Originally posted by Keys
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For years mediators and other industry experts have encouraged tenants to send landlords 10 working day letters if necessary. Although there is no specific notice period set down in the Act for tenants, it seems to have become quite common that this ‘reasonable notice’ is interpreted as 10 working days as per section 56. As ‘reasonable notice’ can be interpreted differently by all parties and has the potential to cause problems, industry experts such as mediators and Tenancy Services personnel encourage tenants to give this 10 days notice. I guess they do this to achieve some sort of consistency across the board.
I called Tenancy Services yesterday to ask them about this just to see if this is still common practise from their end. The first representative did not know hardly anything about the Act and spent more time asking me why I wanted to know rather than shedding any light. His supervisor then gave me the following feedback. She confirmed tenants were obliged to give ‘reasonable notice’ and not specifically obliged to give 10 days under the provisions of the Act. This is where I had a good laugh. She then went on to say that she was of the opinion that the Tenancy Tribunal Adjudicators “in their infinite wisdom after many years of experience” tend to often use this 10 day period as a guide since it is referred to as ‘reasonable notice’ in other parts of the Act.
I guess this reinforces a couple of key points.
1/ “Infinite wisdom” – they think very highly of them selves.
2/ The Act needs attention as there are certainly grey areas. Reasonable notice is open to interpretation. Whose interpretation is correct? Not the tenants, not the Landlord, but the Tenancy Tribunal of course.
As I mentioned above I am confident that generally Tenancy Services does a fantastic job with the tools and resources they have and it is just a few decisions that let hard working property owners down. I am a strong advocate of the mediation system and feel that more often than not this is a cost/time effective way of getting a good resolution. I am certainly not bashing the Tribunal and Allen Realty gets a positive result (although the tenant often gets something if they turn up) 95% of the time. It is certain changes and clarifications to the Act that need attention in order to avoid Landlords getting unfair results a small proportion of the time.
I would also like to see it standard that once the Tribunal rules in favour of a landlord that a tenant has breached the Act that the tenant is required to reimburse the Landlord for the cost of the application. I have never understood that a Landlord not only has to give unpaid time and energy but they also suffer a financial cost even when it is ruled they are in the right.
Simon Allen
Allen Realty
"Property management by investors for investors"
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