WA Property Law - Signed Tenancy Agreement Void?

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Dean Ell

Member
13 May 2016
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If I don't pay the bond on a new rental, does that void the signed tenancy agreement? I've recently signed a Tenancy Agreement, for which I'll get the keys and be able to move into the house in 3 weeks.

Since I signed, for several reasons, I no longer wish to enter a 12-month lease for that property. Now Section 27A of the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 - Residential Tenancy Agreement Part C states:

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1. Requirements for existence of lease
1.1 The parties agree that there will be no binding agreement to lease the Premises and no residential tenancy agreement will have come into existence, under the Residential Tenancies Act, 1987(Act) or otherwise, unless and until the following pre-requisites have been met:
(a) By no later than 4.00 pm on 31/05/2016, or such later time as agreed by the lessor's properly manager
(i) this residential tenancy agreement is signed by the tenant(s) and returned by the tenant to the lessor's property manager at the physical address or email address appearing in this lease;
(ii) any security bond and any pet bond required to be paid by the tenant pursuant to Part A of this residential tenancy agreement on the signing of the residential tenancy agreement are paid to the lessor's properly manager and
(iii) ........<continues on>
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Part (i), the signing, is done. However part (ii), the paying of the bond and pet bond, is not done. So given it says there will be no binding agreement unless I pay the bond...if I don't pay the bond, what happens under property law?
 
S

Sophea

Guest
You can try to assert that the lease is void due to this point. That clause, of course, must be read in the context of the whole agreement, though, so not knowing what the rest of the agreement states, no definitive answer to your question can be provided. I will say that it won't "void" the tenancy agreement. The clause's purpose was likely to give the landlord an out if the tenant failed to come through with bond promptly.

Seeing as though you are purposely not paying the bond for the purposes of making the contract not binding, then you may still be considered to have repudiated the agreement, which is essentially conduct that indicates you do not consider yourself bound by the contract which still simply amounts to a breach.