Ebony Group Community Homes v Olachova

Tenant wins · Hamilton · 2025-07-10

Adjudicator

Julie Broderick

Dispute

Persistent Late Payment

Notice

Persistent late payment (N8)

Landlord

Ebony Group Community Homes

Tenant

T.O., M.D.

Landlord rep

A. Corso, D. Irvine (Agent)

What happened

The Landlord applied to terminate the tenancy because the Tenants were allegedly persistently late in paying rent. The Landlord's argument was based on the fact that the Tenants had an outstanding arrears balance from March 2024. Although the Tenants paid their rent in full and a day early for the next 11 months, the Landlord applied those payments to the previous month's arrears, thereby claiming each subsequent month was 'late'.

The ruling

The Landlord's application to terminate the tenancy for persistent late payment is dismissed. The Board found that the Tenants had actually paid their rent a day early for nearly a year. The Landlord's attempt to classify these payments as late by applying them to a single older month of arrears was rejected as an attempt to 'manufacture' a late payment claim. The Member noted the issue should have been addressed as a non-payment of rent application instead.