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Residential Tenancies Act 1999
51Cleanliness and damage
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51 Cleanliness and damage
(1) It is a term of a tenancy agreement that a tenant:
(a) will not maintain the premises and ancillary property in an
unreasonably dirty condition, allowing for reasonable wear and
tear;
(b) must notify the landlord of any damage or apparent potential
damage to the premises or ancillary property, other than
damage of a negligible kind;
(c) must not intentionally or negligently cause or permit damage
to the premises or ancillary property;
(d) if the premises are a unit within the meaning of the Unit Titles
Act 1975 or Unit Title Schemes Act 2009 – must not
intentionally or negligently cause or permit damage to the
common property within the meaning of that Act;
(e) if the premises are a building lot within the meaning of the Unit
Titles Act 1975 – must not intentionally or negligently cause or
permit damage to the common property within the meaning of
that Act; and
(f) if the premises are a lot within the meaning of Part IVB of the
Unit Titles Act 1975 – must not intentionally or negligently
cause or permit damage to the common property within the
meaning of that Act.
(2) It is a term of a tenancy agreement that at the end of the tenancy
the tenant must give the premises and ancillary property back to the
(a) in reasonable state of repair; and
(b) in a reasonably clean condition,
allowing for reasonable wear and tear.
Residential Tenancies Act 1999 34
(3) A tenant is not in breach of the term of the agreement specified in
subsection (1) or (2) if:
(a) the breach is caused by the landlord's failure to repair or
maintain the premises or ancillary property; and
(b) the landlord had notice that the repairs or maintenance were
required.
(4) In deciding whether premises or ancillary property are in
reasonable condition or in a reasonably clean condition, a landlord
or the Tribunal must take into account:
(a) the condition of the premises or ancillary property when the
tenant took possession of them as determined by a condition
report, if any, accepted under Part 5 by the landlord and the
tenant;
(b) if the tenancy agreement has terminated or the tenant has, in
the opinion of the landlord, apparently abandoned the
premises – the condition of the premises or ancillary property
as determined by a condition report, if any, accepted under