Macdonald v Al-Ani & Anor (Residential Tenancies)

The case of Macdonald v Al-Ani & Anor was heard by the Residential Tenancies Tribunal, where the central dispute was whether a notice to vacate (NTV) issued by the lessor, Ms MacDonald, was valid. The tenants argued that the notice was invalid because it was not accompanied by the requisite evidence of posting, as required by the Residential Tenancies Act (RT Act). The Tribunal was tasked with determining whether the evidence provided by Ms MacDonald, specifically a Border Force letter, was sufficient to meet the statutory requirement for accompanying evidence. Furthermore, the Tribunal had to assess whether the timing of the provision of this evidence affected its admissibility.

The primary legal issue was the interpretation and application of the RT Act's requirement for evidence to accompany an NTV when invoking a posting clause. The Tribunal needed to determine what constituted sufficient evidence of posting and whether the Border Force letter, which did not provide details about the end date of Ms MacDonald's posting, met the statutory requirement. Additionally, the Tribunal had to interpret the word "accompany" in the context of the RT Act and whether the Border Force letter, which was provided before the NTV and at the tenant's request, could be considered as having accompanied the NTV.

In its reasoning, the Tribunal examined the language of the RT Act and the Standard Terms, noting that neither provided a definition for the term "accompany." The Tribunal referred to the Macquarie Dictionary's definition of "accompany," which suggested that the document in question needed to go in company with, or join in action with, the NTV. Given that the Border Force letter was provided prior to the NTV and at the tenant's request, it did not accompany the NTV in the natural and ordinary meaning of the word. The Tribunal concluded that the Border Force letter did not meet the statutory requirement for accompanying evidence because it did not accompany the NTV as required by the RT Act.

The Tribunal ruled that the NTV dated 20 August was not valid due to the lack of proper accompanying evidence. Ms MacDonald was granted leave to file an amended application by 21 October 2024. The matter was scheduled for a hearing on the amended application on 5 November 2024 at 10:00 am. If no amended application was received, the matter would be dismissed.