paper beats memory

claire This might be the most annoying truth about the tribunal.

eddie A tribunal member picks up a stack of screenshots, squints at them, and says, I can't read these. Send me the actual notices.

claire Hang on. Over font size? That's the most boring plot twist I've ever heard.

claire Welcome to Both Sides of the Lease. I'm Claire, from Distinct Properties.

eddie And I'm Eddie. I've filed more paperwork than I've had hot dinners.

claire And he's had a lot of hot dinners. One real story at a time, told from both sides of the lease.

claire Today, the thing that quietly decides tribunal cases. Paperwork.

eddie Glamorous stuff.

claire By the end of this one, you'll know the four things a member looks for in your paperwork, whichever side of the lease you're on.

claire So Eddie, why does paper matter so much? Can't everyone just explain what happened?

eddie They can. But when what was said isn't in the documents, it turns into one person's word against another's. And that's much harder for a member to decide.

claire So, memory against memory.

eddie Exactly. And paper beats memory.

claire Okay, number one. The screenshots.

eddie If the member can't read it, it might as well not be there. Screenshots pasted into a document come out tiny and blurry. The member wants the actual notice that went out, at full size.

claire So not a photo of your inbox, taken at an angle, at midnight.

eddie Especially not that one. In the ACT, the registrar can even refuse a document if the writing is illegible.

claire Right. Number two?

eddie Check the tribunal actually has everything. In one hearing, the member's file held fewer pages than a party thought they'd lodged. So before the day, ring the registry and check they've got every page.

claire Count your pages. Got it. Three?

eddie How each notice was given. By hand, by post, or by email, and to which address. The member will ask, and you want that written down, not remembered.

claire And four?

eddie Say exactly which order you want, and why. The member needs to know what you're actually asking for, because that decides what happens next.

claire So turn up knowing your order. Like a coffee.

eddie Pretty much. Don't make the barista guess.

claire Okay, the big one. Consent. A tenant asks, can I put up some shelves, and the agent says, yeah, sure, on the phone. Is that enough?

eddie In the ACT, the standard terms say alterations need the lessor's written consent. So a yes on the phone is a memory. A yes in an email is evidence.

claire And once I've got that written yes, I'm safe?

eddie Mostly. But even with consent, if the change causes damage, that's still on you. And unless you've agreed otherwise, the tenant usually pays for the work and puts it back at the end.

claire So get the yes in writing, and the details too. Who pays, and does it stay.

eddie That's the one.

claire What about pets? Because I feel like every second email is someone asking about a dog.

eddie In the ACT, if the lease needs consent for a pet, the tenant asks in writing. And here's the bit owners don't expect. The lessor can only refuse if ACAT approves it, and if they don't apply within fourteen days, consent is deemed.

claire So sitting on the email is a yes.

eddie In the ACT, effectively, yes.

claire Okay, Swap Sides. I'm the owner. I told the tenant on the phone they could paint the bedroom, but only white. They painted it navy. Isn't it my word against theirs?

eddie That's exactly the problem. If the condition was only ever said out loud, it's hard to prove. Put the yes and the conditions in the same email, and it stops being your word against theirs.

claire Over the Border. We manage in New South Wales too. What's different there?

eddie Similar idea, different rules. Alterations need the landlord's written consent, and for minor changes, that consent can't be unreasonably withheld. For pets, the tenant asks on the approved form, and the landlord has twenty one days to reply in writing. If they don't, that counts as consent.

claire Twenty one days. Not fourteen.

eddie Not fourteen. And in New South Wales, a notice by email only counts if it goes to an email address the person gave for that kind of notice.

claire So, three takeaways. If the member can't read it, it might not count, so file full size and check they've got every page. Write down how every notice went out. And if it's not in writing, it's just a memory.

eddie Paper beats memory.

claire Love that. Quick reminder: this is general information, not legal advice, and the details are in the show notes.

claire Next time, another real story from the tribunal, and both sides of it.

eddie Always both sides. That's us for this one. I'm Eddie.

claire And I'm Claire. If this helped, follow and subscribe wherever you're listening, so you don't miss the next one.