Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 4603595 — Property damage in Massey, Auckland
Decided 11 Apr 2024 · Published 11 Apr 2024 · Application 4603595
- Property damage
- Rent arrears
- Cleanliness
Party names are redacted in the official published order.
Order
1
- The landlord’s name and identifying details must not be published. 2. 3. DescriptionLandlord Rent arrears Cleaning Mowing $6,837.29 $500.00 $200.00 Rubbish removal$1,700.00 House repairs$9,050.00 Replacing damaged oven$499.00 Filing fee reimbursement$20.44 Total award$18,806.73 Bond$1,114.78 Total amount the tenants must pay the landlord$17,691.95 1 This order was originally issued on 21 February 2024. It was reissued on 11 April 2024 to correct the spelling of Edynn Dorreen’s name.
Reasons
- The landlord attended the hearing in person and was assisted by a Mandarin interpreter.
- The tenants did not attend. The hearing proceeded in their absence.
- The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.
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.
- The tenant did not leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and did not remove all rubbish.
- The amounts ordered for cleaning, mowing, and rubbish removal are proved.
Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?
- The landlord produced photographs showing the tenants vandalised the premises during the tenancy. Many of the walls and a ceiling were deliberately holed and dented. A floor was fire-damaged. Graffiti was daubed everywhere inside and out. The oven door was pulled off and the oven damaged beyond repair. A fence and a shade area were destroyed.
- 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. 2
- Tenants are liable for the cost of repairing damage that is intentional or which results from any activity at the premises that is an imprisonable offence. This applies to anything the tenant does and anything done by a person they are responsible for. 3 2 Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA), ss 40(2)(a), 41, and 49B RTA 3 See RTA, s 49B(1).
- 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. 4
- In this case, the damage is more than fair wear and tear and was caused intentionally.
- The landlord produced invoices for the repair of the damage.
- The amounts ordered are proved. Filing fee
- Because [The applicant/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim the tenants must reimburse him for the filing fee. Bond
- The remaining bond is to be paid out to the landlord to cover some of what the tenants owe the landlord from this order.