What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4677995 about?

The tribunal order states: [The landlord/s] is granted possession of the premises at [Tenancy address

How much money was awarded in case 4677995?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $5,021.43 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $841.26 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4677995?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Leaks.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4677995?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10846167-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4677995 about?

The tribunal order states: [The landlord/s] is granted possession of the premises at [Tenancy address

How much money was awarded in case 4677995?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $5,021.43 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $841.26 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4677995?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Leaks.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4677995?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10846167-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4677995 — Rent arrears

Tenantcheck Insights

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4677995 — net $3,183.13 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 05/09/2024	$5,021.43	Rent arrears to 05/09/2024
Water rates to end of tenancy less deduction for leak	$841.26	Water rates to end of tenancy less deduction for leak
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$3,183.13
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$3,183.13

[The landlord/s] is granted possession of the premises at [Tenancy address suppressed] immediately.

[The tenant/s] must pay [The landlord/s] $3,183.13 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below:

The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,700.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.

Reasons

Only the landlord attended the hearing today. The tenant did not attend the hearing and did not request an adjournment. The hearing proceeded in her absence. DescriptionLandlord Rent arrears to 05/09/2024$5,021.43 Water rates to end of tenancy less deduction for leak$841.26 Filing fee reimbursement$20.44 Total award$5,883.13 Minus Bond$2,700.00 Total payable by Tenant to Landlord$3,183.13

The landlord applied for termination, possession, rent and water arrears and bond refund.

The tenant cross applied and opposed the water arrears on the basis of leaks at the premises and sought a work order in respect of maintenance at the premises.

This matter was part heard on 20 December 2023 and adjourned for further evidence and for the landlord to undertake work at the premises as requested by the tenant.

The matter was adjourned on 29 April 2024 at the request of the landlord.

The matter was adjourned on 15 July 2024 at the request of the tenant. Possession

The landlord advised today that the tenant gave notice by email to end the tenancy on 19 July 2024. The notice stated that the tenancy would end on 22 July 2024. The landlord responded by email that 28 days’ notice was required. There was some further communication back and forth by email and on 13 August 2024 the tenant advised that she had not abandoned the property as suggested by the landlord and stated, “No I didn’t abandon the property I need to clean the property then I will hand the keys in”.

The property manager stated that she spoke to the tenant by telephone on 4 September 2024 and the tenant advised that she had moved out was finishing cleaning and would return the keys that day or the next day. The keys were not returned. The landlord did not go to the premises until 17 September 2024 and confirmed on that day that the tenant has vacated the premises.

Emails to the tenant after 4 September 2024 were not responded to.

I am satisfied the tenancy ended less than 90 days ago. The requirements of section 64(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 are satisfied. Rent Arrears

The landlord has applied for rent arrears and has provided rent records seeking rent to 18 September 2024.

I have considered the evidence provided and for the following reasons order rent to 5 September 2024 in the sum of $5021.43: (a) The landlord has been seeking termination for rent arrears since this hearing commenced in December 2023. (b) The tenant gave notice to vacate in writing on 19 July 2024 and stated she was leaving by 22 July 2024. (c) The tenant confirmed to the property manager verbally on 4 September 2024 that she had vacated, was finishing cleaning and would return the keys that day or the next day. This was more than 28 days after the notice to vacate was given. The tenant did not return the keys. (d) The landlord did not check the premises until 17 September 2024 at which time it was confirmed that the premises were vacant. (e) The landlord has an obligation to mitigate loss upon breach of contract pursuant to section 49 of the RTA. The tenant failed to return the keys which is a breach of the terms of the RTA, however, the landlord failed to mitigate loss by delaying for two weeks before checking the premises after being advised by the tenant that she had vacated. (f) Therefore. I find that the landlord has not proved on the balance of probabilities that the tenant is liable for rent to 18 September 2024 and order rent to 5 September 2024 being the day after the landlord was verbally notified that the premises were vacated. Water Arrears

The landlord seeks payment of water arrears to the end of the tenancy in the sum of $887.26.

At the hearing in December 2023 the tenant gave evidence that there were water leaks at the premises in the toilet area and also the hot water cylinder was overflowing on to the roof.

The landlord agreed to address these issues and produced an invoice dated 23 January 2024 confirming that both leaks had been investigated. No leak was found in the toilet, but the hot water overflow pipe was repaired.

The January water bill which was an actual reading following an estimate in December was $146.00. This was noticeably higher than most other bills during the tenancy which were closer to $100.00. The Tribunal has reduced the total water ordered by $46.00 being a reduction for the hot water cylinder overflow. Maintenance

At the hearing on 20 December 2023 the tenant raised the following maintenance issues and the landlord agreed to address these: a.Investigate and repair water leak near toilet referred to in Habitat for Humanity Healthy Homes Assessment Report b.Repair leaking downpipe on front deck c.Repair hot water overflow dripping on roof d.Remove spa pool e.Prune large front tree f.Repair front window g.Investigate and confirm whether the woodburner is operational.

The landlord provided invoices today confirming that all of these matters were addressed. In respect of the spa pool an email dated 7 February 2024 was provided advising that the spa pool had been disconnected, cleaned and emptied and the cover would be locked but it could not be removed or decked over.

In the absence of evidence to the contrary from the tenant today I am satisfied from the evidence provided that the landlord has addressed the maintenance issues raised.

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

The Tribunal may on the application of any party or on its own initiative make a suppression order, having regard to the interests of the parties and to the public interest. Section 95A (4) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The tenant has applied for suppression in this case. Both parties have had some success with their applications. Having considered the factors in this case the Tribunal grants suppression of all party identifying details.

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4677995 — net $3,183.13 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 05/09/2024	$5,021.43	Rent arrears to 05/09/2024
Water rates to end of tenancy less deduction for leak	$841.26	Water rates to end of tenancy less deduction for leak
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$3,183.13
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$3,183.13