What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4575690 about?

The tribunal order states: The Tribunal orders suppression of the Tenants names and identifying details.

How much money was awarded in case 4575690?

Verified claim lines are listed on this page.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4575690?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Healthy homes, Exemplary damages, Leaks.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4575690?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9202267-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4575690 about?

The tribunal order states: The Tribunal orders suppression of the Tenants names and identifying details.

How much money was awarded in case 4575690?

Verified claim lines are listed on this page.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4575690?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Healthy homes, Exemplary damages, Leaks.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4575690?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9202267-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4575690 — Rent arrears

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New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4575690 — Rent arrears | TenantCheck

Order

The Tribunal orders suppression of the Tenants names and identifying details.
Kiran Amaravathi must pay [The tenant/s] $20.44 immediately.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,760.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The tenant/s] immediately.
The landlord’s cross application is dismissed.
The premises are unlawful residential premises.

Reasons

All parties attended the hearing.
The tenancy has ended. The tenants have claimed that the notice period given to the landlord should result in rent not being due after the date they moved out of the property. They have claimed that the premises did not comply with Healthy Homes Standards. The landlord has claimed rent arrears, compensation for chattels that the tenants removed from the property and compensation for damage to the property. In the course of discussing the matters raised in the claim, the issue of the status of the premises was discussed.

Are the premises unlawful residential premises?

The Tribunal may declare premises to be unlawful residential premises. See section 77(2)(ac) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. Residential premises are unlawful if they cannot be lawfully occupied for residential purposes, and the landlord has caused or contributed to the unlawful occupation by failing to comply with sections 36 or 45(1)(c) RTA. See section 78A(2) RTA.
A premises is unlawful residential premises if it has not been consented by Council to be a separate household unit as defined by the Building Act 2004. An owner cannot create a second household unit from an original household unit without Council consenting to a ‘Change of Use”. The addition to the house may have received a code compliance at the time but the code compliance does not make the addition a separate household unit. An addition to a house is not consented as a separate household unit but is used as rental accommodation, it is unlawful residential premises.
The current Council records for [Tenancy address suppressed], viewed during the hearing, shows a house where an addition to the side of the house was consented in 1971. There is a locked door between the house and the rental premises. The owners named the additional building work ‘24A’. There are not separate services to ‘24A’. The gas supply is to the house and not separately metered to ‘24A’. The tenants agreed to a 40/60 split of the total gas bill for 24. There is not a separate power supply to ‘24A’. A meter to show usage for ‘24A’ is located in the house, not ‘24A’.
The [Council] records show no sign of a household unit number ‘24A’. ‘24A’ is not separately rated. ‘24A’ is not on a separate title. A person cannot purchase ‘24A’ without buying [Tenancy address suppressed]. There is no Council record showing that the Council consented to the division of the house at [Tenancy address suppressed] into two separate household units.
This evidence above proves that the addition to the house at [Tenancy address suppressed], now rented, is an unlawful residential premises.

Did the premises meet Healthy Homes Standards?

I am satisfied from the landlord’s evidence that the accommodation has complied with Healthy Homes Standards. The tenants did not provide expert evidence that the dwelling they were living in did not comply. There were some roof leaking problems but that is not a Healthy Homes Standards issue.

Should rent arrears and damages be ordered?

Where the Tribunal declares the residential premises to be unlawful, it must not make an order for rent arrears or compensation against the tenant unless, having regard to the special circumstances of the case, it would be unjust not to make the order. The Tribunal may make any of these orders on its own initiative, even if the tenant has not applied for a particular order. See sections 78A(3)(a), (4) and (5) RTA.
I am satisfied that there are no special circumstances that make it unjust to make an order that the tenants do not pay rent arrears and compensation. There are arrears due because rent needed to be paid for a period after the tenancy ended. Rent claimed by the landlord and compensation claimed by the landlord will not be ordered.
I have also considered whether any rent paid should be paid back to the tenants. I have taken account of the fact that the tenants did receive the benefit of accommodation at the premises and that the premises passed Healthy Homes Standards. The refund of rent usually applies where unlawful residential premises are seriously flawed. That is not the case here. Therefore a refund of rent is not ordered.

Should exemplary damages be ordered?

The Tribunal may order exemplary damages where a party has intentionally committed an unlawful act.
The landlord’s submission is that he and his family lived in the main house when he purchased [Tenancy address suppressed]. At that time the part of the house named 24A was tenanted by a person who lived there for many years before and after the landlord purchased [Tenancy address suppressed]. He said he was unaware of ‘24A’ being unlawful residential premises until the hearing.
There is insufficient evidence to prove that the landlord knew that the premises occupied by the applicants could not be rented out. I do not find that the landlord intentionally committed an unlawful act of renting unlawful residential premises. Therefore, exemplary damages cannot be ordered. Filing fee
I have ordered the landlord to pay the filing fee because [The tenant/s] have substantially succeeded with the claim. Conclusion
The landlord is warned that the premises called [Tenancy address suppressed] cannot be tenanted. The tenancy with the current tenants must be ended because it is unlawful to rent unlawful residential premises. The landlord now knows the status of the property and if the tenancy continues and is likely to be ordered to refund all the rent to the tenants and be ordered to pay exemplary damages for intentionally committing an unlawful act. Name Suppression
Because the tenants have substantially succeeded with the claim, the tenants’ request for name suppression is granted. (see Section 95A(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986).

Order

The Tribunal orders suppression of the Tenants names and identifying details.
Kiran Amaravathi must pay [The tenant/s] $20.44 immediately.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,760.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The tenant/s] immediately.
The landlord’s cross application is dismissed.
The premises are unlawful residential premises.

Reasons

All parties attended the hearing.
The tenancy has ended. The tenants have claimed that the notice period given to the landlord should result in rent not being due after the date they moved out of the property. They have claimed that the premises did not comply with Healthy Homes Standards. The landlord has claimed rent arrears, compensation for chattels that the tenants removed from the property and compensation for damage to the property. In the course of discussing the matters raised in the claim, the issue of the status of the premises was discussed.

Are the premises unlawful residential premises?

The Tribunal may declare premises to be unlawful residential premises. See section 77(2)(ac) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. Residential premises are unlawful if they cannot be lawfully occupied for residential purposes, and the landlord has caused or contributed to the unlawful occupation by failing to comply with sections 36 or 45(1)(c) RTA. See section 78A(2) RTA.
A premises is unlawful residential premises if it has not been consented by Council to be a separate household unit as defined by the Building Act 2004. An owner cannot create a second household unit from an original household unit without Council consenting to a ‘Change of Use”. The addition to the house may have received a code compliance at the time but the code compliance does not make the addition a separate household unit. An addition to a house is not consented as a separate household unit but is used as rental accommodation, it is unlawful residential premises.
The current Council records for [Tenancy address suppressed], viewed during the hearing, shows a house where an addition to the side of the house was consented in 1971. There is a locked door between the house and the rental premises. The owners named the additional building work ‘24A’. There are not separate services to ‘24A’. The gas supply is to the house and not separately metered to ‘24A’. The tenants agreed to a 40/60 split of the total gas bill for 24. There is not a separate power supply to ‘24A’. A meter to show usage for ‘24A’ is located in the house, not ‘24A’.
The [Council] records show no sign of a household unit number ‘24A’. ‘24A’ is not separately rated. ‘24A’ is not on a separate title. A person cannot purchase ‘24A’ without buying [Tenancy address suppressed]. There is no Council record showing that the Council consented to the division of the house at [Tenancy address suppressed] into two separate household units.
This evidence above proves that the addition to the house at [Tenancy address suppressed], now rented, is an unlawful residential premises.

Did the premises meet Healthy Homes Standards?

I am satisfied from the landlord’s evidence that the accommodation has complied with Healthy Homes Standards. The tenants did not provide expert evidence that the dwelling they were living in did not comply. There were some roof leaking problems but that is not a Healthy Homes Standards issue.

Should rent arrears and damages be ordered?

Where the Tribunal declares the residential premises to be unlawful, it must not make an order for rent arrears or compensation against the tenant unless, having regard to the special circumstances of the case, it would be unjust not to make the order. The Tribunal may make any of these orders on its own initiative, even if the tenant has not applied for a particular order. See sections 78A(3)(a), (4) and (5) RTA.
I am satisfied that there are no special circumstances that make it unjust to make an order that the tenants do not pay rent arrears and compensation. There are arrears due because rent needed to be paid for a period after the tenancy ended. Rent claimed by the landlord and compensation claimed by the landlord will not be ordered.
I have also considered whether any rent paid should be paid back to the tenants. I have taken account of the fact that the tenants did receive the benefit of accommodation at the premises and that the premises passed Healthy Homes Standards. The refund of rent usually applies where unlawful residential premises are seriously flawed. That is not the case here. Therefore a refund of rent is not ordered.

Should exemplary damages be ordered?

The Tribunal may order exemplary damages where a party has intentionally committed an unlawful act.
The landlord’s submission is that he and his family lived in the main house when he purchased [Tenancy address suppressed]. At that time the part of the house named 24A was tenanted by a person who lived there for many years before and after the landlord purchased [Tenancy address suppressed]. He said he was unaware of ‘24A’ being unlawful residential premises until the hearing.
There is insufficient evidence to prove that the landlord knew that the premises occupied by the applicants could not be rented out. I do not find that the landlord intentionally committed an unlawful act of renting unlawful residential premises. Therefore, exemplary damages cannot be ordered. Filing fee
I have ordered the landlord to pay the filing fee because [The tenant/s] have substantially succeeded with the claim. Conclusion
The landlord is warned that the premises called [Tenancy address suppressed] cannot be tenanted. The tenancy with the current tenants must be ended because it is unlawful to rent unlawful residential premises. The landlord now knows the status of the property and if the tenancy continues and is likely to be ordered to refund all the rent to the tenants and be ordered to pay exemplary damages for intentionally committing an unlawful act. Name Suppression
Because the tenants have substantially succeeded with the claim, the tenants’ request for name suppression is granted. (see Section 95A(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986).

Tenancy Tribunal case 4575690 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4575690 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Are the premises unlawful residential premises?

Did the premises meet Healthy Homes Standards?

Should rent arrears and damages be ordered?

Should exemplary damages be ordered?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Are the premises unlawful residential premises?

Did the premises meet Healthy Homes Standards?

Should rent arrears and damages be ordered?

Should exemplary damages be ordered?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions