What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4552731 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 4552731?

Cleaning: $200.00 awarded to landlord; Cleaning: $50.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Painting Windowsill And Walls: $200.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4552731?

The primary dispute was Cleanliness. Related themes: Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4552731?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9368869-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4552731 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 4552731?

Cleaning: $200.00 awarded to landlord; Cleaning: $50.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Painting Windowsill And Walls: $200.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4552731?

The primary dispute was Cleanliness. Related themes: Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4552731?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9368869-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

5 Troon Place, Papatoetoe, Auckland 2025 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4552731 — Cleanliness

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5 Troon Place, Papatoetoe, Auckland 2025 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4552731 — Cleanliness | TenantCheck

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4552731 — net $470.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Carpet Cleaning	$200.00	Carpet Cleaning
Repairs: Painting windowsill and walls	$200.00	Repairs: Painting windowsill and walls
Cleaning	$50.00	Cleaning
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$470.44
Bond	$2,370.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$470.44

Claims and awards for application 4552731 — net $470.44 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Carpet Cleaning

Amount: $200.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Carpet Cleaning

Repairs: Painting windowsill and walls

Amount: $200.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Repairs: Painting windowsill and walls

Cleaning

Amount: $50.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Cleaning

Filing fee reimbursement

Amount: $20.44
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Filing fee reimbursement

Net award

Landlord $470.44

Bond

Landlord $2,370.00

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Dismissed claims

Water Rates — Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Carpet Cleaning Cleanliness Filing Fee Property damage Water Rates

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of both parties’ name and identifying details.
[The tenant/s] to pay [The landlord/s] $470.44 from the bond, calculated as shown in table below.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,370.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) immediately apportioned as follows: [The landlord/s]: $470.44 [The tenant/s]: $1,899.56

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for water rates owing of $176.96, cleaning costs of $2,012.50 and painting costs of $4,605.00 plus GST together with the filing fee. The tenants dispute all the claims.
The property is a large older home. The tenants have lived at the property for over 2 and half years. The tenancy terminated on the 26 March 2023 after the landlord gave notice that they had a family member moving into the property.

How much is owed and water rates?

The landlord provided a tenant history balance sheet and ledger, both of those documents show rent and water payments. The landlord says that the tenant missed paying water rates 20 December to 21 January 2023. The tenant provided evidence that they paid those water rates on the 22 February. When I looked at the landlord’s documents it recorded a payment made by the tenant that day. The landlord says that it has attributed that money towards rent, however they had no separate ledger which shows the amount of money owed for water or other outgoings, or the balance of that account. As the tenants have proven that they have made the payment for the water, the landlord’s claim for water rates is dismissed.

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, remove all rubbish, return all keys and security devices, and leave all chattels provided for their benefit. See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The tenants obligation is to leave the property in a reasonably clean and tidy state and free from rubbish. Reasonably clean means clean to the standard an average, reasonable bystander would consider reasonable 1 , not commercially clean 2 , spotless hotel or motel standard. 3 Reasonably clean is not necessarily to the standard a landlord considers acceptable for a new tenant. 4
The landlord provided photographs of the exit inspection and in particular areas that the landlord says were not left particularly clean. I am satisfied by looking at those photographs that the tenants left the premises reasonably clean and tidy 1 Housing New Zealand v Holloway TT Auckland TT215/93, 8 February 1993 at 8. 2 Mills v Kiwi Property Care Ltd TT Hamilton 09/01418/HN, 27 July 2009. 3 Richards v Scully TT Christchurch TT2043/98, 21 July 1998. 4 Ace Property Management Ltd v Owens DC Wellington CIV -2008-1441, 17 December 2008 except for two places, the shower box downstairs would have required extra cleaning to bring it up to a reasonable standard, and there were drip marks on one wall that should have been wiped.
The tenants confirmed that they had cleaned the property, the photographs show the property in a reasonable standard, floors are vacuumed, walls and windowsills are wiped, the oven and drawers have been cleaned, windows appear to be cleaned. The close-up photographs of particular areas do not demonstrate the ‘overall’ condition of the house.
The landlord’s invoice shows that the landlord ordered a deep clean of the property. A deep clean is not the standard that is required under the Residential Tenancies Act.
The landlord had the carpets cleaned and stain removed. There are some areas of staining on the carpet, and although the tenants tell me that they had the carpet cleaned not long before the end of the tenancy I consider that, given the amount of people living in the house and the length of tenancy, that it was reasonable for the tenants to have to clean the carpets and attempt stain removal. I therefore award the landlord the compensation for the cost of carpet cleaning.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

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 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. 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 landlord has sought the cost of painting for property, but not the rumpus rooms. The landlord provided photographs of the areas it says were damaged. I am not satisfied that the damage was more than fair wear and tear, except for the damage to windowsill caused by masking tape being applied and the damage to the paintwork in their daughter’s bedroom which the tenants say was caused by the removal of 3m strips.
The tenants are liable for remedial painting for the windowsill and repainting of the wall with the damaged paint. I have awarded $200.00 for this damage.
The remainder of the landlord’s claim has not been proven. The marks of the wall are entirely consistent with the age of the house, the age of the paintwork, the amount of people living in the house and the length of the tenancy. A landlord should expect to have to repaint walls every 5-14 years dependant on the room’s use, the paint used etc. The wear and tear of items is factored into the rent.
I have taken into account betterment and depreciation. The landlord should be returned to the position they would have been in had the tenant not breached their obligations and should not be better or worse off. In calculating depreciation, I have taken into account the age and condition of the items at the start of the tenancy and their likely useful lifespan. Name suppression and filing fee.
As the landlord has been partially successful, I have awarded the filing fee and granted the landlord name suppression.
As the tenants have been somewhat successful in defending this claim, I also grant the tenants name suppression.

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4552731 — net $470.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Carpet Cleaning	$200.00	Carpet Cleaning
Repairs: Painting windowsill and walls	$200.00	Repairs: Painting windowsill and walls
Cleaning	$50.00	Cleaning
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$470.44
Bond	$2,370.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$470.44

Claims and awards for application 4552731 — net $470.44 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Carpet Cleaning

Amount: $200.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Carpet Cleaning

Repairs: Painting windowsill and walls

Amount: $200.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Repairs: Painting windowsill and walls

Cleaning

Amount: $50.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Cleaning

Filing fee reimbursement

Amount: $20.44
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Filing fee reimbursement

Net award

Landlord $470.44

Bond

Landlord $2,370.00

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Dismissed claims

Water Rates — Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Carpet Cleaning Cleanliness Filing Fee Property damage Water Rates

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of both parties’ name and identifying details.
[The tenant/s] to pay [The landlord/s] $470.44 from the bond, calculated as shown in table below.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,370.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) immediately apportioned as follows: [The landlord/s]: $470.44 [The tenant/s]: $1,899.56

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for water rates owing of $176.96, cleaning costs of $2,012.50 and painting costs of $4,605.00 plus GST together with the filing fee. The tenants dispute all the claims.
The property is a large older home. The tenants have lived at the property for over 2 and half years. The tenancy terminated on the 26 March 2023 after the landlord gave notice that they had a family member moving into the property.

How much is owed and water rates?

The landlord provided a tenant history balance sheet and ledger, both of those documents show rent and water payments. The landlord says that the tenant missed paying water rates 20 December to 21 January 2023. The tenant provided evidence that they paid those water rates on the 22 February. When I looked at the landlord’s documents it recorded a payment made by the tenant that day. The landlord says that it has attributed that money towards rent, however they had no separate ledger which shows the amount of money owed for water or other outgoings, or the balance of that account. As the tenants have proven that they have made the payment for the water, the landlord’s claim for water rates is dismissed.

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, remove all rubbish, return all keys and security devices, and leave all chattels provided for their benefit. See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The tenants obligation is to leave the property in a reasonably clean and tidy state and free from rubbish. Reasonably clean means clean to the standard an average, reasonable bystander would consider reasonable 1 , not commercially clean 2 , spotless hotel or motel standard. 3 Reasonably clean is not necessarily to the standard a landlord considers acceptable for a new tenant. 4
The landlord provided photographs of the exit inspection and in particular areas that the landlord says were not left particularly clean. I am satisfied by looking at those photographs that the tenants left the premises reasonably clean and tidy 1 Housing New Zealand v Holloway TT Auckland TT215/93, 8 February 1993 at 8. 2 Mills v Kiwi Property Care Ltd TT Hamilton 09/01418/HN, 27 July 2009. 3 Richards v Scully TT Christchurch TT2043/98, 21 July 1998. 4 Ace Property Management Ltd v Owens DC Wellington CIV -2008-1441, 17 December 2008 except for two places, the shower box downstairs would have required extra cleaning to bring it up to a reasonable standard, and there were drip marks on one wall that should have been wiped.
The tenants confirmed that they had cleaned the property, the photographs show the property in a reasonable standard, floors are vacuumed, walls and windowsills are wiped, the oven and drawers have been cleaned, windows appear to be cleaned. The close-up photographs of particular areas do not demonstrate the ‘overall’ condition of the house.
The landlord’s invoice shows that the landlord ordered a deep clean of the property. A deep clean is not the standard that is required under the Residential Tenancies Act.
The landlord had the carpets cleaned and stain removed. There are some areas of staining on the carpet, and although the tenants tell me that they had the carpet cleaned not long before the end of the tenancy I consider that, given the amount of people living in the house and the length of tenancy, that it was reasonable for the tenants to have to clean the carpets and attempt stain removal. I therefore award the landlord the compensation for the cost of carpet cleaning.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

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 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. 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 landlord has sought the cost of painting for property, but not the rumpus rooms. The landlord provided photographs of the areas it says were damaged. I am not satisfied that the damage was more than fair wear and tear, except for the damage to windowsill caused by masking tape being applied and the damage to the paintwork in their daughter’s bedroom which the tenants say was caused by the removal of 3m strips.
The tenants are liable for remedial painting for the windowsill and repainting of the wall with the damaged paint. I have awarded $200.00 for this damage.
The remainder of the landlord’s claim has not been proven. The marks of the wall are entirely consistent with the age of the house, the age of the paintwork, the amount of people living in the house and the length of the tenancy. A landlord should expect to have to repaint walls every 5-14 years dependant on the room’s use, the paint used etc. The wear and tear of items is factored into the rent.
I have taken into account betterment and depreciation. The landlord should be returned to the position they would have been in had the tenant not breached their obligations and should not be better or worse off. In calculating depreciation, I have taken into account the age and condition of the items at the start of the tenancy and their likely useful lifespan. Name suppression and filing fee.
As the landlord has been partially successful, I have awarded the filing fee and granted the landlord name suppression.
As the tenants have been somewhat successful in defending this claim, I also grant the tenants name suppression.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4552731 — Cleanliness at 5 Troon Place, Papatoetoe, Auckland 2025

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4552731 — Cleanliness at 5 Troon Place, Papatoetoe, Auckland 2025

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

How much is owed and water rates?

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

How much is owed and water rates?

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions