Burlington Realty Pty Ltd t/as Belle Property Paddington v McComb

The case of Burlington Realty Pty Ltd t/as Belle Property Paddington v McComb involved a dispute between a landlord and tenant regarding the early termination of a residential tenancy. The dispute was adjudicated by the District Court of New South Wales. The tenant, Fiona McComb, had vacated the property following a flood in May, and subsequently gave notice of her intention to leave in October. She claimed compensation for the early termination of her tenancy, which was initially awarded by the tribunal. The landlord, Burlington Realty, challenged the tribunal’s decision, arguing that the tribunal had erred in finding that they failed to take reasonable steps to mitigate the loss.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the landlord had failed to take reasonable steps to mitigate the loss following the flood, and if this constituted a ground for leave to appeal the tribunal’s decision. The court needed to examine the actions taken by the landlord post-flood, the reasonableness of those actions, and whether McComb’s early termination of the tenancy was justified. The tribunal had found that the landlord had not taken reasonable steps to mitigate the loss, which led to McComb vacating the property. The landlord argued that the tribunal had erred in this assessment.

The court found that the landlord had indeed failed to take reasonable steps to mitigate the loss following the flood, which was a critical factor in McComb's decision to vacate the property. The court held that the landlord’s failure to take reasonable steps constituted a ground for leave to appeal. Consequently, the court granted leave to appeal and allowed the appeal, setting aside the tribunal’s decision. The court ordered that McComb pay Burlington Realty the sum of $3,278.57 by 28 July 2016.