Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 4479348 — Rent arrears
Decided 4 Mar 2024 · Published 4 Mar 2024 · Application 4479348
- Rent arrears
Party names are redacted in the official published order.
Order
- An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the Tenant’s and Landlord’s name and identifying details.
- The landlord’s application to terminate the tenancy and to be reimbursed the filing fee is withdrawn.
- [The tenant/s] owes [The landlord/s] the sum of $3,621.74 (“the debt”) calculated as follows: a. $1,300.00 in rent arrears to 28 February 2023 (‘rent arrears’); and b. $2,321.74 in water rates arrears to 5 January 2023 (‘water rate arrears’).
- [The tenant/s] must pay rent and the debt as follows: a. By 26 weekly payments of $50.00 to satisfy the rent arrears with the first payment starting on 4 March 2023 and continuing to (and including) 26 August 2023. b. By 38 weekly payments of $60.00 for the water rate arrears with the first payment starting on 4 March 2023 and continuing (and including) until 18 November 2023 with a final payment of $41.74 to be made on 25 November 2023.
- Payments made by the tenant will be allocated in the following order: rent, rent arrears, water rate arrears.
- If the tenant fails to pay the rent arrears and water rate arrears within 2 working days of the above due dates the balance of the debt will be payable immediately and is enforceable as a monetary order of the Tenancy Tribunal.
Reasons
- [The tenant/s] and a representative of the landlord attended the hearing which took place by telephone.
- The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy, rent arrears and water rate arrears.
- I was not satisfied that the rent was at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application was filed. See section 55(1)(a) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA). The landlord had not made an application to terminate based on s 56, RTA. In any event, no 14-day notice was provided during the course of the hearing. Therefore, I was not able to consider termination under section 56(2), RTA. The landlord withdrew its application for termination.
- The landlord applied for rent arrears and has provided a rent summary recording the amount outstanding as at 28 February 2023 as being $1,300.00. The tenant accepted this sum as being due. The amount owed is proved.
- The tenant indicated that she had made a number of recent payments of $50.00 and accepted that these were accounted for in the recent rent summary provided by the landlord which was discussed. However, if any other payment has since been made by the tenant which has not, as yet, shown up on the landlord’s account, if and when it does the above debt will be reduced accordingly.
- The water rate arrears were discussed and the tenant accepted that the arrears for water rates to 5 January 2023 stand at $2,321.74.
- The tenant says she wishes to repay the debt by weekly instalments of $60.00 on top of weekly rent for the water rate arrears and $50.00 per week on top of her usual weekly rental sum for the rental arrears. This was agreed by the landlord.
- I have granted the order above. The order will lapse if it is fully complied with.
- If the tenant breaches the order, the balance of the debt will be payable immediately and is enforceable as a monetary order of the Tenancy Tribunal. See section 64(4)(b) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
- At the hearing the tenant said that she thought that if she pays the sum of $50.00 to the landlord then the landlord should treat it as a payment towards rent and if she pays a sum of $60.00 the landlord should treat it as a payment towards the water rate arrears. I have made provision in my order as to how amounts received from the tenant ought to be applied to the debt. Any payments received from the tenant will be allocated in the following order: rent, rent arrears, water rate arrears.
- The landlord agreed to cover the cost of the filing fee.
- Both parties requested name suppression. I have granted this as the tenant and landlord were able to reach an agreement on the substantive matters. This this order could have been made in a mediation which would have been private to the parties. It was expedient to deal with the matter in this hearing rather than refer the parties to mediation.