Commerford v Loyst
Tenant wins · Kingston · 2025-09-22
- Adjudicator
- Vinuri Sivalingam
- Dispute
- Non-payment of Rent
- Notice
- Non-payment of rent (N4)
- Landlord
- J.C.
- Tenant
- A.L.
- Tenant rep
- John Done
What happened
The Landlord applied to terminate the tenancy and evict the Tenant for non-payment of rent. A significant dispute arose regarding the lawful monthly rent amount; while the starting rent was agreed to be $630.00, the Landlord claimed annual $10.00 increases which the Tenant disputed as never being formally noticed. The Landlord failed to provide a rent ledger or sufficient evidence to prove the arrears or the lawfulness of the rent increases under the 12-month rule of the Act.
The ruling
The Landlord's application to terminate the tenancy and for rent arrears was dismissed in its entirety. The N4 Notice was found to be invalid as it did not accurately state the arrears or the lawful rent. Furthermore, the Landlord failed to provide a rent ledger or any credible evidence to substantiate the claim for arrears or the validity of annual rent increases, even after being granted an adjournment for that purpose.