What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4545850 about?

The tribunal order states: An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal

How much money was awarded in case 4545850?

Property Damage: $200.00 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $3,500.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant; Rent Arrears: $4,240.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4545850?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4545850?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9391549-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4545850 about?

The tribunal order states: An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal

How much money was awarded in case 4545850?

Property Damage: $200.00 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $3,500.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant; Rent Arrears: $4,240.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4545850?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4545850?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9391549-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4545850 — Rent arrears

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4545850 — net $179.56 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Rent arrears	$4,240.00		Rent arrears
Exemplary damages: Section 45		$3,500.00	Section 45
Exemplary damages: Notice to sell		$200.00	Notice to sell
Filing fee reimbursement		$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Total award	$4,240.00	$3,720.44
Net award	$179.56
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$179.56

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4545850 — net $179.56 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Rent arrears	$4,240.00		Rent arrears
Exemplary damages: Section 45		$3,500.00	Section 45
Exemplary damages: Notice to sell		$200.00	Notice to sell
Filing fee reimbursement		$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Total award	$4,240.00	$3,720.44
Net award	$179.56
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$179.56

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the Tenant name and identifying details.
[The tenant/s] must pay Jeff Williamson $179.56 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.
The rest of the claims are dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
This tenancy began on 5 November 1997 and ended on 2 February 2023.The rent was $265.00 per week. The landlord said the rent was at this rate as a reflection of the premises.
The tenant left the tenancy before it ended due to what she believed was a negative effect on her health.
The landlord did not dispute that he rarely inspected the premises. He believed that the tenant paid rent and so should be left alone to live there.
The tenant agreed that she had stopped paying for the rent for 16 weeks as she was frustrated that nothing was being repaired at the premises and thought why she should continue to pay rent. The tenant kept this rent money aside.
As discussed, rent is to be paid when due to the landlord. See section 40(1)(a) Residential Tenancies Act 1986, RTA. The rent set aside for 16 weeks is recorded in the table of payments as part of this order to be repaid to the landlord.
The tenant has applied for compensation, exemplary damages refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy. Burden of proof
The applicant must prove all elements of the claim on the balance of probabilities, i.e., more probable than not.
In T v M [1984] 2 NZFLR, the Court of Appeal confirmed that, while ‘balance of probabilities’ is a constant standard: It is the principle of good common sense that the more serious the issue the greater should be the care used in assessing it”.
This approach was confirmed by the majority of the Supreme Court in Z v Dental Complaints Assessment Committee [2008] NZSC 55, where the Court stated: [102] ... In New Zealand it has been emphasised that no intermediate standard of proof exists, between the criminal and civil standards, for application in certain types of civil case. Balance of probabilities still simply means more probable than not. Allowing the civil standard to be applied flexibly has not meant that the degree of probability required to meet this standard changes in serious cases. Rather, the civil standard is flexibly applied because it accommodates serious allegations through the natural tendency to require stronger evidence before being satisfied to the balance of probabilities standard.

How much is owed for rent?

The tenancy ended on 21 February 2023.The tenant agreed that she had not paid the landlord for 16 weeks and a total of $4240.00 is owed. This is awarded to the landlord. Bond
The tenant has applied for refund of the bond. The landlord has not filed a counterclaim with Tenancy Services.
Section 22B(2) Residential Tenancies Act 1986, provides that, where a tenant applies for refund of the bond, and the landlord seeks payment from the bond, the landlord must file an application setting out the details of the counterclaim. Because the landlord has not filed a counterclaim the bond is refunded in full to the tenant. Compensation claims
The tenant provided receipts for payments made to [redacted], a cash payment to gardeners, and one payment to a glazier [redacted].These payments were for drainage repairs in 2011, garden maintenance work in 2011, and window repairs in 2018.
The tenant said she paid the contractors as the work and repairs were not attended to by the landlord.
The landlord said that he did not know about these issues.
The tenant said that she was had asked the landlord to attend to these issues, but was unable to produce photographs or copies of communications establishing that the landlord had been made aware of the repairs.
These claims are dismissed.

Did the landlord breach Section 45 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986?

[The tenant/s] claims that the landlord has breached their obligations under section 45 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Under section 45, a landlord must provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair, comply with all requirements in respect of smoke alarms and insulation set out in the Residential Tenancies (Smoke Alarms and Insulation) Regulations 2016 and comply with any relevant enactment in relation to buildings, health and safety
Breaching any of these obligations is an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be awarded up to a maximum of $7,200.00. See section 45(1A) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The District Court has confirmed that when there are multiple claims for a breach under a single section (section 45 here), then only one order of exemplary damages can be made. I will therefore address the claims for exemplary damages for breaches of section 45 below.
The landlord stated in the hearing many times that the rent he charged the tenant was minimal and only enough to cover his costs and he made no profit. This and his loss of regular income and own financial situation resulted in there being no money to spend maintaining the premises.
On 9 November 2022 the tenant delivered a letter to the landlord asking him to attend to repair of the carpet, removal of lino (raising asbestos concerns) and the removal of mould. The tenant’s daughter was at the hearing and confirmed that she hand delivered this to the landlords letter box. The landlord recalls the letter.
The issues raised in the 9 November letter were not remedied by the landlord. a) Carpet
The tenant said it was written in and agreed to in the tenancy agreement that the carpet would be replaced. Neither party could find the agreement.
Photographs of threadbare carpet were produced by the tenant. This was worse in the living room, by the ranch sliders and hallway. The landlord received a quote to recarpet the whole unit when the room by the garage was repaired in 2010 after the roof fell in. He said because the tenant had not asked for it and she paid so little rent there was no profit to allow for him to make changes to the property.
The tenant agreed that she had a large plant growing in a pot on the lounge floor which the landlord argued caused some of the damage. Although this may have caused damage in the lounge, the photos of the carpet were of throughout the house and were consistently threadbare. b) Mould
The tenant provided photos of mould in her bedroom, the middle room, some in the bathroom and water marks from a leak in the tenant’s bedroom in November 2022. The tenant confirmed that there were no extractor fans in the bathroom.
The mould was obvious and leaking and water marks extensive. If the landlord had responded to the tenants request for repairs and conducted regular property inspections, he would have been aware of the problems.
A landlord must provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair see section 45 RTA. I find that the landlord failed to provided carpet in a reasonable state of repair and maintain the premises by attending to the removal of mould. c) Ranch slider doors
Both ranch slider doors in the premises were unable to be used. The dining room door because it came off the rollers when opened and the second door because the key had broken off in the lock.
The landlord said that he knew of the problem with the dining room door and agreed that it was best not to be used as he did not have the funds to fix it. He did not know about the second door and there was no evidence provided establishing that he did.
A tenancy must have doors that can be opened especially for the safety of the tenant in case of emergency. I find that the landlord knew about the dining room door and failed to maintain it to a reasonable state of repair. d) Heaters
The tenant claimed that she stopped using the heater provided in the lounge because she was told that it was unsafe after it had been repaired many times. There was no evidence that a report of this nature was written and forwarded to the landlord.
A landlord is not required to provided heating in a hallway, so there is no breach of the RTA because this heater was unusable.
This claim is dismissed. e) Smoke alarms
Section 45(1)(ba) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 requires that landlords comply with all requirements in relation to smoke alarms made under section 138A.
The relevant regulations are the Residential Tenancies (Smoke Alarms and Insulation) Regulations 2016, which require landlords to have qualifying smoke alarms installed and operational.
Smoke alarms must be installed in every sleeping space, or within 3 metres of the entrance to the sleeping space, and in each level of a multi-level dwelling. Similar obligations apply to boarding rooms.
All new smoke alarms must: be photoelectric, have a battery life of at least eight years or be hard-wired, be installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions, meet international standards, be in full working order, and have their expiry date displayed.
Existing smoke alarms do not need to be replaced if they are in full working order and have not passed their expiry date.
The landlord agreed that he had never installed smoke alarms at the premises. This is a breach of the RTA and is a safety issue for the parties living there. The landlord said that he had alarms at his house that he could have installed if the tenant had asked him to. It is not the tenant’s responsibility to tell the landlord what their responsibilities are under the RTA. The landlord rarely inspected the premises believing that ‘they rented it and so had free run of the place’. One of the consequences of not conducting inspection is that the landlord could not see what maintenance was required.
I find that the landlord has committed an unlawful act. f) Insulation
[The tenant/s] claims that the landlord has breached the obligations under section 45(1)(bb) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 by failing to insulate the premises in accordance with the Residential Tenancies (Smoke Alarms and Insulation) Regulations 2016.
From 1 July 2019, all residential premises must be insulated to a minimum standard. Where the premises were insulated before 1 July 2016, the ceiling insulation must have an R-value of at least 1.9 (or 1.5 for houses of a brick or concrete block construction). The underfloor insulation must have an R-value of at least 0.9. The insulation must be in reasonable condition.
Where insulation is installed after 1 July 2016, the minimum R-value for ceiling insulation is 2.9 in Zones 1 and 2, and 3.3 for Zone 3 (Zone 3 covers the South Island and central North Island). The minimum R-value for underfloor insulation is 1.3.
There are exceptions to these requirements, for example, where it is not reasonably practicable, or where there is a habitable space above or below the ceiling or floor that would otherwise have to be insulated.
The landlord agreed that the premises had never been insulated. I find they have committed an unlawful act.

Should exemplary damages be awarded?

I have determined that the landlord has breached their obligations under section 45 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 with respect to 45(1)(b), 45(1)(ba) and 45(1)(bb).
Breaching these obligations is an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be awarded up to a maximum of $7,200.00. See section 45 (1)(A) and Schedule 1A RTA.
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) RTA.
The landlord throughout the hearing raised that he was not in a financial position to maintain the premises because he charged such low rent that he could not afford to do this. It was the landlord’s choice to rent the premises for this amount. His financial position is no excuse for not complying with the requirements of the RTA and providing substandard premises
The landlord claimed that he did not know what was required and I do not find that this is an excuse for failing to comply. A landlord is required to know and comply with the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 to ensure that tenants have safe warm and well-maintained places to live. This is in the best interests of the public and tenants. A badly maintained property can affect the health of the people living there, and noncompliance with smoke alarm regulations can put lives in danger.
The maximum award for a breach of section 45 is $7,200.00 and I have found that the landlord has committed 5 breaches. I find it just to award $3000.00 in exemplary damages for these breaches. Notice to sell
[The tenant/s] claims that the landlord has breached their obligations under section 47 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Under section 47, a landlord must give written notice to the tenants, immediately if the premises are placed on the market. A landlord must also advise any prospective tenants if the house is on the market.
Breaching any of these obligations without a reasonable excuse is an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be awarded up to a maximum of $1800.00 See section 47(3) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord put the house on the market in August 2022 after the tenant said that she could not live there any longer due to the state of the premises. He said that he left everything up to the real estate agent, but believed that he had told the tenant about the listing of the premises. No evidence was provided.
The tenant said that the first thing that she knew about this was when the real estate agent arrived to take photos and told her then.
The property was sold, and the tenants were given a 90-day notice ending the tenancy because the owner was required to give the new purchaser vacant possession. The tenancy officially ended on 21 February 2023.The tenant moved out earlier to live with her daughter. She said she would have liked more time to organise for another place to live.
I find that the notice ending the tenancy complied with the RTA, but that the landlord failed to give the tenant notice in writing that the premises were to be listed for sale.
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 said that he was busy with his own issues so left it to the agent. This is no excuse for failing his responsibilities under the RTA it is in the public’s interest that landlords comply with the RTA. The result of this breach was that the tenant was unable to get the premises ready for the agent and was unable to start her search earlier for place to rent. I find it just to award $200.00 for this breach. Insurance information
[The tenant/s] claims the landlord has not provided a copy of the insurance policy for the premises.
A tenant can request the landlord to provide a copy of any insurance policy which relates to the tenant’s liability for destruction of, or damage to, the premises. The landlord must provide a copy of the policy within a reasonable time. The landlord must notify the tenant of any changes to the information provided, or if the premises are no longer insured. See s 45(2B) and (2C) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The tenant said that they requested insurance information from the landlord after the roof fell in on their belongings. They had personal insurance but needed this information from the landlord.
The landlord said he paid for everything and did not claim on his insurance. I find that there is not enough evidence provided establishing this claim. The tenant was unable to provide evidence that she had asked the landlord for this information. This claim is dismissed. Travel costs
The tenant claimed for costs to travel to her work and other appointments from her daughter’s home. She stated that she had to leave the premises because of the effect on her health, and because she could not find anywhere else to live and had to move further away.
It was not raised at the hearing that the house had directly contributed to the tenant’s state of health. The suggestions of asbestos were not substantiated, and I have found that the landlord gave the correct notice to terminate the tenancy.
I do not find that there are grounds to consider a claim for travel costs. This claim is dismissed. Discrimination
[The tenant/s] claims that the landlord discriminated against them.
A landlord must not discriminate against a tenant in relation to the grant, renewal, variation or termination of a tenancy, in contravention of the Human Rights Act 1999. See sections 12(1) and 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Section 21 of the Human Rights Act specifies the prohibited grounds of discrimination, which include sex, marital status, religious or ethical belief, race or ethnicity, disability, age, political opinion, employment status, family status, and sexual orientation.
The tenant claimed that she told the landlord early in the tenancy that she was not interested in him after he said that he ‘fancied her’. She said the tone of his letters and response to her requests for maintenance changed after this.
I do not find that this amounted to discrimination against a tenant in relation to the grant, renewal, variation or termination of a tenancy. This claim is dismissed.
Because [The tenant/s] has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4545850 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4545850 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for rent?

Did the landlord breach Section 45 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986?

Should exemplary damages be awarded?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for rent?

Did the landlord breach Section 45 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986?

Should exemplary damages be awarded?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions