Rizk & Juma v Lai & Lai; Lai & Lai v Rizk & Juma [2023] NSWCATCD 137

Civil and Administrative Tribunal New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Rizk & Juma v Lai & Lai; Lai & Lai v Rizk & Juma [2023] NSWCATCD 137 Hearing dates: 11 September 2023 Date of orders: 06 November 2023 Decision date: 06 November 2023 Jurisdiction: Consumer and Commercial Division Before: R Glover, General Member Decision: (1) Pursuant to s 106 of the Residential Tenancies Act, the Tribunal declares that the Tenants (Bechara Rizk & Ariye Atayi Juma) abandoned the residential premises on 1 May 2023. (2) The Tenants (Bechara Rizk & Ariye Atayi Juma) are to pay the Landlords the sum of $3,000. (3) The Rental Bond Services is directed to pay the landlords, EMILY LAI and ANDREW CHAO-HUNG LAI the sum of $3,000 from the Rental Bond number T552102-8. Any amount received is to be credited against the money order. Any balance of the bond is to be paid to the tenants, BECHARA RIZK and ARIYE ATAYI JUMA. Catchwords: LEASES AND TENANCIES — Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW) — Rental bonds — Payment and release — Rights and obligations of landlords and tenants — Termination — Grounds for Legislation Cited: Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (NSW) Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW) Residential Tenancies Regulation 2019 (NSW) Cases Cited: Abdel-Messiv v Marshall [2017] NSWCATAP 136 Al-Basry v Maharaj [2022] NSWCATCD 9 Bhandari v Laming [2015] NSWCATAP 224 Cowling v Tran; Tran v Cowling [2022] NSWCATCD 128 Darren and Julie Patterson v David Dawson [2015] NSWCATAP 31 Duffey v Tunteveski; Tuntevski v Duffey [2020] NSWCATCD 24 Lethorn v Wagenheim [2020] NSWCATAP 199 Li v Bonestroo [2022] NSWCATAP 2 Moffatt v Muscat [2023] NSWCATCD 13 Roberts v NSW Aboriginal Housing Office [2017] NSWCATAP 9 Russo v Brack [2016] NSWCATAP 261 Srisivalingam v O'Leary [2023] NSWCATAP 40 Talbot-Price v Jacobs [2008] NSWCA 189 Texts Cited: Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary, 6th Ed Residential Tenancies Law and Practice New South Wales, 8th Ed Category: Principal judgment Parties: Emily Lai & Andrew Chao-Hung Lai (Applicants in RT 23/28473; Respondents in RT 23/24205)