What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4709769 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] must pay Berrymans Property Management & Rentals Limited As

How much money was awarded in case 4709769?

Cleaning: $161.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $77.63 awarded to landlord; Meth Testing: $1,205.50 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $789.29 awarded to landlord; Smoke Alarms: $29.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4709769?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Cleanliness, Property damage, Smoke alarms.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4709769?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9671927-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4709769 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] must pay Berrymans Property Management & Rentals Limited As

How much money was awarded in case 4709769?

Cleaning: $161.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $77.63 awarded to landlord; Meth Testing: $1,205.50 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $789.29 awarded to landlord; Smoke Alarms: $29.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4709769?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Cleanliness, Property damage, Smoke alarms.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4709769?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9671927-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

1 Waimarie Park, Levin, Levin 5510 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4709769 — Rent arrears

Tenantcheck Insights

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4709769 — net $582.86 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears	$789.29	Rent arrears
Lock/key replacement: garage	$77.63	Lock/key replacement: garage
Replace furnishings: smoke alarm	$29.00	Replace furnishings: smoke alarm
Meth testing	$1,205.50	Meth testing
Carpet Cleaning	$161.00	Carpet Cleaning
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$582.86
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$582.86

[The tenant/s] must pay Berrymans Property Management & Rentals Limited As Agent For Aurora Ltd & Theodorus Bernardus Alfons Van Schoonhoven $582.86 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below. DescriptionLandlord Rent arrears$789.29 Lock/key replacement: garage$77.63 Replace furnishings: smoke alarm$29.00 Meth testing$1,205.50 Carpet Cleaning$161.00 Filing fee reimbursement$20.44 Total award$2,282.86 Bond$1,700.00 Total payable by Tenant to Landlord$582.86

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.

The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

How much is owed for rent?

The tenancy ended on 6 September 2023. The landlord provided rent records which prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy.

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and leave all chattels provided for their benefit. See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

The landlord provided photographic evidence that the carpets were not left in a reasonably clean condition at the end of the tenancy and I am satisfied that the marks and staining result from more than fair wear and tear.

The tenant acknowledged during the tenancy that she was responsible for the replacement of a garage door key and a smoke alarm.

The amounts ordered are proved. Methamphetamine contamination

The landlord has applied for compensation for the cost of methamphetamine testing and remediation.

The landlord must prove that the tenant caused or permitted the contamination, or that it was caused by someone at the premises with the tenant’s consent. The landlord must also prove that, as a result of the contamination, the premises have been damaged or are not reasonably clean.

Section 138C Residential Tenancies Act 1986 provides for regulations to be made prescribing the maximum acceptable level for contaminants, but as yet no regulations have been made in relation to methamphetamine.

There are currently two sources of guidance on the issue of a safe level of methamphetamine contamination in residential premises. In June 2017 Standards New Zealand published NZS 8510:2017. The standard recommended a maximum contamination level of 1.5μg/100cm2 for high use areas where contamination has resulted from both consumption and manufacture. It recommended a higher level of 3.8μg/100cm2 for limited use areas.

In May 2018 Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, the then Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor, released a report "Methamphetamine contamination in residential properties: Exposures, risk levels, and interpretation of standards”. The report noted that there is a lack of scientific evidence to prove that low-level third-hand methamphetamine exposure poses a health risk to humans. It stated that guidelines should be proportionate to risk and that exposure to a level below 15μg/100cm2 was unlikely to have an adverse effect. It recommended retaining the level of 1.5μg/100cm2 where contamination resulted from manufacture, due to the risk posed by harmful chemicals used in the process.

The District Court has held that remediation should be carried out in accordance with the prevailing guidelines at the time (Diamond Real Estate Limited v Allan [2017] NZDC 833, Judge Kellar).

The Tribunal has generally applied the Gluckman recommendation. This approach was approved by the District Court in Full Circle Real Estate Limited v Piper [2019] NZDC 4947, where the Court stated (at para [36]): “The Tenancy Tribunal was in a difficult position. The best state of knowledge of risk to human health from methamphetamine contamination available to the adjudicator was the Gluckman Report. It would have been bold for the adjudicator to have ignored that report in favour of the New Zealand Standard given that the Gluckman report represents the current scientific knowledge on the risk to human health from methamphetamine contamination in dwellings.”

The District Court took a similar approach in Acme Realty Limited v Hogg and others [2021] NZDC 3231, where the Court referred to the Full Circle case and held that, because NZS 8510:2017 has not been adopted into law, the Tribunal was not bound to apply the 1.5μg standard.

More recently, in Barfoot and Thompson Limited v Kāhui Tū Kaha Limited [2021] NZTT Auckland 4276319, both parties presented scientific evidence at a hearing before the Tribunal. The Tribunal concluded that there was no new scientific research to change the conclusions reached in the Gluckman Report.

The landlord’s evidence did not disclose contamination at a level greater than the 15μg/100cm2 level in the Gluckman report. It follows that the landlord’s claim for the costs of decontamination cleaning must be dismissed. Methamphetamine testing costs

The landlord has also claimed for the cost of methamphetamine testing.

It is an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 for any person to have in their possession or consume any controlled drug and to allow any premises to be used for the commission of an offence under that Act and (sections 7 and 12). “Methamphetamine” is included as a controlled drug under Schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs Act.

It follows that the consumption of methamphetamine on premises amounts to the use of those premises for an unlawful purpose, in breach of section 40(2)(b) RTA. The tenant was therefore in breach of her obligations under the RTA.

It is appropriate in these circumstances to award the landlord the costs incurred in having the property tested for contamination at the end of the tenancy as it was prudent for the landlord to have the tests done, given the positive proof that methamphetamine was consumed in the property in breach of the tenant’s obligations. Suppression

The tenancy ended because the tenant died. Her daughter guaranteed her late mother’s liability under the tenancy agreement. It is appropriate in these circumstances that the tenant’s name be suppressed to protect the tenant’s daughter’s identity. Filing fee

Because Berrymans Property Management & Rentals Limited As Agent For Aurora Ltd & Theodorus Bernardus Alfons Van Schoonhoven has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4709769 — net $582.86 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears	$789.29	Rent arrears
Lock/key replacement: garage	$77.63	Lock/key replacement: garage
Replace furnishings: smoke alarm	$29.00	Replace furnishings: smoke alarm
Meth testing	$1,205.50	Meth testing
Carpet Cleaning	$161.00	Carpet Cleaning
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$582.86
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$582.86