What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4546389 about?

The tribunal order states: The Tribunal orders suppression of both parties’ names and identifying details.

How much money was awarded in case 4546389?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $4,862.86 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4546389?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4546389?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9230065-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4546389 about?

The tribunal order states: The Tribunal orders suppression of both parties’ names and identifying details.

How much money was awarded in case 4546389?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $4,862.86 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4546389?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4546389?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9230065-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

1 Kelkirk Street, Kelston, Auckland 0602 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4546389 — Rent arrears

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4546389 — net $4,883.30 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 27 July 2023	$4,862.86	Rent arrears to 27 July 2023
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$4,883.30
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$4,883.30

Order

The Tribunal orders suppression of both parties’ names and identifying details.
[The tenant/s] owe [The landlord/s] $4,883.30 (“the debt”), calculated as shown in the table below.
[The tenant/s] must pay rent and the debt as follows: a. By one lump sum payment of $3,000.00 no later than 21 September 2023. b. By 15 weekly payments of $760.00, being $640.00 for rent and $120.00 for the debt. c. A final payment of $723.30, being $640.00 for rent and $83.30 for the debt. d. Weekly payments will be every Tuesday, with the first payment on 01/08/2023 and continuing until 14/11/2023.
Payments will be allocated in the following order: rent, rent arrears, and the filing fee.
If the tenant fails to pay rent and rent arrears within 2 working days of the due dates: a. The tenancy at 1 Kelkirk Street, Kelston, Auckland 0602 will terminate and the landlord will have immediate possession of the premises. b. The balance of the debt will be payable immediately.
The landlord is to immediately provide confirmation of the bank account number to which the additional payments should be made. She should do so via email to all of the tenants.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing, which was conducted via teleconference. [The landlord/s representative] represented the landlord. [Tenant 1], [Tenant 2] and [Tenant 3] were all on the call. [Tenant 4] was unable to attend due to work commitments.
This order should be read in conjunction with my earlier orders dated 8 June 2023 and 11 July 2023.
The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy, rent arrears and refund of the bond. The tenant wants to repay the debt to avoid immediate termination. Rent Arrears
The landlord has provided an updated rent summary. The current arrears as of today’s date are $4,862.86.

Should a conditional termination order be made?

Where rent is at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application was filed, the Tribunal must make either a final or a conditional termination order. See section 55(1)(a) and (1A) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (“the Act”).
As I explained to the tenants on previous occasions, given the amount of the arrears (which have not reduced significantly since the previous two hearings) termination was inevitable unless all the arrears were cleared by today.
That has not happened.
The only question for me then is whether to order termination immediately or to allow the tenants an opportunity to clear the debt by making a conditional termination order.
Despite my earlier directions the tenants said that WINZ did not make it possible for them to attend an appointment together to sort out this problem. [Tenant 1] did attend his own appointment and said that WINZ confirmed he had not missed any rent payments.
[Tenant 2] has been paying some additional money each week for a few weeks’ now. [Tenant 2] also advised that she has some Kiwisaver funds.
[Tenant 3] had not had an appointment with WINZ but said that he spoke with an older sister and was expecting an inheritance from his mother’s estate. He said that would be able to cover the total amount owing although he was not able to say with certainty when that would be received.
[Tenant 3], on behalf of [Tenant 4], said that because she was working it made it more challenging to deal with WINZ although apparently [Tenant 4] has had some communications with them and has been given an indication of some assistance.
As I have explained ad nauseum although I acknowledge the individual steps that have been taken, unfortunately it does not remedy the issue where there is a joint tenancy. Each of the tenants is jointly liable for all the debt collectively, regardless of their individual contributions to date.
Today I have encouraged the tenants to urgently seek assistance from a financial advisory service or beneficiary advocacy service. One such service I believe is Vision West who can be contacted on 0800 222 040 or via their website, https://visionwest.org.nz/.
The tenants need to pay at least some of the debt via lump sum. I have determined that $3,000.00 is an appropriate amount. Whether that is via assistance from WINZ, from a Kiwisaver hardship withdrawal or from inheritance funds is a matter for them. Either way, they must take steps to put this in motion immediately. I have allowed eight weeks for this sum to be paid, which gives them until 21 September 2023.
The remainder of the debt can be dealt with via a payment plan. [Tenant 1] and [Tenant 4] can pay an additional $25 each per week, [Tenant 2] is already paying an additional $30 per week which is to continue, and [Tenant 3] said he can pay an additional $40 per week. That totals $120 per week for all of them which is to be paid on top of the ordinary rent.
By a fine margin, and only on the undertaking of the tenants to take proactive steps to do so, I am satisfied the tenants will pay the debt within the period specified in the order and is unlikely to commit any further relevant breach. I have therefore granted a conditional termination order.
I have explained to the tenants that this means that if they miss any of the payment dates as outlined, their tenancy will terminate without the landlord needing to come back to the Tribunal. They indicated they understood the position.
The conditional termination order will lapse if it is fully complied with. If the tenants breach the order, the possession order may be enforced for 90 days from the first breach. See section 64(4)(b) of the Act. Suppression and Filing Fee
Section 95A of the Act provides that on the application of a party that has been wholly or substantially successful in proceedings the Tribunal must order that the name or identifying particulars not be published, unless the Tribunal considers that it is in the public interest to publish the names of the parties or is justified because of the parties conduct or any other circumstances of the case.
In this case, the landlord has wholly or substantially succeeded in the proceedings. As there are no countervailing reasons not to do so, I therefore grant suppression of the landlord’s name and identifying details.
Section 95A(4) of the Act provides that the Tribunal may on its own initiative, having regard to the interests of the parties and to the public interest, order that the name of any identifying particulars of any witness or party not be published.
I consider that this is a matter of poverty rather than poor behaviour and the tenants have a legitimate interest in keeping those matters private. There is no legitimate public interest that would require publication of their names and so I therefore order suppression of their names and identifying details.
Because [The landlord/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee. J R Smith 27 July 2023

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4546389 — net $4,883.30 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 27 July 2023	$4,862.86	Rent arrears to 27 July 2023
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$4,883.30
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$4,883.30

Order

The Tribunal orders suppression of both parties’ names and identifying details.
[The tenant/s] owe [The landlord/s] $4,883.30 (“the debt”), calculated as shown in the table below.
[The tenant/s] must pay rent and the debt as follows: a. By one lump sum payment of $3,000.00 no later than 21 September 2023. b. By 15 weekly payments of $760.00, being $640.00 for rent and $120.00 for the debt. c. A final payment of $723.30, being $640.00 for rent and $83.30 for the debt. d. Weekly payments will be every Tuesday, with the first payment on 01/08/2023 and continuing until 14/11/2023.
Payments will be allocated in the following order: rent, rent arrears, and the filing fee.
If the tenant fails to pay rent and rent arrears within 2 working days of the due dates: a. The tenancy at 1 Kelkirk Street, Kelston, Auckland 0602 will terminate and the landlord will have immediate possession of the premises. b. The balance of the debt will be payable immediately.
The landlord is to immediately provide confirmation of the bank account number to which the additional payments should be made. She should do so via email to all of the tenants.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing, which was conducted via teleconference. [The landlord/s representative] represented the landlord. [Tenant 1], [Tenant 2] and [Tenant 3] were all on the call. [Tenant 4] was unable to attend due to work commitments.
This order should be read in conjunction with my earlier orders dated 8 June 2023 and 11 July 2023.
The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy, rent arrears and refund of the bond. The tenant wants to repay the debt to avoid immediate termination. Rent Arrears
The landlord has provided an updated rent summary. The current arrears as of today’s date are $4,862.86.

Should a conditional termination order be made?

Where rent is at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application was filed, the Tribunal must make either a final or a conditional termination order. See section 55(1)(a) and (1A) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (“the Act”).
As I explained to the tenants on previous occasions, given the amount of the arrears (which have not reduced significantly since the previous two hearings) termination was inevitable unless all the arrears were cleared by today.
That has not happened.
The only question for me then is whether to order termination immediately or to allow the tenants an opportunity to clear the debt by making a conditional termination order.
Despite my earlier directions the tenants said that WINZ did not make it possible for them to attend an appointment together to sort out this problem. [Tenant 1] did attend his own appointment and said that WINZ confirmed he had not missed any rent payments.
[Tenant 2] has been paying some additional money each week for a few weeks’ now. [Tenant 2] also advised that she has some Kiwisaver funds.
[Tenant 3] had not had an appointment with WINZ but said that he spoke with an older sister and was expecting an inheritance from his mother’s estate. He said that would be able to cover the total amount owing although he was not able to say with certainty when that would be received.
[Tenant 3], on behalf of [Tenant 4], said that because she was working it made it more challenging to deal with WINZ although apparently [Tenant 4] has had some communications with them and has been given an indication of some assistance.
As I have explained ad nauseum although I acknowledge the individual steps that have been taken, unfortunately it does not remedy the issue where there is a joint tenancy. Each of the tenants is jointly liable for all the debt collectively, regardless of their individual contributions to date.
Today I have encouraged the tenants to urgently seek assistance from a financial advisory service or beneficiary advocacy service. One such service I believe is Vision West who can be contacted on 0800 222 040 or via their website, https://visionwest.org.nz/.
The tenants need to pay at least some of the debt via lump sum. I have determined that $3,000.00 is an appropriate amount. Whether that is via assistance from WINZ, from a Kiwisaver hardship withdrawal or from inheritance funds is a matter for them. Either way, they must take steps to put this in motion immediately. I have allowed eight weeks for this sum to be paid, which gives them until 21 September 2023.
The remainder of the debt can be dealt with via a payment plan. [Tenant 1] and [Tenant 4] can pay an additional $25 each per week, [Tenant 2] is already paying an additional $30 per week which is to continue, and [Tenant 3] said he can pay an additional $40 per week. That totals $120 per week for all of them which is to be paid on top of the ordinary rent.
By a fine margin, and only on the undertaking of the tenants to take proactive steps to do so, I am satisfied the tenants will pay the debt within the period specified in the order and is unlikely to commit any further relevant breach. I have therefore granted a conditional termination order.
I have explained to the tenants that this means that if they miss any of the payment dates as outlined, their tenancy will terminate without the landlord needing to come back to the Tribunal. They indicated they understood the position.
The conditional termination order will lapse if it is fully complied with. If the tenants breach the order, the possession order may be enforced for 90 days from the first breach. See section 64(4)(b) of the Act. Suppression and Filing Fee
Section 95A of the Act provides that on the application of a party that has been wholly or substantially successful in proceedings the Tribunal must order that the name or identifying particulars not be published, unless the Tribunal considers that it is in the public interest to publish the names of the parties or is justified because of the parties conduct or any other circumstances of the case.
In this case, the landlord has wholly or substantially succeeded in the proceedings. As there are no countervailing reasons not to do so, I therefore grant suppression of the landlord’s name and identifying details.
Section 95A(4) of the Act provides that the Tribunal may on its own initiative, having regard to the interests of the parties and to the public interest, order that the name of any identifying particulars of any witness or party not be published.
I consider that this is a matter of poverty rather than poor behaviour and the tenants have a legitimate interest in keeping those matters private. There is no legitimate public interest that would require publication of their names and so I therefore order suppression of their names and identifying details.
Because [The landlord/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee. J R Smith 27 July 2023

Tenancy Tribunal case 4546389 — Rent arrears at 1 Kelkirk Street, Kelston, Auckland 0602

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4546389 — Rent arrears at 1 Kelkirk Street, Kelston, Auckland 0602

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Should a conditional termination order be made?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Should a conditional termination order be made?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions