The Court refused leave to appeal from two VCAT decisions, holding that the Tribunal's findings as to whether specific defects in a serviced apartment were the tenant's maintenance obligations (under lease clauses 5.1 and 10.1) rather than the landlord's structural/capital repair obligations (under s 52 of the Retail Leases Act 2003 or lease clause 11) were findings of fact not amenable to review on a question-of-law appeal. The Court held that consent to service of notices by email under the Electronic Transactions (Victoria) Act 2000 can be inferred from the parties' conduct, including longstanding use of email as the standard mode of communication concerning the premises, even without express agreement in the lease. The Court also confirmed that s 64 of the Retail Leases Act (notice of landlord's intentions where there is no option to renew) does not apply where the lease contains options to renew, with s 27(2) governing instead.
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