What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4507933 about?

The tribunal order states: The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,720.00 ([Bond number suppressed])

How much money was awarded in case 4507933?

Compensation: Loss Of Amenity: $583.57 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $750.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant; Rent Arrears: $2,077.14 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $58.54 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4507933?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4507933?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9658829-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4507933 about?

The tribunal order states: The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,720.00 ([Bond number suppressed])

How much money was awarded in case 4507933?

Compensation: Loss Of Amenity: $583.57 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $750.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant; Rent Arrears: $2,077.14 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $58.54 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4507933?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4507933?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9658829-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

4 McEldowney Road, Titirangi, Auckland 0604 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4507933 — Rent arrears

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4507933 — net $781.67 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Rent arrears	$2,077.14		Rent arrears
Water rates	$58.54		Water rates
Compensation: loss of amenity		$583.57	loss of amenity
Exemplary damages		$750.00	Exemplary damages
Filing fee reimbursement		$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Total award	$2,135.68	$1,354.01
Net award	$781.67
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$781.67

Order

The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,720.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The tenant/s] immediately based on the table below:

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing. [The tenant] confirmed that he had authority to represent his son, who is the other tenant. As [the tenant] was the party that had all dealings with the landlord I have referred to him as “the tenant” in this decision.
The parties had filed cross claims which were heard together (following an earlier adjournment).
The landlord has filed a claim seeking rent arrears of $$3,588.57 (being arrears to 19 March 2023) and water rates of $58.54. She also indicated that she intended to amend her claim to seek compensation for damage to the property, but although she did not formally do so she produced photos at the hearing in respect of that damage and I have heard submissions from both parties on that issue, so I have considered that claim in this decision.
At the time of the hearing the landlord had amended her claim to arrears of $2,668.57 (being arrears to 5 March 2023).
The tenant disputes the rent owing. He has filed his own claim on the basis that they were not given proper notice of the increase in rent, were not advised contact details for the new landlord when the property was sold, and they should not have had to pay rent for the property at all as they had to move out when Cyclone Gabrielle hit Auckland on 13 February 2023. Background
The landlord said that she purchased the property on 30 September 2022 subject to the existing tenancy with the tenant.
She said that she raised the rent from $430 per week to $460 per week with the first increased payment due on 19 October 2023. However she said that although she received a portion of rent transferred from the vendor’s lawyers, the tenant then did not pay rent for the next three week period and so she asked him to make additional payments of $100 per fortnight to try and clear the arrears owing.
The tenancy ended on 5 March 2023 after the tenant gave 2 day’s notice on 3 March 2023 pursuant to Section 59(3) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (“RTA”) following agreement with the landlord. The landlord had initially sought rent up to 19 October 2023 but accepted at the hearing that rent was only payable until 5 March 2003.
The landlord now says that the tenant owes $2,668.57 in arrears.
The tenant lived at the property with his disabled son and had lived there for several years when the landlord purchased the property. He said the property was a bit rough but was cheap and he was happy living there as it was adequate and was close to a bus stop which allows his son to be mobile as he cannot drive.
The tenant says that he was left completely in the dark when the property was sold as although he knew the property had been sold but the new landlord did not get in touch with him to give him her contact details as required or even bank account details to pay the rent to. He says that this caused budgeting problems and he then found himself in arrears from the very start. He said that by failing to notify him the landlord is in breach of Section 15(2) RTA. He seeks exemplary damages for that breach.
The tenant also says that he was not served with a notice of an increase in rent as required (and that notice of 60 days is required in any event) and so he is not liable to pay the increased rent.
In addition, the tenant says that after Cyclone Gabrielle hit Auckland on 13 February 2023 he and his son had to move out of the property as it was not safe. He said that power was out for nearly a week and that there was no water for a time. He was also concerned that there had been slips in the area and that the house was downhill from areas that were prone to slipping. The French doors had been blown off into the garden. He said that the entire street was cordoned off and that the buses could not go through there and so is son could not independently travel.
The tenant said that he and his son left he property on 14 February 2023 and moved in with friends (the tenant sleeping on the couch) and paid $200 per week for this alternative accommodation.

What is the amount of rent arrears?

The landlord took over as landlord from 30 September 2023 and the tenancy ended on 5 March 2023.
The landlord says (based on the rent summary provided) that the tenant should have paid $10,235.68 over this period. However this summary is based on the rent having increased from $430 per week to $460 per week from 19 October 2023.
The tenant said that he only discovered that the landlord wanted to increase the rent because she turned up with a change of landlord form dated 16 October 2023 (although the evidence suggests that the form was not given to the tenant until after that date). This form noted a rent of $460 but the tenant said that he was never served with a formal notice of the rent being increased as required.
Section 24 of the RTA sets out the landlord’s obligations in respect of rent increases:
The landlord produced an email from her legal advisor dated 4 November 2023 which included a draft email to the tenant advising them of a rent increase effective 19 October 2022. Although that email was intended to be sent on to the tenant, the landlord confirmed at the hearing that she had never sent the email on to the tenant. However the email would not have been proper notice in any event as it was not served on the tenant in accordance with the RTA and did not give 60 days notice.
I find that the landlord did not serve the tenant with a notice to increase rent as required under Section 24 RTA. I do not consider that the change of landlord form is evidence of a “mutual agreement” to increase the rent and in addition that it did not contain the details required to comply with Section 24 RTA.
Accordingly, I find that rent should have continued to be paid at the rate of $430 per week throughout the tenancy. On that basis, the total rent payable should have been $9,644.28. the tenant has paid $7,567.14 according to the landlord’s rent summary. The arrears owing are therefore $2,077.14. Water rates
The water rates of $58.57 were not disputed and I order payment of that amount.

Is the tenant entitled to compensation?

The tenant said that when Cyclone Gabrielle hit Auckland on 13 February 2023 the house was without power until 19 February 2023 and was without water. They said that the house felt very precarious, that the French doors had blown off into the garden, and that they were concerned about slips, particularly from the house above. The tenant explained that the street was cordoned off and that the bus stopped running along the street.
They say that they had to move out and stay with friends and paid $200 per week during this time. They say that they could not stay at the property from 14 February 2023 and should not have to pay rent to the end of the tenancy.
The landlord disputes the tenant’s version of events. She says that the power and water were only out for some of that time.
At the hearing the tenant strongly disagreed, he said that power was out for at least 7 days and after that point was intermittent, and that they did not have water for several days He said that the landlord did not in fact visit the property to investigate, despite being told of the issues by the tenant. The landlord confirmed at the hearing that she did not go to inspect the property, except from the road.
I have considered the evidence carefully. I consider that the tenant has proved that he did not have full use of the property from 14 February 2023 but not that it was so damaged that it could not be lived in for some of that time. I accept that the situation was far from ideal. The correspondence from Vector confirms that power was out for seven days. Having heard from both parties I consider that the rent should have been reduced by half during this period to allow for the loss in amenity (see Section 59(4) RTA). The total rent payable from 14 February 2023 to 5 March (at $430 per week) was $1,167.14 I award the compensation of half this amount, being $583.57, with this amount to offset the total rent payable.

Is the tenant entitled to exemplary damages?

When a landlord’s or tenant’s interest passes to some other person, that other person shall, within 10 working days, advise the other party to the tenancy of new contact details, an address for service, a contact phone number and an email address.
Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act, for which the Tribunal may award exemplary damages up to a maximum of $750.00. See section 15(2) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied that it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The tenant said that not only was her not provided with new details for the landlord until well after the 10 day period, in fact over three weeks. The result was that he did not have any bank account details and had no idea who to contact to rearrange payment of his rent. The landlord was aware of the situation as there is an email from the landlord to her legal advisor dated 1 November 2022 confirming the position.
The landlord was legally advised and is presumed to know the law. It is in the public interest for landlords to advise tenants of their new contact details so that the tenant can continue to pay rent as it falls due and so that they have contact details for the new landlord in case any issues arise and they need to contact the landlord.
The failure by the landlord to do so has caused some serious issues for the tenant. He said that without knowing who to contact to change his automatic payment he got into arrears and then spent the rest of the tenancy trying to catch up on those arrears.
It was clear at the hearing that the tenant had felt that the fact that the property was his home, and had been for some time, was completely overlooked by the landlord who saw the relationship only in financial terms. He says that he had never had a problem with rent arrears in the past but that due to the landlord’s actions he was left in limbo and without any contact details for the new landlord for ended up causing budgeting problems and which caused a great deal of stress when he then had to catch up on rent.
In the circumstances I consider that an award of exemplary damages is appropriate. I order that the landlord pay the tenant exemplary damages of $750.00.

Is the landlord entitled to compensation for damage?

At the adjourned hearing the landlord advised that she intended to amend her claim to seek compensation for various damage. Although the landlord did not formally amend her claim she did produce various photograph in evidence which she says occurred during the tenancy and so for completeness I refer to her claim for compensation here.
The tenant explained at the hearing that there was various damage from the very beginning of his tenancy with the prior landlord. He said he accepted this on the basis that the rent was reasonable.
The landlord did not produce any photos from the start of the tenancy to prove that the damage was caused during the tenancy. The landlord’s claim for damage is dismissed. Filing fee and name suppression
Neither party has been entirely successful. However the tenant did accept at the hearing that he was responsible for some arrears, but not the amount claimed by the landlord. Against that background the tenant is the substantially successful party. I have therefore refunded the filing fee and have made an order for name suppression in accordance with the principles in Section 95A RTA.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4507933 — net $781.67 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Rent arrears	$2,077.14		Rent arrears
Water rates	$58.54		Water rates
Compensation: loss of amenity		$583.57	loss of amenity
Exemplary damages		$750.00	Exemplary damages
Filing fee reimbursement		$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Total award	$2,135.68	$1,354.01
Net award	$781.67
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$781.67

Order

The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,720.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The tenant/s] immediately based on the table below:

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing. [The tenant] confirmed that he had authority to represent his son, who is the other tenant. As [the tenant] was the party that had all dealings with the landlord I have referred to him as “the tenant” in this decision.
The parties had filed cross claims which were heard together (following an earlier adjournment).
The landlord has filed a claim seeking rent arrears of $$3,588.57 (being arrears to 19 March 2023) and water rates of $58.54. She also indicated that she intended to amend her claim to seek compensation for damage to the property, but although she did not formally do so she produced photos at the hearing in respect of that damage and I have heard submissions from both parties on that issue, so I have considered that claim in this decision.
At the time of the hearing the landlord had amended her claim to arrears of $2,668.57 (being arrears to 5 March 2023).
The tenant disputes the rent owing. He has filed his own claim on the basis that they were not given proper notice of the increase in rent, were not advised contact details for the new landlord when the property was sold, and they should not have had to pay rent for the property at all as they had to move out when Cyclone Gabrielle hit Auckland on 13 February 2023. Background
The landlord said that she purchased the property on 30 September 2022 subject to the existing tenancy with the tenant.
She said that she raised the rent from $430 per week to $460 per week with the first increased payment due on 19 October 2023. However she said that although she received a portion of rent transferred from the vendor’s lawyers, the tenant then did not pay rent for the next three week period and so she asked him to make additional payments of $100 per fortnight to try and clear the arrears owing.
The tenancy ended on 5 March 2023 after the tenant gave 2 day’s notice on 3 March 2023 pursuant to Section 59(3) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (“RTA”) following agreement with the landlord. The landlord had initially sought rent up to 19 October 2023 but accepted at the hearing that rent was only payable until 5 March 2003.
The landlord now says that the tenant owes $2,668.57 in arrears.
The tenant lived at the property with his disabled son and had lived there for several years when the landlord purchased the property. He said the property was a bit rough but was cheap and he was happy living there as it was adequate and was close to a bus stop which allows his son to be mobile as he cannot drive.
The tenant says that he was left completely in the dark when the property was sold as although he knew the property had been sold but the new landlord did not get in touch with him to give him her contact details as required or even bank account details to pay the rent to. He says that this caused budgeting problems and he then found himself in arrears from the very start. He said that by failing to notify him the landlord is in breach of Section 15(2) RTA. He seeks exemplary damages for that breach.
The tenant also says that he was not served with a notice of an increase in rent as required (and that notice of 60 days is required in any event) and so he is not liable to pay the increased rent.
In addition, the tenant says that after Cyclone Gabrielle hit Auckland on 13 February 2023 he and his son had to move out of the property as it was not safe. He said that power was out for nearly a week and that there was no water for a time. He was also concerned that there had been slips in the area and that the house was downhill from areas that were prone to slipping. The French doors had been blown off into the garden. He said that the entire street was cordoned off and that the buses could not go through there and so is son could not independently travel.
The tenant said that he and his son left he property on 14 February 2023 and moved in with friends (the tenant sleeping on the couch) and paid $200 per week for this alternative accommodation.

What is the amount of rent arrears?

The landlord took over as landlord from 30 September 2023 and the tenancy ended on 5 March 2023.
The landlord says (based on the rent summary provided) that the tenant should have paid $10,235.68 over this period. However this summary is based on the rent having increased from $430 per week to $460 per week from 19 October 2023.
The tenant said that he only discovered that the landlord wanted to increase the rent because she turned up with a change of landlord form dated 16 October 2023 (although the evidence suggests that the form was not given to the tenant until after that date). This form noted a rent of $460 but the tenant said that he was never served with a formal notice of the rent being increased as required.
Section 24 of the RTA sets out the landlord’s obligations in respect of rent increases:
The landlord produced an email from her legal advisor dated 4 November 2023 which included a draft email to the tenant advising them of a rent increase effective 19 October 2022. Although that email was intended to be sent on to the tenant, the landlord confirmed at the hearing that she had never sent the email on to the tenant. However the email would not have been proper notice in any event as it was not served on the tenant in accordance with the RTA and did not give 60 days notice.
I find that the landlord did not serve the tenant with a notice to increase rent as required under Section 24 RTA. I do not consider that the change of landlord form is evidence of a “mutual agreement” to increase the rent and in addition that it did not contain the details required to comply with Section 24 RTA.
Accordingly, I find that rent should have continued to be paid at the rate of $430 per week throughout the tenancy. On that basis, the total rent payable should have been $9,644.28. the tenant has paid $7,567.14 according to the landlord’s rent summary. The arrears owing are therefore $2,077.14. Water rates
The water rates of $58.57 were not disputed and I order payment of that amount.

Is the tenant entitled to compensation?

The tenant said that when Cyclone Gabrielle hit Auckland on 13 February 2023 the house was without power until 19 February 2023 and was without water. They said that the house felt very precarious, that the French doors had blown off into the garden, and that they were concerned about slips, particularly from the house above. The tenant explained that the street was cordoned off and that the bus stopped running along the street.
They say that they had to move out and stay with friends and paid $200 per week during this time. They say that they could not stay at the property from 14 February 2023 and should not have to pay rent to the end of the tenancy.
The landlord disputes the tenant’s version of events. She says that the power and water were only out for some of that time.
At the hearing the tenant strongly disagreed, he said that power was out for at least 7 days and after that point was intermittent, and that they did not have water for several days He said that the landlord did not in fact visit the property to investigate, despite being told of the issues by the tenant. The landlord confirmed at the hearing that she did not go to inspect the property, except from the road.
I have considered the evidence carefully. I consider that the tenant has proved that he did not have full use of the property from 14 February 2023 but not that it was so damaged that it could not be lived in for some of that time. I accept that the situation was far from ideal. The correspondence from Vector confirms that power was out for seven days. Having heard from both parties I consider that the rent should have been reduced by half during this period to allow for the loss in amenity (see Section 59(4) RTA). The total rent payable from 14 February 2023 to 5 March (at $430 per week) was $1,167.14 I award the compensation of half this amount, being $583.57, with this amount to offset the total rent payable.

Is the tenant entitled to exemplary damages?

When a landlord’s or tenant’s interest passes to some other person, that other person shall, within 10 working days, advise the other party to the tenancy of new contact details, an address for service, a contact phone number and an email address.
Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act, for which the Tribunal may award exemplary damages up to a maximum of $750.00. See section 15(2) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied that it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The tenant said that not only was her not provided with new details for the landlord until well after the 10 day period, in fact over three weeks. The result was that he did not have any bank account details and had no idea who to contact to rearrange payment of his rent. The landlord was aware of the situation as there is an email from the landlord to her legal advisor dated 1 November 2022 confirming the position.
The landlord was legally advised and is presumed to know the law. It is in the public interest for landlords to advise tenants of their new contact details so that the tenant can continue to pay rent as it falls due and so that they have contact details for the new landlord in case any issues arise and they need to contact the landlord.
The failure by the landlord to do so has caused some serious issues for the tenant. He said that without knowing who to contact to change his automatic payment he got into arrears and then spent the rest of the tenancy trying to catch up on those arrears.
It was clear at the hearing that the tenant had felt that the fact that the property was his home, and had been for some time, was completely overlooked by the landlord who saw the relationship only in financial terms. He says that he had never had a problem with rent arrears in the past but that due to the landlord’s actions he was left in limbo and without any contact details for the new landlord for ended up causing budgeting problems and which caused a great deal of stress when he then had to catch up on rent.
In the circumstances I consider that an award of exemplary damages is appropriate. I order that the landlord pay the tenant exemplary damages of $750.00.

Is the landlord entitled to compensation for damage?

At the adjourned hearing the landlord advised that she intended to amend her claim to seek compensation for various damage. Although the landlord did not formally amend her claim she did produce various photograph in evidence which she says occurred during the tenancy and so for completeness I refer to her claim for compensation here.
The tenant explained at the hearing that there was various damage from the very beginning of his tenancy with the prior landlord. He said he accepted this on the basis that the rent was reasonable.
The landlord did not produce any photos from the start of the tenancy to prove that the damage was caused during the tenancy. The landlord’s claim for damage is dismissed. Filing fee and name suppression
Neither party has been entirely successful. However the tenant did accept at the hearing that he was responsible for some arrears, but not the amount claimed by the landlord. Against that background the tenant is the substantially successful party. I have therefore refunded the filing fee and have made an order for name suppression in accordance with the principles in Section 95A RTA.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4507933 — Rent arrears at 4 McEldowney Road, Titirangi, Auckland 0604

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4507933 — Rent arrears at 4 McEldowney Road, Titirangi, Auckland 0604

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

What is the amount of rent arrears?

Is the tenant entitled to compensation?

Is the tenant entitled to exemplary damages?

Is the landlord entitled to compensation for damage?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

What is the amount of rent arrears?

Is the tenant entitled to compensation?

Is the tenant entitled to exemplary damages?

Is the landlord entitled to compensation for damage?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions