Further to my earlier posts here and here, Croft J’s reasons in The Trust Company Limited v Blue Train Cafe Pty Ltd [2024] VSC 232 (10 May 2024) are now available on AustLii. The substance of the appeal was a challenge to the Tribunal’s conditions placed on the grant of an interlocutory injunction.   The landlord and the tenant were in dispute […]

I have had a few inquiries recently about an earlier here in which I discussed the VCAT decision of Blue Train Café Pty Ltd v The Trust Company Limited (Building and Property) [2024] VCAT 75, in which the Tribunal rejected an argument by a landlord that a tenant seeking an injunction to restrain wrongful re-entry should […]

Attached below is an excellent paper produced by barristers Robert Hay KC and Brett Harding discussing recent issues with VCAT’s jurisdiction that went with a video presentation yesterday afternoon.   The paper addresses these issues from retail leasing perspective, so the paper is essential reading for anyone who practices in this area. VCAT’s jurisdiction – An […]

There are a couple of issues that often come up in landlord and tenant cases that were both considered by the Court of Appeal’s decision last week in Brotherhood of St Laurence v Sarina Investments Pty Ltd [2024] VSCA 46 (26 March 2024). First, tenants occasionally try to terminate a lease when the landlord has breached its repair […]

In the recent case of Q St Kilda Tenancy Pty Ltd v Bortnik (Building and Property) [2023] VCAT 1384, the Tribunal heard argument that a landlord who sought to apply increases to the rent that had not previously been charged either had waived the rent increases or was estopped from applying the old increases.  This has been tried […]

In the recent case of Blue Train Café Pty Ltd v The Trust Company Limited (Building and Property) [2024] VCAT 75, the tenant sought an injunction to restrain the landlord from re-entering a leased premises because of alleged unpaid outgoings.  The Tribunal found that there was an arguable case that the landlord had miscalculated the outgoings that were […]

The bible for commercial leasing practitioners in Australia has long been the various versions of Commercial Tenancy Law. The previous version was staring to age, having been published in 2018. However, as of last month, a new version has been published, its full title being Croft, Hay and Virgona, Commercial Tenancy Law (5th ed, LexisNexis). […]

The Victorian Government yesterday announced the appointment of 20 new members to VCAT. A copy of the Government press release is available here: https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/new-vcat-members-clear-backlog-and-reduce-wait-times 16 of the new members will be appointed to the residential tenancies list and 4 to planning and environment. There is no mention of members being appointed to the building and […]

Readers will be aware of the ongoings problems with the length of the lists in the Building and Property List at VCAT.  Practitioners should be aware that the Building and Property List has implemented a new practice as of yesterday listing matters for trial only after interlocutory steps have been completed up to (but not […]

Most practitioners will be aware that the RLA 2003 does not apply to leases predominantly for the provision of services above the third storey, generally known as the Third Storey Exclusion.   However, the definition of ‘storey’ has caused consternation within the leasing community, as ‘storey’ does not equate to ‘floor’ or ‘level’.  This issue was considered earlier this year by Deputy President […]