21 period, the breach is only remedied if the full amount owing is paid. A partial payment does not reset the clock or prevent you from proceeding to Form 1A. However, you should update the amount owing on any subsequent notices to reflect what is actually still owed.

After Form 1A is served, the situation is different — any payment (full or partial) does not automatically stop the termination process. Under Section 66 of the Act, acceptance of rent by a landlord after giving a notice of termination does not operate as a waiver of the breach or the notice. This means accepting a payment after Form 1A has been served does not prevent you from proceeding with a court application — but you should still document all payments received and keep accurate records for the court.

5. Not keeping copies or evidence of service

If you cannot prove to a Magistrate that the notice was properly served, on the correct date, by a valid method, the court may reject your application regardless of how much rent is owed. Keep copies of every notice and a signed, dated record of how it was served.

6. Trying to remove the tenant yourself

You cannot remove a tenant, change locks, or cut off utilities at any point in this process — regardless of how much rent is owed or how long it has been outstanding. Only a court-appointed bailiff, acting under a Property Seizure and Delivery Order, has the authority to physically remove a tenant from a property.

7. Missing the 30-day court application window

After the Form 1A vacate period expires and the tenant has not left, you have exactly 30 days to apply to the Magistrates Court for a termination order under Section 71(1). If you miss this window, the Form 1A notice expires and you must restart the entire process from Form 21.

What Happens After You Issue the Notices

If the tenant pays during the Form 21 period

The process stops. The breach has been remedied. You cannot proceed to Form 1A, and the tenancy continues as normal. If the same tenant falls into arrears again later, you would need to serve a new Form 21 starting the process fresh.

If the tenant pays partially during the Form 21 period

If any rent remains unpaid after the 14-day period, you can proceed to Form 1A. The Form 1A itself states it applies where “the rent or any part of the rent due remains unpaid.”

If the tenant pays after Form 1A is served

Payment after Form 1A does not automatically prevent you from applying to court. The Form 1A itself explicitly states this. You can choose to accept the payment and withdraw the termination, or you can proceed with the court application. This is a decision for you as the landlord.

If the tenant does not vacate after Form 1A

Once the 7-day vacate period has expired and the tenant has not left, you must apply to the Magistrates Court for a termination order and an order for possession. Under Section 71(1), you have 30 days from the date the Form 1A notice expires to make this application. If you miss this window, the notice expires and you must restart from Form 21.

Applying to the Magistrates Court

Applications are made online through the Magistrates Court’s Electronic Document Lodgement Service at www.magistratescourt.wa.gov.au. The system generates Magistrates Court Form 12 (Application for Court Order) based on the information you enter. You will need to upload supporting documents — copies of the Form 21, Form 1A, evidence of service, the tenancy agreement, and a rental ledger showing the arrears — through the eCourts Portal before your court date.

A hearing date is typically scheduled from 14 days after your application is lodged. Under Section 71(2), the court must be satisfied that the notice of termination complied with and was given in accordance with the Act, and that the breach justifies termination of the agreement.

Be aware that under Section 71(3)(b)(i), the court may refuse to make a termination order if it is satisfied the notice was retaliatory action — for example, if the tenant had recently complained to Consumer Protection or taken steps to enforce their rights under the Act (Section 26B). For non-payment of rent, this defence is difficult for a tenant to sustain where there are genuine arrears, but you should be aware it exists.

If the court grants a termination order

The court will make an order terminating the tenancy agreement and an order for possession of the premises. If the tenant still refuses to leave after the court order, you then apply for a Property Seizure and Delivery Order, which authorises a court-appointed bailiff to physically remove the tenant and their belongings.

Realistic timeline

From when you first serve Form 21 to a court hearing, the process generally takes 4–8 weeks depending on court availability:

• Day 1: Serve Form 21

• Day 15+ (at earliest): Serve Form 1A (after 14 days plus correct counting)

• Day 22+: Form 1A vacate period expires (7 days after service)

• Day 36+: Earliest likely court hearing (typically 14 days after application lodged)

This assumes no postal delays and no counting errors. If you are serving by post, add 2–6 business days to the start of each notice period.

You cannot at any point:

• Remove the tenant or their belongings yourself

• Change the locks while the tenant is still in the property

• Cut off utilities (water, gas, electricity)

• Intimidate or harass the tenant to leave

Doing any of these things is unlawful regardless of how much rent is owed and could result in a significant financial penalty.

Generate Form 21 and Form 1A on Landlord Wise

Both forms are fully live on the Landlord Wise platform. You can create either form directly from your tenancy, and the platform handles the date calculations and counting rules automatically.

What the platform does for you:

• Pre-fills tenant name, property address and your details from the tenancy record

• Auto-calculates the 14-day remedy deadline on Form 21, applying the correct counting rules from the date of the notice

• Validates the 14-day gap between Form 21 and Form 1A — the platform will not let you generate a Form 1A if insufficient time has passed since the breach notice, and shows you the earliest valid date

• Auto-calculates the 7-day vacate date on Form 1A from the date of the notice

• Auto-links Form 1A to the existing Form 21 for the same tenancy, pre-populating the breach notice date

• Generates a legally formatted PDF ready to serve

• Lets you send the notice directly to the tenant by email from within the platform, creating a timestamped delivery record

Note: The remedy deadline and vacate date are calculated from the date of the notice. If you are serving by post rather than email, allow additional days for delivery — the remedy period begins when the notice is deemed received, not when it is sent. The platform includes a note about this on each form.

Related guides for WA landlords

If you are building out the full landlord workflow for this state, these guides connect this page to the rest of the tenancy process.

Same-state guides

• WA lease agreement guide
• WA rental bond guide
• WA property condition report guide
• WA rent increase guide
• WA break lease guide

Compare eviction and notice guides in other states

• NSW eviction notice guide
• QLD eviction notice guide
• VIC notice to vacate guide
• SA eviction notice guide
• Tasmania eviction notice guide
• ACT eviction notice guide

Frequently Asked Questions

What if the tenant pays some but not all of the arrears within 14 days?

Form 21 requires the outstanding rent to be paid in full within 14 days. If only a partial payment is made and any rent remains unpaid, you can proceed to Form 1A. The Form 1A itself states it applies where “the rent or any part of the rent due remains unpaid.”

Can I use Form 1A without first serving Form 21?

No. Under Section 62(4)(a), Form 1A is only valid if a breach notice (Form 21) was served at least 14 days earlier. If you want to issue a termination notice without first issuing a breach notice, you would need to use Form 1B instead — but be aware that Form 1B has stronger tenant protections (see the section on Option 2 above).

Does paying rent after receiving Form 1A stop the termination?

Not automatically. The Form 1A explicitly states that payment after the notice is served does not prevent the landlord from applying to court for a termination order. The decision to proceed or withdraw is yours as the landlord. This is one of the key differences between the Form 1A path and the Form 1B path, where full payment before the vacate date does stop the process.

Can I serve both forms on the same day?

No. Form 21 must be served first and at least 14 full days (counted correctly — excluding the service day and the last day) must pass before Form 1A can be validly served. Serving them on the same day or too close together makes the Form 1A ineffectual.

What happens if I miss the 30-day window to apply to court after Form 1A?

Under Section 71(1), you must apply to the Magistrates Court within 30 days after the vacate date specified in the Form 1A. If you miss this window, the Form 1A notice expires and you must restart the process from the beginning — reissuing Form 21 and waiting the full notice periods again.

How much rent needs to be owed before I can serve Form 21?

The Act does not specify a minimum amount. Form 21 can be served not less than one day after the rent should have been paid but was not received. In practice, most landlords serve it when at least one full payment has been missed and they have already attempted to contact the tenant informally.

What if my tenant is on a periodic agreement vs a fixed-term agreement?

The Form 21 → Form 1A process applies to both periodic and fixed-term tenancy agreements. Section 62(6) is explicit: a termination notice under this section is not made ineffectual by the fact that the vacate date is earlier than the last day of a fixed term.

Do I need a property manager to do this?

No. Self-managing landlords can issue both notices directly. There is no legal requirement to use a property manager for any part of this process. Landlord Wise is built specifically for WA landlords managing their own properties, with both forms available, date calculations handled automatically, and the 14-day gap between Form 21 and Form 1A validated before you can generate the termination notice.

What is the difference between Form 1A and Form 1B?

Both are termination notices for non-payment of rent, but they are used in different circumstances. Form 1A is used after a 14-day breach notice (Form 21) has been served. Form 1B is used when no breach notice has been issued. The key practical difference: with Form 1A, the tenant paying rent after the notice is served does not automatically stop the process. With Form 1B, the tenant can stop the process by paying in full before the vacate date (Section 62(5)).

Can the tenant dispute the eviction in court?

Yes. Under Section 71(2), the court must be satisfied that the notice of termination complied with the Act and was given in accordance with its requirements. If there is any defect in the notice — wrong form, incorrect dates, improper service — the court can reject the application. The tenant can also argue that the breach does not justify termination in all the circumstances, though for non-payment of rent this is a difficult argument to sustain.

What if the tenant starts paying rent again after I’ve applied to court?

Under the Form 21 → Form 1A path, payment after Form 1A has been served does not prevent the landlord from proceeding with the court application. However, the court has discretion in deciding whether the breach justifies termination in all the circumstances. Regular payments resuming may be a factor the Magistrate considers.

Can I claim the court application fee from the tenant?

If the court grants a termination order, the tenant may be ordered to pay the landlord’s costs including the court application fee. The Landlord’s Guide notes that tenants who do not pay rent arrears within the notice period will incur the cost of the court application fee as well as having to pay the rent arrears.

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