Chen v He (Civil Dispute)

The case of Chen v He (Civil Dispute) involved tenants who sought damages for deceit and breach of contract against the agent of their lessor. The tenants alleged that the agent charged them for a past due amount for water usage predating the commencement of their tenancy, used fake water bills, charged them extra bond and rent without the lessor’s knowledge and authority, and failed to properly complete end-of-lease cleaning and garden maintenance for which they had agreed to pay a reward. The matter was heard by the Civil and Administrative Tribunal of New South Wales.

The primary legal issues in this case were whether the agent had committed deceit and whether there had been a breach of contract. The tenants argued that the agent had intentionally misled them by charging for past due water usage and using fake bills, and by charging extra bond and rent without authority. They also claimed that the agent had failed to perform agreed-upon services. The agent, in turn, argued that he had acted within his authority and had not committed any deceit or breach of contract.

In delivering the decision, the Tribunal found that the agent had indeed committed deceit and breached the contract. The Tribunal accepted the tenants' evidence that the agent had charged them for water usage that predated their tenancy and had used fake bills. The Tribunal also found that the agent had charged extra bond and rent without the lessor’s knowledge and authority, and had failed to properly complete the end-of-lease cleaning and garden maintenance. The Tribunal awarded the tenants damages for deceit and breach of contract, including interest and the ACAT filing fee.

The Tribunal ordered that the agent pay the tenants $10,831.40, which included damages for deceit of $6,258.77 plus interest of $2,311.51, damages for breach of contract of $1,800.00 plus interest of $299.15, and the ACAT filing fee of $162.00.