Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 4664312 — Rent arrears
Decided 4 Oct 2023 · Published 4 Oct 2023 · Application 4664312
- Rent arrears
Party names are redacted in the official published order.
Order
- The Tribunal orders suppression of the Tenant name and identifying details.
- The tenancy ended on 29 August 2023 and the landlord has had possession of the property since that date.
- [The tenant/s] must pay Barfoot & Thompson Limited As Agent For Christopher Chin $359.56 from the bond as shown in the table below:
- The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,520.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) immediately apportioned as follows: Barfoot & Thompson Limited As Agent For Christopher Chin: $1,160.44 [The tenant/s]: $359.56
Reasons
- Representatives for both parties attended the hearing which was held by telephone.
- The sole tenant passed away on 2 August 2023.
- Section 50A of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 provides for termination of the tenancy on the death of a sole tenant as follows: (1) On the death of a sole tenant under a tenancy agreement (whether for a fixed-term tenancy or a periodic tenancy), the tenancy agreement terminates on the earliest of the following dates: (a) the date that is the 21st day after the date on which the personal representative of the tenant or a person who is the tenant’s next of kin gives the landlord written notice of the death of the tenant: (b) the date that is the 21st day after the landlord gives the personal representative of the tenant or a person who is the tenant’s next of kin written notice to vacate the premises that are the subject of the tenancy agreement: (c) the date that is agreed in writing by the landlord with the personal representative of the tenant or with a person who is the tenant’s next of kin: (d) the date determined as the termination date of the tenancy agreement by the Tribunal on the application of the landlord under subsection (2).
- The tenant did not have a Will. Her family has tried to deal with issues on her behalf, including ending the tenancy and accounting for any outstanding rent or water rates. [The tenant’s family] provided the landlord with a copy of the death certificate on 22 August and asked that the tenancy be terminated and whether there was any outstanding rent or water rates.
- The landlord’s approach was to issue a 14-day notice to [The tenant/s] (despite being aware that she was deceased) and apply to the Tribunal for termination of the tenancy for breach of the tenant’s obligations.
- The family emptied and cleaned the premises and returned the keys to the landlord on 29 August 2023. The landlord did not advise [The tenant’s family] of the application to the Tribunal when she returned the keys.
- [The tenant’s family] attended the hearing today on behalf of the Estate of [The tenant/s], even though she had no previous notice of the application.
- The evidence from both parties establishes that the tenancy ended on 29 August 2023 and that the landlord has had possession of the property since that date.
- The landlord also claimed rent arrears to the end of the tenancy and provided a rent summary which establishes the amount claimed of $1,140.
- As the landlord successfully established its claim for rent arrears, I have awarded reimbursement of the filing fee.
- Given the circumstances surrounding the end of the tenancy and this application, I have also suppressed the tenant’s name and identifying details.