October owner update: AI, Tribunal evidence and body corporate rules

A long complaint can look more convincing than it is. It can also contain a valid issue that needs attention. Our view is to assess what happened, what the records show and what outcome is reasonable, regardless of who wrote the message or which tool helped prepare it.

AI and the Tenancy Tribunal

The Principal Tenancy Adjudicator’s guidance recognises that AI can help people prepare a case. It also warns about invented authorities, inaccurate accounts and excessive, repetitive material. The expectations apply to both landlords and tenants. AI use itself does not make a claim invalid.

The guidance identifies possible consequences for misleading or unnecessary material, including delay and, in serious cases, dismissal. Costs may arise where proceedings meet the relevant frivolous or vexatious grounds. A lengthy submission does not automatically trigger a penalty.

Respond to the issue, then organise the evidence

For an owner facing a complaint, we recommend starting with three questions: what is being alleged, what remedy is sought, and what records would establish the position?

Separate a repair that needs arranging from a disputed claim for compensation. Inspect or obtain a relevant trade report where the cause is unclear. Keep the response specific: the issue reported, what was checked, the decision made and the next action. A defensible position still needs to be explained clearly.

Tenancy Services recommends simple language in an application. It does not require legal phrasing or lists of statutory sections. Its guidance calls for relevant supporting documents; rent arrears and damage claims need records that show how the amount claimed was calculated.

Our practical approach is one dated sequence of events with references to the key documents. Keep inspection photographs, invoices and correspondence in their original form, and distinguish what someone observed from what they inferred. Avoid making the reader reconstruct the same story from several overlapping summaries.

Use AI carefully on your own side

Check facts and cited authorities independently. If the Tribunal asks whether AI was used, disclose it. The guidance says not to use AI to record, transcribe, summarise or analyse Tribunal hearings or mediation discussions, and warns about uploading private information. Witness evidence should remain the witness’s own account.

For TLC, the useful role of a drafting tool is supporting clear communication. The management decision still needs someone who understands the property, its history, the evidence and the owner’s interests.

A useful reminder for unit title owners

Tenancy Services’ 7 October update says landlords must give tenants the body corporate rules with their tenancy agreement. It also recommends keeping the body corporate informed about the tenancy and providing the property manager’s contact details.

If your apartment or townhouse is in a unit title development, check that the current rules are in the property file and that practical arrangements for parking, access and moving furniture are understood. Pet requests need consideration under the current tenancy rules and the relevant body corporate position; avoid assuming an automatic answer.

Spring maintenance: finish the diagnosis before approving the work

October is a useful point to review issues left over from winter. Persistent dampness, blocked drainage or deteriorating exterior finishes deserve a clear assessment before they become a larger bill.

Our recommendation is to group work into what is required now, what is sensible to plan and what can wait. Confirm the cause, compare repair options and record the agreed scope. Owners should receive a recommendation they can act on, followed by confirmation of the outcome.