What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4645077 about?

The tribunal order states: The Tribunal orders suppression of the name of the tenant.

How much money was awarded in case 4645077?

Verified claim lines are listed on this page.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4645077?

The primary dispute was Leaks. Related themes: State of repair, Smoke alarms, Healthy homes.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4645077?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9630760-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4645077 about?

The tribunal order states: The Tribunal orders suppression of the name of the tenant.

How much money was awarded in case 4645077?

Verified claim lines are listed on this page.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4645077?

The primary dispute was Leaks. Related themes: State of repair, Smoke alarms, Healthy homes.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4645077?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9630760-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

1609 Arapuni Road, Parawera, RD 2, Parawera 3872 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4645077 — Leaks

Tenantcheck Insights

Reasons

[The tenant/s] attended the hearing on 9 November 2023 together with [The trustees] as trustees of the Ngaati Hauaa Tribal Trust.

[The tenant/s] was a tenant at this address from 2014 until 30 April 2021.

The tenancy ended after the landlord gave notice on the grounds that renovations were required.

[The tenant/s] is upset at the way in which she found out that the tenancy was to end and the lack of direct contact or explanation from trustees. She also says that the Trust did not meet its obligations to maintain the premises as she lived for over a year with a leaking roof and having no secure way of locking the front door. My findings from the evidence

The termination of the tenancy was lawful. This is because at the time that the notice was given, a landlord was not required to give or justify a reason for ending a tenancy. The law changed as from 11 February 2021 and a reason is now required.

Once a tenancy has ended, a landlord is free to manage tenancy premises how it chooses. The trustees explained that decisions were made about the house taking into account farm operations, tenancy compliance and other matters. They said that [The tenant/s] was a good tenant, and the tenancy ending was no reflection on her personally.

The trustees also apologised if the management of the process and communication about the ending of the tenancy was impersonal and upsetting.

Other evidence presented at the hearing satisfies me that the Trust and trustees did not meet all their legal obligations during the tenancy.

Specifically, there was no written tenancy agreement (section 13A Residential Tenancies Act 1986) and no smoke alarms from the date that these were required. It became compulsory for landlords to comply with the Residential Tenancies (Smoke Alarms and Insulation) Regulations 2016 (“the Smoke Alarm Regulations”) from 1 July 2016.

Also, I find it to be more probable than not that the landlord failed to repair the roof or provide a secure lock and key for the front door. Other issues were mentioned but there was not enough evidence for me to assess these.

These are significant failings that had a real and lasting impact on the tenant.

The tenant’s application to the Tribunal does not seek compensation or other financial remedy so I have not made a monetary order.

I suppress the tenant’s name as she has been partly successful in establishing her claims and doing so has brought important matters to the attention of the trustees.

After weighing their interests and the public interest, I suppress the names of the trustees from the published order but do not suppress the name of the Trust.