Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 4583930 — Rent arrears at 4 Brashier Circle, Sunnyvale, Auckland 0612
Decided 21 Nov 2023 · Published 21 Nov 2023 · Application 4583930
- Rent arrears
- Property damage
- Cleanliness
Party names are redacted in the official published order.
Order
- [The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $862.97 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.
Reasons
- Both parties attended the hearing today’s hearing by telephone. The hearing was conducted in three parts. The first part was the tenant accepting some of the landlord’s claims. The disputed claims were for repairs, cleaning and garden waste. The tenant had not received a copy of the inspection documents that had been forwarded to the Tribunal by the landlord, so the hearing was stopped to allow the tenant time to look at those. The hearing then resumed. After the hearing ended but before I completed this decision, I telephoned the landlord to ask about the bond. The landlord told me that the bond was received by them in full in September 2023.
- The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.
How much is owed for rent and water rates?
- The tenancy ended on 24 March 2023. The landlord provided rent records and water rates invoices which prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy. The tenant accepted that she owed these amounts.
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 tenant disputed the outgoing photos as being a true reflection of the condition of the premises, she says that the landlord undertook the inspection as she was moving out. She accepts that there was still some cleaning needed.
- I consider that the property was not left in a reasonably clean state but have reduced the landlord’s claimed amount to reflect the tenant’s submission of the cleaning that she did undertake.
- I am also satisfied that the tenant should be responsible for some but not all of the removal of the garden waste.
- The tenant accepts that she did not return the garage door remote as it was lost.
- The tenant accepted liability for the repair costs to the property.
- The amounts ordered are proved. Filing fee
- Because [The landlord/s] has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee. Name suppression
- Both parties applied for name suppression at the hearing. The landlord is entitled to suppression as the successful party. I have granted the tenant name suppression as the tenant accepted liability for many of the claimed amounts at the hearing. It is in the public interest to encourage parties to try and reach agreement together both before and during the tribunal hearing, which allows for greater efficiencies in the Tribunal.