Commissioner for Social Housing in the Act v Johnson

The case before the court was between the Commissioner for Social Housing in the ACT and Mr Johnson. The Commissioner sought to terminate an occupancy agreement between the parties in relation to certain property, arguing that Mr Johnson had failed to vacate the premises after the service of a 21-day Termination Notice. Mr Johnson argued that the agreement should be characterised as a residential tenancy agreement under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (ACT) and that the Commissioner had not complied with the requirements for lawful termination. The court was required to determine the legal nature of the agreement between the parties and whether the Commissioner's application for termination should be dismissed.

The court found that the agreement between the parties was an occupancy agreement rather than a residential tenancy agreement. The court held that the definition of an occupancy agreement under the Act was negative, meaning that it was an agreement that was not a residential tenancy agreement. The court noted that the first question to be asked was whether the agreement answered the description of a residential tenancy agreement, and only if the answer was in the negative should further questions be asked as to whether the agreement answered the definition of an 'occupancy agreement'. The court found that the agreement did not answer the description of a residential tenancy agreement and was therefore an occupancy agreement. The court further held that the Commissioner's application for termination should not be dismissed, and the occupancy agreement was terminated. The Respondent was ordered to vacate the premises and return vacant possession to the Commissioner on or before 20 August 2014.