contract-law rental-property australia
Are date ranges in contracts inclusive or exclusive?
<p>I was recently in a dispute over whether a date range in a lease was inclusive or exclusive of the start and end dates.</p>

<p>The wording was:</p>

<ul>
<li>The lease starts on 14/1/2016</li>
<li>The lease ends on 13/1/2017</li>
</ul>

<p>So is the lease for 363d (exclusive of both), 364d (where the start and end is on a specific time on each date), or 365d (inclusive of both)? Why? There was no other context on the lease. </p>

<p>Note: This applies globally of course, but my case was in Australia, where rent is charged in weeks (and 364d is 52 weeks). The magistrate, who was acting as a mediator at the time, did not immediately know, and spent 5-10 min discussing it with me without coming to a view concrete enough to voice. </p>

<p>They are inclusive if the contract says they are, they are exclusive if the contract says they are.</p>

<p>What does your contract say?</p>

<ul>
<li>The lease starts on 14/1/2016</li>
</ul>

<p>This is the point at which the tenants rights begin - they can take possession from 12:00:00 am 14/1/2016. This date is included in the lease period</p>

<ul>
<li>The lease ends on 13/1/2017</li>
</ul>

<p>This is the point at which the tenants rights end - they must be out before 12:00:00 am 13/1/2016. This date is excluded from the lease period.</p>

<p>I have no doubt that the magistrate had a view on this but as a mediator, it is not their role to express their view: its for the parties to determine a solution which may or may not be informed by knowing the exact legal position.</p>
