Moving Back to Sydney: What to Do With Your Rental

Moving back to Sydney after an overseas posting raises a different set of property questions from the ones you faced when you left. Your apartment may have a tenant with a current lease, your family may need a different home now, and the dates that matter for tax do not necessarily match your flight or moving date.

Owners often ask us some version of: “Our posting is ending. Can we move back into our place?” The answer starts with the tenancy agreement, but it does not end there. You may decide to reoccupy, continue leasing or sell. Each path has its own timeline, so it is worth working through the choices well before you book a removalist.

First, decide what role the property will have when you return

Move back in. The Darlinghurst terrace or Surry Hills apartment still suits your work, commute and household. You will need to check the lease end date, follow the NSW termination process and allow time to prepare the property after the tenant leaves.

Keep it as an investment. You might return to Sydney but rent or buy elsewhere for a school catchment, more space or a new job. The tenant can remain, and management can continue. You should still update your contact details, insurance and tax adviser, and review the investment against your new circumstances.

Sell. You may want the capital for a different Sydney home or decide the property no longer fits. A sale raises separate tenancy, capital gains and settlement questions. Do not issue a notice on the assumption that deciding to sell automatically gives you vacant possession.

The best first step is a conversation with your property manager about the lease and a separate conversation with your accountant about your residency and property history. Neither professional should have to guess what the other has arranged.

Can you ask a tenant to leave so you can move back in?

Yes, a landlord or qualifying family member moving in is a recognised ground for ending a NSW tenancy. Since the 2025 reforms, landlords must use a genuine legal ground and follow the required process, even when a fixed term is coming to an end.

For this ground, NSW Fair Trading’s current notice table sets these minimum periods:

Tenancy agreement	Minimum notice
Fixed term of six months or less	60 days
Fixed term of more than six months	90 days
Periodic agreement	90 days

A fixed term generally cannot be cut short simply because the owner’s posting has ended. The termination date for this ground must respect the fixed term. A landlord and tenant can, however, agree to end a tenancy earlier if both want that outcome; do not treat agreement as something the tenant must give.

The formal termination notice must be in writing and include the ground, termination date and the approved termination information statement. For the move-in ground, the landlord must also give a signed and dated statement identifying who will live there and confirming they will do so for at least six months. If a family member will move in instead of the landlord, an additional signed statement from that person is required. NSW Fair Trading explains the documents and the eligible family relationships.

There is a practical consequence if plans change: after ending a tenancy on this ground, the property generally cannot be rented to other tenants for six months from the termination date. Fair Trading has a process to consider a change of circumstances beyond the landlord’s control, but a change of mind is not a reason two use the ground casually.

Give the tenant clear, respectful updates before and during the formal process. More notice than the minimum can help them plan. The notice itself does not give you the right to move in while the tenant remains. If they do not leave by the stated date, the lawful next step is an application to NCAT, not taking possession yourself. Allow some flexibility in your own return housing plans.

Work backwards from the lease, not the flight

A useful return plan has four stages. The exact dates depend on the agreement, the tenant and whether you intend to occupy or sell.

Six months or more before returning

Ask your manager for the current agreement, its fixed-term end date, any agreed renewal and a summary of the property’s condition. Discuss the three options before making a new tenancy commitment that could conflict with your return.

Speak with an accountant experienced in international tax before you decide whether to sell. Record where you and your family will live, when the overseas employment ends and what ties you will retain abroad. Australian tax residency is assessed on yfour circumstances under the ATO’s residency tests; an airfare does not, by itself, establish the answer.

If you expect to move in, allow a buffer between the tenancy’s lawful end and your arrival. A few nights of temporary accommodation are easier to manage than a move timed to the very day a tenant is due to hand back the keys.

Around four months before the intended move

Confirm whether the lease is fixed term or periodic and have the agent calculate the correct service and notice dates. If notice is appropriate, prepare the supporting statements and the termination information statement together. Posted notices require extra delivery time; email can be used only where the tenant has specified an address for receiving that kind of document. NSW Fair Trading explains service and how notice days are counted.

This is also the moment to consider whether the property still suits you. A pre-return review might identify a changed floor plan need, a major strata project, deferred work, or a sale opportunity. Make the decision on the property’s current condition and your new circumstances, not just on affection for the place you left.

The final month of the tenancy

Arrange the lawful end-of-tenancy process through your manager: keys, condition report, final inspection, outstanding rent or invoices and the rental bond. Separate fair wear and tear from damage, and schedule any work needed before your family moves in. Check appliances, smoke alarms, hot water and anything identified during the tenancy. An owner should not assume that the property will be move-in ready the next morning.

Plan the practical handover too: utilities, internet, contents and building insurance, strata access or move bookings, and the mailing address for the last rental and tax statements. Keep the final tenancy records even after the management agreement ends; your accountant may need them for the income year and for a later capital gains calculation.

Once you are home

Tell your accountant and relevant providers when your circumstances have changed. If you now occupy the property as your principal place of residence, check whether the NSW land tax record needs updating. Revenue NSW bases the ordinary principal place of residence exemption on actual use and occupation, with the 31 December taxing date and other eligibility conditions in view. Moving in does not automatically rewrite an earlier land tax assessment.

What changes for tax when you return?

The return may affect your income tax residency, rental deductions, capital gains position and NSW land tax, but they are separate questions.

If you become an Australian resident for tax purposes, the ATO generally requires you to declare worldwide income, subject to the applicable rules and any treaty position. The date your residency changes matters. Ask your adviser to assess it from the facts rather than assuming it is always the day the plane lands or the start of the financial year. Our tax guide for overseas landlords explains the rental income side while you are away.

If you move into a home that has been rented, keep the dates it was your home, rented or available for rent. The ATO’s main residence exemption and former-home absence rules can be relevant later, but returning does not automatically make every year of ownership exempt. If you have bought or occupied another home, that history matters too. The ATO explains the former-home rules.

NSW land tax is different from federal capital gains tax. If you keep renting the property while living elsewhere in Sydney, do not assume your return to Australia makes that investment property exempt. If you do occupy it, ask Revenue NSW or your adviser what evidence is needed to update any principal place of residence claim. Utility bills, removalist documents and the tenancy end record can help establish occupation.

What if you decide to sell instead?

Speak to an accountant and conveyancer before signing a sale contract. For many property sales, the CGT event is the contract date. The rules for a former home can be significantly different if you are a foreign resident for tax purposes on that date, subject to narrow exceptions. Re-establishing residency may change the analysis, but returning just before a sale does not guarantee an exemption. Our capital gains tax guide covers the foreign-resident issue in more detail.

Settlement withholding is another distinct matter. An Australian tax resident vendor generally needs to provide an ATO clearance certificate to the purchaser at or before settlement to avoid foreign resident capital gains withholding. A foreign resident vendor may seek an ATO variation notice where appropriate. Discuss this early with your conveyancer so settlement funds are not a surprise. See the ATO’s withholding overview.

You can also discuss selling with the tenant in place or offering the property with vacant possession. Those are different sale strategies with different notice and contract requirements. A proposal to sell is not the same ground as an actual contracted sale, and neither should be used as a shortcut to reoccupy. Our selling from overseas guide explains the preparation if the move is still underway.

London, New York or Dubai: the time zone still matters on the way back

The paperwork runs on Sydney dates, even when you are organising the move from another continent. London and Dubai usually offer some workable hours for a call with your manager; New York may require more deliberate scheduling. Daylight saving changes the overlap, so set a shared Sydney-time deadline for decisions instead of relying on a vague “end of the week”.

Nominate one contact for tenancy decisions and one for tax and conveyancing. Make sure the agent can reach you for signatures and approvals, while keeping routine repairs moving under the authority you have already agreed. The practical setup in Managing a Sydney Investment Property From Overseas and our overseas management guide remains useful until the handover is complete.

A calmer way to come home

You do not need to decide today whether your Sydney property will be your home for the next decade. You do need to know the current lease, the lawful notice window and the financial consequences of each option before promising a move-in or sale date.

We can help you review the tenancy, property condition and likely handover timetable, then coordinate the practical side with your accountant or conveyancer. Talk to us about your Sydney property →

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Coming Home: What Happens to Your Sydney Property When the Posting Ends