What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4720814 about?

The tribunal order states: Fahey Property Management Limited must pay [The tenant/s] $520.44

How much money was awarded in case 4720814?

Compensation: Power Bills Refund: $500.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4720814?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4720814?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9890857-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4720814 about?

The tribunal order states: Fahey Property Management Limited must pay [The tenant/s] $520.44

How much money was awarded in case 4720814?

Compensation: Power Bills Refund: $500.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4720814?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4720814?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9890857-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

9B Rama Road, Point Chevalier, Auckland 1022 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4720814 — Tenancy dispute

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4720814 — net $520.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Compensation: Power bills refund	$500.00	Power bills refund
Net award	$520.44
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$520.44

Both parties attended the hearing.

This was a claim and counter claim. The tenant filed her claim on 13 October 2023 for $1500.00 compensation for power bills she has paid to the landlord.

The landlord filed a counterclaim on 24 October 2023. However, the landlord’s claim was only to refute the tenant claim. I confirmed with the landlord at the hearing that the landlord does not actually have a counterclaim. There is no counterclaim for the landlord and so I only need to deal with the tenant’s claim.

The tenant claims that since 2019 there has been on going issue with the hot water cylinder. As a result of the issues with the hot water cylinder she has had to pay high hot water bills. The tenant’s claim is for compensation to cover the high-power costs.

The landlord accepts that there have been problems with the hot water cylinder over March – May 2023, and has offered the tenant $500.00 compensation. The tenant has rejected the $500.00 and says this is not enough compensation.

The tenant provided power bills and a spread sheet covering the period of January/February 2022 to September 2023. There does appear to have been an increase in the power usage over the time period of March/April 2022 and May/June 2023. There may be other explanations for this other than the hot water cylinder.

In the March – May 2023 the power bills more than doubled. This is the period that the landlord accepts there was a fault with the hot water cylinder that caused the tenant to incur high power bills and offered $500.00 in compensation.

The landlord refers to a google search that provided the average power bills for a family of the tenant’s size and the location. The tenants power bills are in keeping with this search result.

The tenant has advised the landlord that over this time period there were problems with the hot water cylinder. The landlord claims that on each occasion when a problem was made known to them, they advised the landlord directly and a repair person was sent to investigate and remedy. The landlord claims that the tenant has always hindered access to the property when tradespeople try to enter the property for repairs.

The Tribunal heard from a plumber, Peter Rees, who carried out the work on the property. Peter described problems with obtaining access to the property and that the job was not remedied in a reasonable time as a result. Peter said a one and a half to two-day job took months to complete because of the lack of access.

The landlord said that the tenants’ actions have hindered prompt repairs on the hot water cylinder and potentially increased power bills while the repairs were incomplete.

I accept that there have been issues with the hot water cylinder and this was fixed/replaced on a few occasions over the tenancy.

I accept that the landlord has sought to remedy the problems as soon as they were able to gain access to the property.

I accept that the tenant has hindered access as she does not want strangers in her home when she is not present. The tenant confirmed this in the hearing and said she offered to allow tradespeople to come to the property after 3.30pm to carry out repairs.

I accept that the power bills are generally in keeping with homes of a similar size and character in this area.

I do believe though that the landlord should pay the tenant compensation over the March to May 2023 period when the power bills were completely out of line with the usual power bills for that tenant.

I do not believe the tenant has satisfied me that she should receive more than the $500.00 offered by the landlord.

The tenant seeks suppression of her name and details. As she has been successful, I am granting suppression of her name and identifying details.

Because Fahey Property Management Limited has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4720814 — net $520.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Compensation: Power bills refund	$500.00	Power bills refund
Net award	$520.44
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$520.44

Order

Fahey Property Management Limited must pay [The tenant/s] $520.44 immediately, being compensation for excessive power bills and filing fee. DescriptionTenant Filing fee reimbursement $20.44 Compensation: Power bills refund $500.00 Total award $520.44 Total payable by Landlord to Tenant $520.44

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
This was a claim and counter claim. The tenant filed her claim on 13 October 2023 for $1500.00 compensation for power bills she has paid to the landlord.
The landlord filed a counterclaim on 24 October 2023. However, the landlord’s claim was only to refute the tenant claim. I confirmed with the landlord at the hearing that the landlord does not actually have a counterclaim. There is no counterclaim for the landlord and so I only need to deal with the tenant’s claim.
The tenant claims that since 2019 there has been on going issue with the hot water cylinder. As a result of the issues with the hot water cylinder she has had to pay high hot water bills. The tenant’s claim is for compensation to cover the high-power costs.
The landlord accepts that there have been problems with the hot water cylinder over March – May 2023, and has offered the tenant $500.00 compensation. The tenant has rejected the $500.00 and says this is not enough compensation.
The tenant provided power bills and a spread sheet covering the period of January/February 2022 to September 2023. There does appear to have been an increase in the power usage over the time period of March/April 2022 and May/June 2023. There may be other explanations for this other than the hot water cylinder.
In the March – May 2023 the power bills more than doubled. This is the period that the landlord accepts there was a fault with the hot water cylinder that caused the tenant to incur high power bills and offered $500.00 in compensation.
The landlord refers to a google search that provided the average power bills for a family of the tenant’s size and the location. The tenants power bills are in keeping with this search result.
The tenant has advised the landlord that over this time period there were problems with the hot water cylinder. The landlord claims that on each occasion when a problem was made known to them, they advised the landlord directly and a repair person was sent to investigate and remedy. The landlord claims that the tenant has always hindered access to the property when tradespeople try to enter the property for repairs.
The Tribunal heard from a plumber, Peter Rees, who carried out the work on the property. Peter described problems with obtaining access to the property and that the job was not remedied in a reasonable time as a result. Peter said a one and a half to two-day job took months to complete because of the lack of access.
The landlord said that the tenants’ actions have hindered prompt repairs on the hot water cylinder and potentially increased power bills while the repairs were incomplete.
I accept that there have been issues with the hot water cylinder and this was fixed/replaced on a few occasions over the tenancy.
I accept that the landlord has sought to remedy the problems as soon as they were able to gain access to the property.
I accept that the tenant has hindered access as she does not want strangers in her home when she is not present. The tenant confirmed this in the hearing and said she offered to allow tradespeople to come to the property after 3.30pm to carry out repairs.
I accept that the power bills are generally in keeping with homes of a similar size and character in this area.
I do believe though that the landlord should pay the tenant compensation over the March to May 2023 period when the power bills were completely out of line with the usual power bills for that tenant.
I do not believe the tenant has satisfied me that she should receive more than the $500.00 offered by the landlord.
The tenant seeks suppression of her name and details. As she has been successful, I am granting suppression of her name and identifying details.
Because Fahey Property Management Limited has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4720814 — Tenancy dispute at 9B Rama Road, Point Chevalier, Auckland 1022

At a glance

Award balance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4720814 — Tenancy dispute at 9B Rama Road, Point Chevalier, Auckland 1022

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

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Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

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Frequently asked questions