Osuchowski & Scouller v Radojevic

The dispute in Osuchowski & Scouller v Radojevic was heard by the Residential Tenancies Tribunal. The tenants, Osuchowski and Scouller, alleged that their landlord, Radojevic, had breached the terms of their Residential Tenancy Agreement by failing to make necessary repairs to the property, issuing an invalid notice to vacate, and unlawfully withholding monies. The Tribunal was tasked with determining whether the landlord had indeed breached the agreement, issued the notice to vacate in bad faith, and unlawfully withheld funds from the tenants.

The central legal issues the Tribunal needed to resolve were whether the landlord had failed to comply with his obligation to repair, whether the notice to vacate was issued under valid circumstances, and whether the landlord's conduct in withholding monies was lawful. Additionally, the Tribunal had to assess the meaning of 'genuine intention' in the context of the notice to vacate clause 96(b) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997.

The Tribunal found that the landlord had breached the agreement by not fulfilling his repair obligations. It was determined that the landlord had issued the notice to vacate without a genuine intention for an immediate relative to reside in the premises, engaging in deceptive conduct. Furthermore, the landlord was found to have unlawfully demanded and withheld monies intended for the tenants' costs. The Tribunal concluded that the landlord's actions amounted to a breach of the tenancy agreement and an abuse of the notice to vacate provision. As a result, the landlord was ordered to pay compensation to the tenants for the failure to repair, the invalid termination of the tenancy, and a refund of a water abstraction charge. The total amount of $11,677.86 was to be paid within 14 days of the Tribunal's order.