How much money was awarded in case 4643970?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,357.14 awarded to landlord; Driveway: $800.00 awarded to landlord; Walls: $6,000.00 awarded to landlord; Replace Furnishings: Carpets: $800.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $616.40 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4643970?

The primary dispute was Property damage. Related themes: Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4643970?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9361477-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

How much money was awarded in case 4643970?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,357.14 awarded to landlord; Driveway: $800.00 awarded to landlord; Walls: $6,000.00 awarded to landlord; Replace Furnishings: Carpets: $800.00 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $616.40 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4643970?

The primary dispute was Property damage. Related themes: Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4643970?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9361477-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4643970 — Property damage

Q: What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4643970 about?

The tribunal order states: An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal

Tenantcheck Insights

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4643970 — net $8,513.98 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears	$2,357.14	Rent arrears
Repairs: walls	$6,000.00	Repairs: walls
Replace furnishings: carpets	$800.00	Replace furnishings: carpets
Window repairs: ranchslider	$616.40	Window repairs: ranchslider
Repairs: driveway	$800.00	Repairs: driveway
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$8,513.98
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$8,513.98

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the Landlord’s name and identifying details.

The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,080.00 to [The landlord/s] immediately.

Sakara Lee Chalmers-Home and Colin James Greenwood must pay [The landlord/s] $8,513.98 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below. DescriptionLandlord Rent arrears$2,357.14 Repairs: walls$6,000.00 Replace furnishings: carpets$800.00 Window repairs: ranchslider$616.40 Repairs: driveway$800.00 Filing fee reimbursement$20.44 Total award$10,593.98 Bond$2,080.00 Total payable by Tenant to Landlord$8,513.98

Reasons

The landlord attended the hearing.

The tenant did not attend the hearing.

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?

The tenancy ended on 25 July 2023. The landlord provided rent records which prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy.

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 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. See section 49B(1) RTA.

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 provided photographic evidence that following damage was caused during the tenancy: a. The glass in a ranch slider was cracked. b. The carpets had been stained and damaged. c. There were numerous holes in the walls in the main bedroom, a smaller bedroom, the kitchen, the lounge and the hallway. d. Wallpaper had been torn off the walls in the smaller bedroom, the kitchen and the hallway. e. The concrete in the driveway had been broken and had sunk into the ground. f. There was superficial damage to the front lawn alongside the driveway.

The damage is more than fair wear and tear and the tenant has not disproved liability for the damage.

The damage to the carpets, the ranch slider, the driveway and the lawn are careless damage. The tenant’s liability for each item of damage is therefore limited to the landlord’s insurance excess of $800.00 or four weeks’ rent whichever is the lesser. The amounts awarded to the landlord for each item of damage are each equivalent to or less than his insurance excess.

The extent of the other damage throughout the property, the amount of that damage in each room or to each wall and the force required to inflict that damage, indicates that this was intentional damage. The tenant’s liability for intentional damage is the landlord’s actual loss and the limit referred to above does not apply.

The amounts ordered are proved.

The Tribunal must take 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, it is necessary to take into account the age and condition of the items at the start of the tenancy and their likely useful lifespan.

The landlord estimated that the wallpaper was over thirty years old. It was worn but serviceable. The landlord would not have needed to replace it but for the damage inflicted by the tenant. It had a residual utility value.

The landlord produced detailed invoices for the repairs to the walls. The landlord is entitled to be reimbursed for the costs of the gib and the plastering of the walls. This comes to some $3,000.00.

In addition, the landlord should be compensated for the costs of finishing the gib board. However, once the finishing of the gib board is completed by wallpapering or painting it, the landlord is in a better position than at the start of the tenancy because he will have a freshly wallpapered and painted property. It is appropriate that the tenant contribute a sum of $3,000.00 to the landlord’s costs for this finishing.

The total cost incurred by the landlord for the repairs and the repapering and painting of the affected rooms is nearly $18,000.00. It is appropriate that the landlord be awarded a sum of $6,000.00 (being $3,000.00 for repairs and $3,000.00 for redecorating) which is one third of his actual costs to reflect that the landlord’s property is now in a better condition that it was in at the start of the tenancy.

The landlord had claimed exemplary damages and for the disposal of rubbish left by the tenant at the property. He withdrew these claims at the hearing.

Because [The landlord/s] has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4643970 — net $8,513.98 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears	$2,357.14	Rent arrears
Repairs: walls	$6,000.00	Repairs: walls
Replace furnishings: carpets	$800.00	Replace furnishings: carpets
Window repairs: ranchslider	$616.40	Window repairs: ranchslider
Repairs: driveway	$800.00	Repairs: driveway
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$8,513.98
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$8,513.98

An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the Landlord’s name and identifying details.

The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,080.00 to [The landlord/s] immediately.

Reasons

The landlord attended the hearing.

The tenant did not attend the hearing.

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?

The tenancy ended on 25 July 2023. The landlord provided rent records which prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

The damage is more than fair wear and tear and the tenant has not disproved liability for the damage.

The amounts ordered are proved.

The landlord produced detailed invoices for the repairs to the walls. The landlord is entitled to be reimbursed for the costs of the gib and the plastering of the walls. This comes to some $3,000.00.

The landlord had claimed exemplary damages and for the disposal of rubbish left by the tenant at the property. He withdrew these claims at the hearing.

Because [The landlord/s] has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4643970 — Property damage

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4643970 — Property damage

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for rent?

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

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for rent?

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions