What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4655909 about?

The tribunal order states: Sweet Snow Limited T/As Frienz Backpackers must pay [The tenant/s]

How much money was awarded in case 4655909?

Property Damage: $250.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4655909?

The primary dispute was Exemplary damages.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4655909?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9874905-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4655909 about?

The tribunal order states: Sweet Snow Limited T/As Frienz Backpackers must pay [The tenant/s]

How much money was awarded in case 4655909?

Property Damage: $250.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4655909?

The primary dispute was Exemplary damages.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4655909?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9874905-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

Room 405, 27-31 Victoria Street East, Auckland Central, Tenancy Tribunal Case 4655909 — Exemplary damages

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4655909 — net $1,910.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Bond refund	$1,640.00	Bond refund
Exemplary damages: Bond not lodged	$250.00	Bond not lodged
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$1,910.44
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$1,910.44

Both parties attended the hearing.

A hearing was held in September 2023 and an order dated 25 September 2023 confirms that the Tribunal has jurisdiction to hear this claim.

The tenancy began on 27 May 2022 and ended on 29 December 2022. The weekly rent was $410.00, and the bond was $1,640.00.

The bond was paid to the landlord by Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) on behalf of the tenant. The tenant produced a document showing that the bond payment was a recoverable assistance payment. Therefore, the tenant was required to reimburse WINZ for this money. The tenant paid the weekly rent directly to the landlord.

At the end of the tenancy the landlord did not refund the bond to the tenant.

At the hearing the landlord claimed that the bond money was paid to WINZ. A document was produced by the landlord which is dated 7 March 2023. It shows a payment to WINZ but there is no amount and no clear evidence to link the document to this tenancy.

If the landlord paid the bond money to WINZ, this is an error. The bond money is the tenant’s and should have been refunded to him at the end of the tenancy. Bond not lodged

[The tenant/s] claims the landlord has not lodged the bond with the Bond Centre within the required time.

A landlord must send any bond payment to the Bond Centre within 23 working days after the payment is received. See section 19(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act for which the Tribunal may award exemplary damages up to a maximum of $1,500.00. See section 19(2) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

The landlord said that the bond was not lodged because the Residential Tenancies Act did not apply to them because they provided temporary accommodation. I find they have committed an unlawful act.

Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

The landlord claims that they only provided temporary accommodation and yet the tenant said that there was no limit to the time that he could remain living there. The Tribunal earlier confirmed that the tenancy is subject to the Residential Tenancies Act. The bond should have been lodged with the Bond Centre. The failure to lodge the bond has resulted in the landlord claiming that the bond has been refunded to WINZ which is an error. If the bond was lodged with the Bond Centre, it would have been refunded to the tenant and not WINZ.

It is in the public interest that bond money is lodged with the Bond Centre to ensure that the money is held independently and to avoid disputes as to who the money is to be paid to at the end of tenancies.

I consider that an award of $250.00 is reasonable in the circumstances.

Because [The applicant/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee. For the same reason I suppress the tenant’s name.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4655909 — net $1,910.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Bond refund	$1,640.00	Bond refund
Exemplary damages: Bond not lodged	$250.00	Bond not lodged
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$1,910.44
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$1,910.44

Order

Sweet Snow Limited T/As Frienz Backpackers must pay [The tenant/s] $1,910.44 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
A hearing was held in September 2023 and an order dated 25 September 2023 confirms that the Tribunal has jurisdiction to hear this claim.
The tenancy began on 27 May 2022 and ended on 29 December 2022. The weekly rent was $410.00, and the bond was $1,640.00.
The bond was paid to the landlord by Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) on behalf of the tenant. The tenant produced a document showing that the bond payment was a recoverable assistance payment. Therefore, the tenant was required to reimburse WINZ for this money. The tenant paid the weekly rent directly to the landlord.
At the end of the tenancy the landlord did not refund the bond to the tenant.
At the hearing the landlord claimed that the bond money was paid to WINZ. A document was produced by the landlord which is dated 7 March 2023. It shows a payment to WINZ but there is no amount and no clear evidence to link the document to this tenancy.
If the landlord paid the bond money to WINZ, this is an error. The bond money is the tenant’s and should have been refunded to him at the end of the tenancy. Bond not lodged
[The tenant/s] claims the landlord has not lodged the bond with the Bond Centre within the required time.
A landlord must send any bond payment to the Bond Centre within 23 working days after the payment is received. See section 19(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act for which the Tribunal may award exemplary damages up to a maximum of $1,500.00. See section 19(2) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord said that the bond was not lodged because the Residential Tenancies Act did not apply to them because they provided temporary accommodation. I find they have committed an unlawful act.
Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord claims that they only provided temporary accommodation and yet the tenant said that there was no limit to the time that he could remain living there. The Tribunal earlier confirmed that the tenancy is subject to the Residential Tenancies Act. The bond should have been lodged with the Bond Centre. The failure to lodge the bond has resulted in the landlord claiming that the bond has been refunded to WINZ which is an error. If the bond was lodged with the Bond Centre, it would have been refunded to the tenant and not WINZ.
It is in the public interest that bond money is lodged with the Bond Centre to ensure that the money is held independently and to avoid disputes as to who the money is to be paid to at the end of tenancies.
I consider that an award of $250.00 is reasonable in the circumstances.
Because [The applicant/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee. For the same reason I suppress the tenant’s name.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4655909 — Exemplary damages at Room 405, 27-31 Victoria Street East, Auckland Central,

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4655909 — Exemplary damages at Room 405, 27-31 Victoria Street East, Auckland Central,

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions