What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4732449 about?

The tribunal order states: Rachel Kawana must pay [The landlord/s] $345.70 immediately, calculated as

How much money was awarded in case 4732449?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $205.26 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,360.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4732449?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4732449?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10048863-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4732449 about?

The tribunal order states: Rachel Kawana must pay [The landlord/s] $345.70 immediately, calculated as

How much money was awarded in case 4732449?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $205.26 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,360.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4732449?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4732449?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10048863-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4732449 — Rent arrears

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New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4732449 — Rent arrears | TenantCheck

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4732449 — net $345.70 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears at end of tenancy	$2,360.00	Rent arrears at end of tenancy
Window repairs	$205.26	Window repairs
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$345.70
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$345.70

Claims and awards for application 4732449 — net $345.70 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Rent arrears at end of tenancy

Amount: $2,360.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rent arrears at end of tenancy

Window repairs

Amount: $205.26
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Window repairs

Filing fee reimbursement

Amount: $20.44
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Filing fee reimbursement

Net award

Landlord $345.70

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $345.70

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Filing Fee Property damage Rent arrears

Order

Rachel Kawana must pay [The landlord/s] $345.70 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,240.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.

Reasons

The Tribunal must consider an application filed by the landlord. DescriptionLandlord Rent arrears at end of tenancy$2,360.00 Window repairs$205.26 Filing fee reimbursement$20.44 Total award$2,585.70 Minus bond- $2,240.00 Total payable by Tenant to Landlord$345.70
Only the landlord appeared at the hearing this afternoon. I note that I have telephoned the tenant on the numbers available on the Tribunals file, those are the phone numbers ending 303, 267, and 615. Two of the calls went to voicemail, one went unanswered. I note that the registry has also tried calling the tenant and records having no success either. I am satisfied that the tenant has been property notified of the hearing, and therefore I will proceed to consider the claim in her absence.

BACKGROUND

The tenancy commenced on 12 September 2022. There were initially two co-tenants, but by the end of the tenancy the sole tenant was Rachel Tiana Kawana.
The tenancy ended by way of notice from the tenant, and possession returned to the landlord on 29 September 2023.

RELEVANT LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

The relevant law that applies is found in the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (“RTA”).
With any claim before the Tenancy Tribunal, the Tribunal applies the usual civil law standards and expectations.
That includes a requirement that the party bringing the claim (the applicant), establish their claims “on the balance of probabilities”. The balance of probabilities means more likely than un-likely, or in mathematical terms, has a fractionally more than 50% likelihood. The Tribunal does not need to be certain or very sure about any claim, only that what is claimed is likely.
This obligation carried by the applicant is referred to as the “burden of proof”. Independent witnesses, corroborating documents and photographs are an important part of discharging this burden.

RENT ARREARS

The landlord has applied for an order that the tenant pay rent arrears.
The landlord has provided the Tribunal with a rent ledger. I have no reason to consider that record to be incorrect.
The landlord has established that the tenant is in arrears to the amount claimed, and that is ordered in full to the sum of $2,360.00.

COMPENSATION

The landlord seeks compensation for two charges, that relates to the costs for a handyman (which I will detail below), and a window repair.
The invoice for the handyman is for work comprising: a. Repair of a hole in the wall b. Refitting curtain tracks in the bathroom c. Refitting curtain tracks in a bedroom.
Where a landlord claims compensation for damage caused by a tenant, the landlord must firstly prove the damage is more than fair wear and tear. If this is established, to avoid liability, the tenant must prove they did not carelessly or intentionally cause or permit the damage. Tenants are liable for the actions of people at the premises with their permission.
In this case I decline to order the costs for the handyman’s work. As I noted to the landlord at the hearing, in my assessment the photographs of the tenancy taken before the tenancy commenced, showed the hole in the wall that the handyman repaired. It was therefore pre-existing the tenancy. The landlord accepted that was the case. In relation to the two claim for the curtains, there is insufficient evidence available for me to be satisfied that this work was not required for maintenance purposes. For those reasons I decline to order the costs for the handyman’s work.
However I accept that the window was broken at the end of the tenancy. I accept this was not damage from fair wear and tear. The tenant has not proven the damage was anything other than careless or intentional damage. I therefore order the tenant to pay the window repair charge of $205.26.

FILING FEE

The applicant has been mostly successful in their claim before the Tribunal. I find it is reasonable therefore to award the filing fee paid to commence the proceeding in the Tribunal, which is $20.44.

NAME SUPPRESSION

The Tribunal can order name suppression when a party has been wholly or substantially successful in the proceeding. In this case landlord has applied for name suppression. Because the landlord has been substantially successful, landlord name suppression is ordered.

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4732449 — net $345.70 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears at end of tenancy	$2,360.00	Rent arrears at end of tenancy
Window repairs	$205.26	Window repairs
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$345.70
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$345.70

Claims and awards for application 4732449 — net $345.70 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Rent arrears at end of tenancy

Amount: $2,360.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rent arrears at end of tenancy

Window repairs

Amount: $205.26
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Window repairs

Filing fee reimbursement

Amount: $20.44
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Filing fee reimbursement

Net award

Landlord $345.70

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $345.70

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Filing Fee Property damage Rent arrears

Order

Rachel Kawana must pay [The landlord/s] $345.70 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,240.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.

Reasons

The Tribunal must consider an application filed by the landlord. DescriptionLandlord Rent arrears at end of tenancy$2,360.00 Window repairs$205.26 Filing fee reimbursement$20.44 Total award$2,585.70 Minus bond- $2,240.00 Total payable by Tenant to Landlord$345.70
Only the landlord appeared at the hearing this afternoon. I note that I have telephoned the tenant on the numbers available on the Tribunals file, those are the phone numbers ending 303, 267, and 615. Two of the calls went to voicemail, one went unanswered. I note that the registry has also tried calling the tenant and records having no success either. I am satisfied that the tenant has been property notified of the hearing, and therefore I will proceed to consider the claim in her absence.

BACKGROUND

The tenancy commenced on 12 September 2022. There were initially two co-tenants, but by the end of the tenancy the sole tenant was Rachel Tiana Kawana.
The tenancy ended by way of notice from the tenant, and possession returned to the landlord on 29 September 2023.

RELEVANT LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

The relevant law that applies is found in the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (“RTA”).
With any claim before the Tenancy Tribunal, the Tribunal applies the usual civil law standards and expectations.
That includes a requirement that the party bringing the claim (the applicant), establish their claims “on the balance of probabilities”. The balance of probabilities means more likely than un-likely, or in mathematical terms, has a fractionally more than 50% likelihood. The Tribunal does not need to be certain or very sure about any claim, only that what is claimed is likely.
This obligation carried by the applicant is referred to as the “burden of proof”. Independent witnesses, corroborating documents and photographs are an important part of discharging this burden.

RENT ARREARS

The landlord has applied for an order that the tenant pay rent arrears.
The landlord has provided the Tribunal with a rent ledger. I have no reason to consider that record to be incorrect.
The landlord has established that the tenant is in arrears to the amount claimed, and that is ordered in full to the sum of $2,360.00.

COMPENSATION

The landlord seeks compensation for two charges, that relates to the costs for a handyman (which I will detail below), and a window repair.
The invoice for the handyman is for work comprising: a. Repair of a hole in the wall b. Refitting curtain tracks in the bathroom c. Refitting curtain tracks in a bedroom.
Where a landlord claims compensation for damage caused by a tenant, the landlord must firstly prove the damage is more than fair wear and tear. If this is established, to avoid liability, the tenant must prove they did not carelessly or intentionally cause or permit the damage. Tenants are liable for the actions of people at the premises with their permission.
In this case I decline to order the costs for the handyman’s work. As I noted to the landlord at the hearing, in my assessment the photographs of the tenancy taken before the tenancy commenced, showed the hole in the wall that the handyman repaired. It was therefore pre-existing the tenancy. The landlord accepted that was the case. In relation to the two claim for the curtains, there is insufficient evidence available for me to be satisfied that this work was not required for maintenance purposes. For those reasons I decline to order the costs for the handyman’s work.
However I accept that the window was broken at the end of the tenancy. I accept this was not damage from fair wear and tear. The tenant has not proven the damage was anything other than careless or intentional damage. I therefore order the tenant to pay the window repair charge of $205.26.

FILING FEE

The applicant has been mostly successful in their claim before the Tribunal. I find it is reasonable therefore to award the filing fee paid to commence the proceeding in the Tribunal, which is $20.44.

NAME SUPPRESSION

The Tribunal can order name suppression when a party has been wholly or substantially successful in the proceeding. In this case landlord has applied for name suppression. Because the landlord has been substantially successful, landlord name suppression is ordered.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4732449 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4732449 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

BACKGROUND

RELEVANT LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

RENT ARREARS

COMPENSATION

FILING FEE

NAME SUPPRESSION

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

BACKGROUND

RELEVANT LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

RENT ARREARS

COMPENSATION

FILING FEE

NAME SUPPRESSION

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions