Lowe v Aspley

Lowe v Aspley involved the parties, Mr Lowe as the tenant and Ray White Aspley as the agent for the property. The dispute centred around the validity of the termination of Mr Lowe’s tenancy at a property in Aspley. The case was brought before the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) and subsequently appealed to a higher court.

The primary legal issues the court had to address were whether the tenancy was lawfully terminated and if the proceedings could be brought forth due to the landlord’s failure to accept the tenant’s remedy of the breach. The court had to consider whether the notice to leave was validly issued after the tenant had remedied the breach within the stipulated time and whether the breach was effectively waived by subsequent payments made by the tenant.

The court determined that the landlord’s failure to accept the tenant’s remedy of the breach constituted a wrongful termination of the tenancy. It was found that the notice to leave was issued despite the tenant’s compliance with the notice to remedy the breach. The court also concluded that the breach had been waived through the tenant’s payment of rent following the notice to remedy. Consequently, the court found in favour of the tenant, set aside the QCAT’s orders, and dismissed the landlord’s application for a termination order. The court also ordered that rent was due as per the tenancy agreement and that the tenant must return the keys to the landlord, with reimbursement for key copying costs to be provided by the landlord.

The final orders included granting leave to appeal, allowing the appeal, setting aside the QCAT orders, dismissing the landlord’s application for a termination order, declaring that rent was due, and directing the tenant to return the keys to the landlord with reimbursement for key copying costs.