Kielven v Watson
Tenant wins · Severn · 2025-11-28
- Adjudicator
- Frank Ebner
- Dispute
- Non-payment of Rent, Persistent Late Payment, Safety
- Notice
- Non-payment of rent (N4), Persistent late payment (N8)
- Landlord
- J.K.
- Tenant
- L.W.
- Landlord rep
- Kimberley Teel
- Tenant rep
- Rudi Taylor
What happened
The Landlord applied to terminate the tenancy and evict the Tenant (her son) based on non-payment of rent, persistent late payments, and safety concerns. The Tenant argued that no tenancy existed, asserting that he was a beneficial owner and business partner in a 116-acre farm joint venture. The Tenant claimed the payments made were for farm construction debt and operating costs rather than residential rent. Furthermore, the Tenant argued that the arrangement was exempt from the Residential Tenancies Act under section 5(j) because the property was used for business and agricultural purposes.
The ruling
The Landlord's L1 and L2 applications are dismissed. The Board determined that there is no residential tenancy agreement between the parties as the payments made were for business debt and property upkeep related to a farm joint venture rather than rent. Consequently, the Residential Tenancies Act does not apply, and the Board lacks jurisdiction over the dispute.