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Tenants Union of Victoria Ltd ACN 081 348 227 December 2008 www.tuv.org.au
Step 3. Tribunal hearing agent have 6 months from the day that they
get the Possession Order to purchase a
At the Tribunal hearing you may be able to
Warrant of Possession, but they usually do
have the 14-day Notice to Vacate dismissed if
this within days of the hearing.
it is invalid for any reason. Contact the
Tenants Union and ask them to check the Once the warrant is given to the police, they
validity of the notice as soon as you receive it. can evict you at any time within the period
specified on the warrant, which could be 7, 14
At the hearing, the Tribunal Member can make
or a maximum of 30 days. You could be evicted
a Possession Order if you were 14 days in
as early as the day after the Tribunal hearing.
arrears at the time that you were given the
Remember, only the police can evict you.
14-day Notice to Vacate. The Tribunal Member
can also decide to either dismiss or adjourn If you are evicted, your possessions may still
the landlord’s application for a Possession be in the property and you will have to make
Order. The Member may adjourn the arrangements with the landlord or agent to
application if: let you into the property to get them.
The landlord or agent cannot hold onto
> you can show that a payment plan
your goods because you owe them money.
has been agreed upon
(See the Goods left behind fact sheet for
> you can show the Tribunal how more information.)
you can pay off the arrears
Alternative procedure
> the landlord will not suffer
any financial loss as a result If they choose to follow the alternative
procedure, the landlord must send you the
You should collect as much evidence as you following documents at the same time:
can to support your claim, such as a
statement from a financial counsellor that > a 14-day Notice to Vacate
outlines your income and expenditure and > a copy of their application to the
shows that you can pay off the arrears. Other Tribunal for a Possession Order
useful documents are medical certificates,
> 2 copies of a Notice of Objection
letters from your employer or a social worker
and receipts for any extra expenses that have > a statement setting out your rights
made it hard for you to pay your rent. You can in relation to the application
also ask anyone who can support your case to
If you want to challenge the landlord’s
give evidence at the hearing.
application, you must fill out the Notice of
If the Tribunal adjourns the application it will Objection and send one copy to the landlord
be for a set period of time, usually 3 months. and the other to the Tribunal by a given date
This means that if you repay the arrears (keep a copy for your own records).
according to the Tribunal order, on the set
The Notice of Objection must be returned no
date the Tribunal will consider the application
later than 4.00pm on the day that the 14-day
to be withdrawn and the matter will be
Notice to Vacate expires. Send the Notice
closed. However if do not strictly abide by the
of Objection by registered mail and allow
order, eg you are one day late in making a
2 business days for delivery. If it is less than
payment, your landlord can ‘renew’ the
2 days until the Notice to Vacate expires, you
application and you will receive a Notice of
should take the Notice of Objection into the
Hearing. If this happens, you must go to the
Tribunal in person to make sure it arrives in time.
hearing and give a good reason for not
abiding by the order, or there is a chance that If you don’t return the Notice of Objection,
you will be evicted. the landlord may be automatically granted
a Possession Order and you may be evicted
For more information on going to the Tribunal,
without further notice. If you do return
see the Victorian Civil and Administrative
the Notice of Objection, the Tribunal will
Tribunal fact sheet, ‘A Day at the Bench’ DVD
set a hearing date and the application
Kit or contact the Tenants Union for advice.
will proceed in the same way as the
Step 4. Possession Order ‘Standard procedure’ above.
If the Tribunal grants a Possession Order, the For more information phone the Tenants
landlord or agent can purchase a Warrant of Union Advice Line on ☎ (03) 9416 2577.
Possession, which is a direction to the police
to evict you from the property. The landlord or
This information is a guide only and should not be used as a substitute for professional legal advice
Tenants Union of Victoria Ltd ACN 081 348 227 December 2008 www.tuv.org.au