What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4605851 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 4605851?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4605851?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4605851?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9324591-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4605851 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 4605851?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4605851?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4605851?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9324591-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4605851 — Tenancy dispute

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4605851 — net $1,300.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Bond reimbursement	$1,280.00	Bond reimbursement
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$1,300.44
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$1,300.44

The tenant attended the hearing today.

The tenant has applied for refund of his bond, exemplary damages, and the filing fee.

The tenant signed a boarding house tenancy agreement with RB Residences Ltd as landlord for a tenancy starting on 25 May 2021. The bond under the agreement was $1,280.00 (4 weeks rent). There does not appear to be a receipt for the bond endorsed anywhere on the tenancy agreement. There is no other written evidence showing that the bond was paid.

On 2 December 2022 a different company, Manjeet Holdings Limited, wrote to the tenant confirming that his tenancy was ending on 19 December 2022, in accordance with an earlier 28-day notice given on 21 November 2022. The letter said that bond refunds would be forwarded to TBT Property Management and RB Residences for processing. The tenant says that TBT Property Management took over management of the boarding house. He does not know who Manjeet Holdings Limited are.

There is a change of landlord form dated 19 December 2022, identifying the previous landlord as TBT Property Management. The new landlord, with effect from 2 November 2022, is identified as “ANT Group”. The agent of this entity is Tom Te Amo. I note that someone called Tom has signed the letter from Manjeet Holdings Limited.

It is difficult to follow these changes in management. So far as the tenant is concerned, the bond was paid to RB Residences and was not further transferred. He has called Tenancy Services who advise that the bond was not lodged. I also called the Bond Centre after the hearing, and no bond relating to the room occupied by the tenant has been lodged in the names of any of the landlords.

The tenant tells me a bond was paid and I accept his evidence in the absence of anything to the contrary. I order refund of the bond. It is unlikely that the tenant would have been permitted to remain at the tenancy address for about 18 months if the bond, required on the face of the boarding house tenancy, had not been paid.

As to exemplary damages, non-lodgement of bond money is a breach of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 which the Tribunal takes very seriously. Here, however, there is so much confusion in the background facts that I consider it would be unsafe to award exemplary damages.

For example, there is a document provided by the tenant which appears to be part of a tenancy agreement with TBT Property Management. The document refers to $350.00 for rent in advance and a bond of $1,400.00 and identifies these as move in costs totalling $1,750.00. The tenant says no bond was paid to TBT Property Management and he was unable to shed further light on the document. It is not clear why a successor landlord would require move in costs from a tenant already in residence. Filing fee and name suppression

The tenant has partly succeeded. I award the filing fee.

I also grant name suppression as requested.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4605851 — net $1,300.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Bond reimbursement	$1,280.00	Bond reimbursement
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$1,300.44
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$1,300.44

Order

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the tenant’s name and identifying details.
RB Residences Limited is to pay $1,300.44 to [The tenant/s] immediately, being the bond of $1,280.00 and the filing fee of $20.44.

Reasons

The tenant attended the hearing today.
The tenant has applied for refund of his bond, exemplary damages, and the filing fee.
The tenant signed a boarding house tenancy agreement with RB Residences Ltd as landlord for a tenancy starting on 25 May 2021. The bond under the agreement was $1,280.00 (4 weeks rent). There does not appear to be a receipt for the bond endorsed anywhere on the tenancy agreement. There is no other written evidence showing that the bond was paid.
On 2 December 2022 a different company, Manjeet Holdings Limited, wrote to the tenant confirming that his tenancy was ending on 19 December 2022, in accordance with an earlier 28-day notice given on 21 November 2022. The letter said that bond refunds would be forwarded to TBT Property Management and RB Residences for processing. The tenant says that TBT Property Management took over management of the boarding house. He does not know who Manjeet Holdings Limited are.
There is a change of landlord form dated 19 December 2022, identifying the previous landlord as TBT Property Management. The new landlord, with effect from 2 November 2022, is identified as “ANT Group”. The agent of this entity is Tom Te Amo. I note that someone called Tom has signed the letter from Manjeet Holdings Limited.
It is difficult to follow these changes in management. So far as the tenant is concerned, the bond was paid to RB Residences and was not further transferred. He has called Tenancy Services who advise that the bond was not lodged. I also called the Bond Centre after the hearing, and no bond relating to the room occupied by the tenant has been lodged in the names of any of the landlords.
The tenant tells me a bond was paid and I accept his evidence in the absence of anything to the contrary. I order refund of the bond. It is unlikely that the tenant would have been permitted to remain at the tenancy address for about 18 months if the bond, required on the face of the boarding house tenancy, had not been paid.
As to exemplary damages, non-lodgement of bond money is a breach of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 which the Tribunal takes very seriously. Here, however, there is so much confusion in the background facts that I consider it would be unsafe to award exemplary damages.
For example, there is a document provided by the tenant which appears to be part of a tenancy agreement with TBT Property Management. The document refers to $350.00 for rent in advance and a bond of $1,400.00 and identifies these as move in costs totalling $1,750.00. The tenant says no bond was paid to TBT Property Management and he was unable to shed further light on the document. It is not clear why a successor landlord would require move in costs from a tenant already in residence. Filing fee and name suppression
The tenant has partly succeeded. I award the filing fee.
I also grant name suppression as requested.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4605851 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4605851 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Key findings

Frequently asked questions