DHA leased property listed for sale

When your DHA property is listed for sale

Occasionally the property owners of DHA leased properties need to sell their investment property before the lease to DHA expires. When this happens, the property must be sold with the DHA lease agreement in place. This means when the property is purchased, the purchaser agrees to the conditions outlined in the existing DHA lease agreement.

Whilst the property remains leased to Defence Housing Australia (DHA), your occupancy should not be impacted by the sale, and you will not be required to vacate the premises at this time as a result of the sale process. If any impacts to your occupancy are identified, DHA will be in contact with you directly.

Whilst DHA endeavour to facilitate these sales with minimal disruption to the occupants of the property, DHA are required to work with the property owner and their sales agent to facilitate the sale which will place some expectations on you as an occupant of the leased property.

Access for sales related inspections
In accordance with DHA’s lease agreement the owner is entitled to reasonable access should they wish to sell or value their house. As per the DRA (Defence Housing Australia Residence Agreement) you must allow reasonable access to the owner, the owner’s representatives, and DHA staff for the purpose of sale and valuation.
Removal of personal effects for photos
If photos are required to assist with marketing the property, the occupant should remove personal effects that they do not want photographed prior to the photos been taken. Adequate notice should be provided by the selling agent.
1. Once the owner of the property notifies DHA of their intent to sell, DHA will pass on the occupants contact details to be shared with the selling agent.
2. The appointed sales agent will contact the occupant directly to talk through their sales process including access for sales inspections.
3. The agent will liaise directly with the occupant and should build a working relationship through the sales process. DHA will support the property owners and the occupant through the process.
4. DHA is available to assist if you have any queries or concerns through the sale via email midleasesales@dha.gov.au or call 139 342 (Options 2, 2, 4).
Overview
The sales agent will liaise directly with you or your representative to arrange convenient times to access your residence.
DHA request that the sales agent give a minimum of 72 hours notice for inspections and work with the occupants to find mutually convenient times.
Whilst DHA discourage the agent from holding advertised open homes, the agent may request to do group inspections with the consent of the occupant to minimise disruption.
Should you have any upcoming planned travel, deployment arrangements or periods of unavailability throughout the sale, please contact midleasesales@dha.gov.au so that access arrangements can be discussed.
As per the DRA, you are required to notify DHA if your Service Residence is likely to be unoccupied for more than 30 days. Contact details for a nominated representative should also be provided as your representative may need to provide access to the property in the case of inspections or emergencies.
DHA request that selling agents only arrange inspections with purchasers that have a genuine interest in purchasing the property.
Virtual Inspections
The agent may request to do a virtual inspection. If a virtual inspection has been requested to proceed with this the agent should:
- understand and ensure it will be live and not recorded or uploaded online
- get written consent from the occupant
- ensure any sensitive material and /or photographs are obscured from view
- ensure that no people are filmed, including Defence members, their families and DHA staff.
The sales agent has been provided recommended guidelines for selling a leased DHA property which request that:
- a For sale sign should not be displayed in front of the house
- the property will not be advertised as “open for inspection” however group inspections may be arranged with the consent of the occupant
- occupants should be provided with sufficient time to remove personal effects so they are not photographed
- if the property is to be sold by auction, this will not be held on or adjacent to the property
- a change of ownership will not affect the lease to DHA.

Need to get in touch?

If you need to get in contact with us, please submit an enquiry via Online Services(Opens in a new tab/window).

If you have an urgent enquiry, you can call us on 139 342.

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Last updated 31 March 2026