ZONDERVAN & GOUNDEN (Residential Tenancies)

Zondervan and Gounden brought an appeal against a decision of the Original Tribunal in a residential tenancy dispute. The appellants, the tenants, challenged the Tribunal's decision on the amount of the order for payment of rent arrears. The matter was heard in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). The appellants contended that the amount awarded for rent arrears was incorrect and sought a variation of the original decision to reflect the true amount owed.

The court needed to determine whether the amount awarded for rent arrears was accurate and, if not, what the correct amount should be. The appellants argued that the Tribunal had failed to consider the correct amount of rent owed and had made a clerical error in calculating the arrears. The respondent, the landlord, maintained that the Tribunal's decision was correct and that no variation was warranted.

In allowing the appeal, the Tribunal found that the appellants were correct in their assertion that the amount awarded for rent arrears was incorrect. The Tribunal identified a clerical error in the calculation of the arrears and determined that the correct amount owed was $1,276.00, rather than the $1,061.00 ordered by the Original Tribunal. Consequently, the Tribunal varied the original decision to reflect this amount, and ordered the respondent to pay the difference to the appellants within seven days. The Tribunal confirmed the other orders made by the Original Tribunal.