How much money was awarded in case 4508131?

Compensation: Water Leak: $900.00 awarded to tenant; Lightbulbs: $17.54 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $1,330.00 awarded to landlord; Drain: $402.50 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4508131?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4508131?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9267467-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

How much money was awarded in case 4508131?

Compensation: Water Leak: $900.00 awarded to tenant; Lightbulbs: $17.54 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $1,330.00 awarded to landlord; Drain: $402.50 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4508131?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4508131?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9267467-Tenancy_Tribunal_Order.pdf.

65 Howard Road, Orere Point, RD 5, Orere Point 2585 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4508131 — Rent arrears

Q: What was the outcome of Tenancy Tribunal case 4508131?

The tribunal order states: No application for suppression has been made in this case and no suppression

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Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4508131 — net $850.04 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Rent arrears to 31 January 2023	$1,330.00		Rent arrears to 31 January 2023
Light bulbs/batteries: By consent	$17.54		Light bulbs/batteries: By consent
Repairs: Drain	$402.50		Repairs: Drain
Compensation: Water leak		$900.00	Water leak
Total award	$1,750.04	$900.00
Net award	$850.04
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$850.04

No application for suppression has been made in this case and no suppression orders apply around publication of this decision.

Jeralee-Jane Hetaraka to pay Michael Gleissner $850.04 from the bond, calculated as shown in table below.

The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $850.04 (5294416-002) to Michael Gleissner immediately.

The balance of the bond of $1,109.96 is to remain at the Bond Centre.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.

The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation and refund of the bond.

The Tenant has applied for compensation and exemplary damages.

At the hearing, the Tenant agreed to pay for the lightbulb and the Landlord withdrew their claim for the broken window. Landlords claim for rent arrears

The tenancy ended on 31 January 2023. The landlord provided a rent summary to prove that the rent owed was $1330.00.

The Tenant disputed this amount. They claimed that they had paid all of their rent but were liable for a reduction because the Landlord failed to maintain the lawns as promised. The Tenant took on this responsibility instead. It cost her $10.00 per week for her lawnmower petrol. She was therefore claiming $580.00 over the 58-week tenure. The Landlords agreement to maintain the lawns was not listed in the Tenancy Agreement however the Tenant maintains they agreed verbally.

The Tenant also disputed the amount of $490.00 rent per week. She claimed the parties agreed before entering into the Tenancy Agreement that she would pay $450.00 rent per week. The Tenant was only willing to pay $490.00 per week if the Landlord painted the property and changed the carpet. During the tenancy, the renovations never happened so as compensation, the Tenant sought $2240.00 in overpaid rent for the entire tenancy. The Tenant produced the signed Tenancy Agreement however these agreements were not evident.

The Landlord disputed the agreement to pay $490.00 rent and submitted that he did maintain the lawns or his neighbour did it for him. His recollection of the rent negotiations was that the Tenant told him Work and Income New Zealand (“WINZ”) would only pay $490.00 per week in rent. He had sought quotes for renting the property and was told it could rent for $500 to $580.00. He only agree to reduce this amount because the Tenant advised that was all WINZ would pay. The Landlord did tell the Tenant he wanted to renovate the house but then he fell into financial hardship due to the Pandemic so the renovations never occurred.

In considering the evidence, the Landlord provided a rent summary to show the amounts outstanding. The Tenant made claims for compensation to reduce the rent arrears however there was no evidence that the Landlord had made these agreements. The Tenancy Agreement did not reflect these agreements either. For these reasons, the amount claimed by the Landlord for rent is ordered. Landlord’s claim for compensation – drain blockage

A landlord must prove that damage to the premises occurred during the tenancy and is more than fair wear and tear. If this is established, to avoid liability, the tenant must prove they did not carelessly or intentionally cause or permit the damage. Tenants are liable for the actions of people at the premises with their permission. See sections 40(2)(a), 41 and 49B RTA.

Where the damage is careless, and occurs after 27 August 2019, section 49B RTA applies. If the landlord becomes aware of the damage after 27 August, the damage is presumed to have occurred after that date unless the tenant proves otherwise.

Where the damage is caused carelessly, and is covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to the lesser of the insurance excess or four weeks' rent (or four weeks' market rent in the case of a tenant paying income-related rent). See section 49B(3)(a) RTA.

Where the damage is careless and is not covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to four weeks' rent (or market rent). See section 49B(3)(b) RTA. Where insurance money is irrecoverable because of the tenant's conduct, the property is treated as if it is not insured against the damage. See section 49B(3A)(a) RTA.

Tenants are liable for the cost of repairing damage that is intentional or which results from any activity at the premises that is an imprisonable offence. This applies to anything the tenant does and anything done by a person they are responsible for. See section 49B(1) RTA.

Damage is intentional where a person intends to cause damage and takes the necessary steps to achieve that purpose. Damage is also intentional where a person does something, or allows a situation to continue, knowing that damage is a certainty. See Guo v Korck [2019] NZHC 1541.

The following damage was caused during the tenancy: damage to the drain.

The Landlord claimed the cost to unblock a drain on 4 January 2022 which they submit was due to the Tenant flushing baby wipes down the drain. An invoice was provided which indicated part of the repair involved removing roots in the piping. The Tenant acknowledged that she did flush ‘flushable wipes’ down the drain and was willing to pay for half of the damage but not the entire invoice because the roots blocked some of the piping.

In considering the evidence, I find the invoice for the repairs of the drain did not specify the blockage was solely due to nappy wipes being flushed down the drain. The Tenant has agreed in their written submissions to pay half of the invoice and I find this reasonable. The amounts ordered are proved. Tenants claim for three water tank refills

The Tenant sought compensation of $1100.00 for filling the water tank three times from March to May 2022 due to a leak in the pipe. Initially the Tenant notified the Landlord that the tank did not seem to be filling despite there being a lot of rain. The Tenant also cleared the guttering around the roof and water tank in an attempt to fix the issue. Eventually the Landlord discovered a crack in the pipe that led to the water tank preventing it from filling which they repaired.

The Landlord submitted they were willing to pay $700.00 towards the invoices for filling the water tanks.

In considering the evidence, the Tenant was seeking full compensation for three tanks of water due to the leaking pipe. The Landlord repaired this pipe. I have reduced the amount sought by the Tenant from $1100.00 to $900.00 to take into account some of the Tenant’s water useage over the three-month period. The amounts ordered are proved.

Landlord liable for exemplary damages for failing to lodge the bond?

Jeralee-Jane Hetaraka claims the landlord has not lodged the bond with the Bond Centre within the required time.

A landlord must send any bond payment to the Bond Centre within 23 working days after the payment is received. See section 19(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act for which the Tribunal may award exemplary damages up to a maximum of $1,500.00. See section 19(2) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

The landlord did not lodge the bond until 23 January 2023. I find they have committed an unlawful act.

Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied 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 Landlord submitted this is the first time he had rented a property and was not aware of this obligation. As soon as he was aware, he lodged the bond straight away. The Tenant submitted that she was always weary of the bond not being lodged and it made her feel insecure that it was with the Landlord.

In considering the evidence, I find this was the Landlord’s first time renting a property and he did not intend to lodge the bond late. He admitted it was an oversight and once he was aware, he rectified it. I do not find the Landlord intended to act unlawfully and therefore the claim for exemplary damages is dismissed.

As neither party has requested name suppression, this has not been Ordered.

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4508131 — net $850.04 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Rent arrears to 31 January 2023	$1,330.00		Rent arrears to 31 January 2023
Light bulbs/batteries: By consent	$17.54		Light bulbs/batteries: By consent
Repairs: Drain	$402.50		Repairs: Drain
Compensation: Water leak		$900.00	Water leak
Total award	$1,750.04	$900.00
Net award	$850.04
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$850.04