Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Landlord and Tenant Act 1958 - SECT 32

Serving of notice to quit

32. Serving of notice to quit







(1) Whenever the term or interest of any tenant of any house land or other
corporeal hereditaments held by him has ended or has been duly determined by a
legal notice to quit or otherwise, and such tenant or (if such tenant does not
actually occupy the premises or only occupies a part thereof) any person by
whom the same or any part thereof is then actually occupied neglects or
refuses to quit and deliver up possession of the premises or of such part
thereof respectively, the landlord of the said premises or his agent may cause
the person so neglecting or refusing to quit and deliver up possession to be
served in the manner hereinafter mentioned with a complaint signed by the
landlord or his agent and a summons thereon signed by the magistrate or
registrar of the Magistrates' Court who issues it, which complaint and summons
thereon shall be in the form set out in the Fourth Schedule to this Act, or to
the like effect. Such complaint and summons thereon shall be served by serving
a true copy thereof not les s than seven clear days before the return date of
the summons, either personally or by leaving a true copy thereof for the
defendant at his last known or most usual place of abode or business with some
person who is apparently an inmate thereof or an employee thereat and who is
apparently over the age of sixteen years.

(1A) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in subsection (1) where by
statement on oath or by affidavit it is made to appear to the Magistrates'
Court that the defendant cannot be found and neither his place of abode nor
his place of business is known to the landlord or his agent (whoever makes the
complaint) the court may order that such complaint and summons thereon be
served by sending a true copy thereof by post addressed to the defendant at
either the last place of abode or the last place of business of the defendant
which is known to the landlord or his agent (as the case may be) and by fixing
a true copy thereof on some conspicuous part of the premises.

(2) For the purposes of this section in the case of a periodic tenancy the
recurring period of which does not exceed one month a notice to quit shall not
(unless otherwise expressly agreed by the parties thereto) be invalid by
reason only of the fact that it expires on a day other than the day of expiry
of a recurring period; but in any such case in respect of the last period of
the tenancy the rent payable shall where appropriate be apportionable.

(3) A notice to quit or demand for possession may be given or made-

   (a)  subject to the following provisions of this section, in any manner in
        which apart from this Act it might be given or made; or

   (aa) by delivering the notice to some person apparently over the age of
        sixteen years and apparently residing in or in occupation of the
        premises; or

   (ab) by delivering the notice to the person by whom the rent of the
        premises is customarily paid; or

   (b)  by substituted service in accordance with rules of court made under
        the Magistrates' Court Act 1989 for the purposes of this subsection.

(4) A notice to quit given by a landlord in respect of premises, being a
dwelling-house held on a periodic tenancy the recurring period of which does
not exceed one month, shall be in writing and shall, subject to the following
provisions of this section, be given not less than-

   (a)  where the tenant is in arrears of rent for at least four weeks, seven
        days; or

   (b)  in a case other than a case referred to in paragraph (a), fourteen
        days-

before the date specified therein for the quitting and delivering up of the
premises, but nothing in this subsection shall in any case operate to
authorize a shorter period of notice than would be required apart from the
provisions of this subsection.

(5) Every notice to quit given by a landlord in respect of any premises
referred to in subsection (4) of this section shall contain a statement
requiring the tenant if he has sublet the premises or any part of the premises
to notify the landlord in writing within seven days after service on him of
the notice to quit of the name and address of each person who is a sub-lessee
of the premises or any part thereof at the date of the service of the notice
to quit.

(6) Section 35 of the Magistrates' Court Act 1989 shall without limiting the
generality of the provisions thereof apply to and with respect to the service
of notices to quit for the purposes of this Part.