Tenant Sued by Landlord WA — Responding to a Minor Case Claim

Why Your Landlord Filed in the Magistrates Court

If your former landlord has served you with a Form 4 Minor Case Claim, they are suing you for money — unpaid rent, cleaning costs, property damage beyond normal wear and tear, or expenses they say the bond did not cover. The claim must be for $10,000 or less to qualify for the minor case track.

There is an important jurisdictional question to settle first. Residential tenancies governed by the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 (WA) are subject to that Act. Section 12A treats prescribed tenancy disputes as minor cases for the purposes of the Magistrates Court (Civil Proceedings) Act 2004. Boarder and lodger arrangements fall outside the RTA and proceed as ordinary minor case claims.

The distinction matters because RTA disputes have their own evidence requirements around property condition reports and bond disposal. If the landlord filed under the wrong framework, you can raise that at the status conference.

The 14-Day Deadline Still Applies

Regardless of the dispute type, you have 14 calendar days from service (21 days if served interstate) to lodge your Form 15A response through the eCourts Portal. Missing the deadline exposes you to a default judgment for the full amount claimed.

Common Defences for Tenants

Wear and tear vs. damage. Landlords frequently claim the property was left damaged, but normal wear and tear — scuffed walls, worn carpet, minor marks — is not damage. The property condition report completed at the start of your tenancy is your most important piece of evidence. It establishes the baseline condition. If the landlord did not complete a condition report at move-in, their ability to prove you caused specific damage weakens significantly.

Bond already covers it. If the landlord has already retained part or all of your bond through the Bond Administrator, the amount they can claim in court is reduced by whatever they received from the bond. Check your bond disposal notice. Double recovery is not permitted — the landlord cannot keep the bond and sue you for the same damage.

Cleaning costs were unreasonable. Claims for professional cleaning are common. Your defence may be that you left the property in a reasonably clean state, or that the cleaning invoice is inflated. Photographs taken at move-out and your copy of the final inspection report (if one was done) are strong evidence here.

Unpaid rent was disputed for good reason. If you withheld rent because of uninhabitable conditions — serious repairs the landlord refused to make — you may have grounds under the RTA. However, rent withholding in WA is procedurally complex. If this is your situation, contact Circle Green Community Legal or Legal Aid WA for advice specific to your case.

Evidence to Prepare

Organise these into a numbered PDF bundle:

1. Property condition reports (start and end of tenancy)
2. Move-out photographs (timestamped)
3. Bond lodgement and disposal records
4. Correspondence with the landlord about damage, rent, or repairs
5. Receipts for any cleaning or repairs you paid for
6. The tenancy agreement itself

Upload everything through the eCourts Portal with logical file names (01_Condition_Report_Start.pdf, 02_Moveout_Photos.pdf). The easier your bundle is to navigate, the better the magistrate can follow your argument.

What Happens at the Status Conference

After you lodge Form 15A, the court lists a status conference. The magistrate's primary goal is settlement — most tenancy disputes settle on a negotiated amount somewhere between what the landlord claims and what the tenant concedes. Come prepared with a clear position: what you accept responsibility for, what you dispute, and what evidence supports your view.

If the matter does not settle, it proceeds to a hearing where the magistrate makes a binding decision.

The WA Minor Case Response Guide walks through each step of the process — from reading the claim to preparing your evidence bundle and attending the hearing — with worksheets and checklists designed for respondents.

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