Australia, Aug. 4 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on July 3:

1. This is an internal appeal under s 80(2) of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (NSW) against a decision made in the Consumer and Commercial Division of the Tribunal on 10 February 2025.

2. The application to the Tribunal was brought by the respondent, whom we shall refer to as the tenant, against the appellants, whom we shall refer to as the landlord.

3. For the reasons set out below, we have decided to allow the appeal.

Background

4. The tenant and the landlord had been good friends.

5. In March 2023, the tenant moved to a caravan on a property owned by the landlord. There was an arrangement between the tenant and the landlord that the tenant would work at the landlord's property, by providing cleaning services, and in return, the tenant would have the right to occupy the caravan. There was no written or signed residential tenancy agreement.

6. About a month after the tenant had moved to the caravan, the tenant made an agreement with the landlord that she would arrange for a deck to be constructed appurtenant to the caravan. The agreement was made orally.

7. The tenant claimed that the initial terms of the agreement were that the tenant would be responsible for the cost of the materials and the labour used to build the deck. The landlord claimed that the agreement was that it would pay for the cost of the building materials used for the deck but the tenant would pay for the labour used to construct the deck.

8. The deck was constructed by a builder who was assisted in that task by the then domestic partner of the tenant. The deck that was built is a permanent fixture, constructed from merbau hardwood timber and set on footings. It was built in the period 28 May 2023 to 16 June 2023.

9. Whatever might have been the terms of the initial agreement, the evidence showed that the landlord paid approximately $10,000.00 for the building materials that were used to construct the deck.

10. The landlord's case was that the tenant then asked for a roof to be built to cover the deck. The landlord said that it agreed that the tenant could build a roof, but on the basis that the landlord was not obliged to contribute to any of the cost of the roof.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/197c84b567ffd9f17c62451f)

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.