Is moving for A$50 less a week worth it?

A$50 a week less is A$2,600 over a year. That's the number people tend to work from when they see a cheaper listing, but it's a gross figure. It hasn't paid for the move, or for anything the new place costs that the old one doesn't.

Below is a payback check with a fictional example, and the few assumptions that change the answer.

The example

Worked example (fictional). A renter pays A$650 a week. Their lease ends soon and they've seen a similar place advertised at A$600. It's further from work, so they expect about A$20 a week more in fuel and parking. They estimate the move at A$1,800 all up: removalist, end-of-lease clean, a few days of overlapping rent and connections.

On these numbers the first year of the cheaper place costs A$240 more than staying put. The move pays for itself in week 60 (A$1,800 ÷ A$30), so the cheaper place only comes out ahead in the second year.

When it crosses over

Counting from moving day, the running total (staying minus the cheaper place) starts at minus A$1,800 and gains A$30 a week.

So on these numbers, the answer to "is it worth it?" is: only if you'd stay about 14 months or longer, and only if the A$600 is what you'd pay.

What changes the answer

Every one of these is an estimate you can firm up before you decide. Get a removalist quote instead of guessing. Do the commute once at the real time of day. Ask what the water, power and internet set-up costs at the new address.

Count each cost once, over the same period

Three mistakes make a move look cheaper than it is:

1. Comparing different periods. A year at the new place against "what's left of the lease" at the old one isn't a comparison. Put both on the same weeks.
2. Forgetting what's new. Travel, parking, higher bills in a draughtier place. Count only what's different, and count it every week.
3. Treating the bond as a cost. It isn't, if you get it back. But it is cash you need up front (see below).

The opposite mistake happens too. Don't count the old rent and the new rent for the same week unless you'll be paying both. Usually that's a few days of overlap, not a month.

The cash you need before your old bond comes back

This is separate from the cost comparison, and it's where moves fall over. On the example's A$600 rent:

• New bond: up to 4 weeks' rent for most general tenancies (from 30 September 2024), so up to A$2,400.
• Rent in advance: up to 2 weeks for a periodic agreement, or up to a month for a fixed term (s 87). That's A$1,200 to about A$2,600.
• Moving costs: A$1,800.

That could be A$5,400 to A$6,800 in the same fortnight. Your old bond comes back only after you've left and the refund is processed. If that gap can't be covered, the 52-week result doesn't help.

Lease timing and leaving

If you move at the end of a fixed term, you give a Notice of intention to leave (RTA Form 13) at least 14 days ahead, and it can't take effect before the term ends. Moving before the term ends is a break lease, and reletting costs can apply. Add them to the one-off column if they're a possibility.

The other timing risk is the listing itself. An advertised rent isn't an agreed rent, and a good place at a lower price may be leased before your current lease ends. Don't give notice on your current place until the new lease is signed.

Money isn't the whole decision

A longer commute is time as well as fuel. A cheaper place might be smaller, noisier or less well kept. Some people will happily pay A$30 a week to keep a short walk to work, and the arithmetic just tells you what that choice costs.

Run your own version

The free Renewal Check does this with your numbers: your rent, the alternative's rent, extra weekly costs, moving costs and the weeks left on your lease. It shows the week a move pays for itself. It leaves bond and rent in advance out of the cost totals, so add the cash-needed sums above yourself. Your entries stay in your browser.

If your current rent is going up as well, read Brisbane rent increase: accept, ask or move?, which puts all three choices on one clock.

The QLD Rent Increase & Renewal Kit (A$29) has the same comparison as a printable worksheet, plus a cash-needed worksheet, a moving-cost checklist and the letters for asking about a smaller increase before you decide.