Patel v Patel

Tenant wins · London · 2025-10-14

Adjudicator

Fabio Quattrociocchi

Dispute

Illegal Act, Tenant-initiated Termination

Amount

<$5K

Landlord

M.P.

Tenant

P.P.

What happened

The Tenant applied for the return of a rent deposit and key deposit after the Landlord failed to provide vacant possession of the rental unit on the agreed-upon commencement date. The parties had entered into a lease for a newly renovated garden suite that was not completed by the move-in date. The Landlord offered an alternative room in the existing rooming house, which the Tenant declined due to poor conditions.

The ruling

The Landlord is ordered to pay the Tenant $1,048.00 by October 25, 2025. This amount includes the return of the $1,000.00 rent deposit and the $48.00 application filing fee. The order was issued because the Landlord failed to provide vacant possession of the specific rental unit (a garden suite) on the date the tenancy was set to begin.