What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4739550 about?

The tribunal order states: [The landlord/s] is granted possession of the premises at 453 Old North Road,

How much money was awarded in case 4739550?

Property Damage: $1,500.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4739550?

The primary dispute was State of repair.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4739550?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9736648-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4739550 about?

The tribunal order states: [The landlord/s] is granted possession of the premises at 453 Old North Road,

How much money was awarded in case 4739550?

Property Damage: $1,500.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4739550?

The primary dispute was State of repair.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4739550?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9736648-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

453 Old North Road, Kumeu, RD 2, Kumeu 0892 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4739550 — State of repair

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4739550 — net $1,500.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Exemplary damages: Failure to maintain	$1,500.00	Failure to maintain
Net award	$1,500.00
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$1,500.00

Order

[The landlord/s] is granted possession of the premises at 453 Old North Road, Kumeu, RD 2, Kumeu 0892 at 5pm, Friday 15 December 2023.
[The landlord/s] must pay [The tenant/s] $1,500.00 immediately.
The remaining applications are dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for termination and compensation for damage. The application for exemplary damages was withdrawn at the hearing.
The tenant has applied for compensation and exemplary damages in relation to flooding, a leak and mould. Landlord application
The landlord has applied for possession of the premises following the termination of the tenancy.
The tenancy ended on 7 August 2023. The landlord applied to the Tribunal for possession on 18 August 2023 when the tenant did not vacate the premises.
The tenant’s explanation for not vacating was that she was confused as to what was happening because she had indicated that she wanted to purchase the property. The landlord emailed the tenant around the time of termination asking for a final inspection. The tenant did not accommodate a final inspection at that time and did not vacate the premises.
The parties have agreed to the date that the tenant is to vacate the premises.
The landlord applied for compensation in relation to two holes in the wall and in relation to two dogs at the property.
The landlord did not provide any evidence in support of these claims other than a quote for repairs. No photographs of any damage or the condition of the premises before the tenancy began were produced.
It seems that the wall holes are related to the tenant’s claim which will be dealt with below. The tenant claims that the previous Property Manager had provided consent for her to have a dog at the premises.
Due to a lack of evidence the claims are dismissed. Tenant’s application
The tenant claims in relation to damage at the premises following the January Auckland floods and in relation to a roof leak.
The tenant claims that the landlord has breached their obligations under section 45 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. Under section 45, a landlord must provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair.
Breaching any of these obligations is an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be awarded up to a maximum of $7,200.00. See section 45(1A) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord failed to maintain the septic tank and water tank after the flood in a timely manner. The landlord failed to repair the roof leak and address the mould issue in a timely manner. The landlord failed to employ an electrician to check the safety of the power at the premises after the roof leak. I find they have committed an unlawful act.
Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The tenant says that due to the floods the septic tank at the premises was flooding and the water tank needed to be emptied and cleaned. The tenant had arranged for contractors to attend at the premises because the landlord had not done so. There are emails from the tenant to the landlord asking for reimbursement for the contractors she got to look at the septic and water tanks. She says that she arranged for a new filter and pump for the water tank.
The landlord says that they contacted the insurance company, and the damage was assessed. The claim was lodged on 20 February which his almost a month after the floods. The landlord says that the insurance claim was completed on 7 March 2023.
It seems that the landlord’s response to the flood was too slow and left the tenant in a situation where the septic tank was flooded, and the water possibly contaminated. This should have been dealt with quicker. The tenant should not have needed to employ contractors herself to look at these issues.
In relation to the mould the tenant emailed the landlord about the leak and mould on 1 May 2023. The landlord arranged for a cleaner to attend to clean the mould but was not able to clean all of it. That is because the mould was in the hot water cupboard and in the wall cavity between the front door and the hot water cupboard.
The tenant’s friend, who is a roofer, temporarily fixed the roof leak. The landlord arranged for roofers to repair the roof in August 2023. The landlord says that the roofer had trouble gaining access to carry out the work.
There is correspondence from the tenant advising the landlord that due to the leak the power was blowing out. The tenant says that the power board is where the leak occurred. The walls below the leak were soft and there were holes in the walls from the water damage. It is these holes that the landlord wanted the tenant to pay for. Behind these holes is where a lot of the mould is located.
The tenant arranged for a family member, who is an electrician, to look at the power issues. He advised that the landlord needed to urgently look at this because it was likely that the water ingress had affected the power supply. The tenant phoned the landlord, but she said that she was busy.
The landlord has either not acted quick enough in respect of these issues, or in relation to the power, has not acted at all.
The landlord’s failure to act has had an effect on the tenant’s enjoyment of the premises and she says it affected her health and the health of her children.
It is in the public interest for landlords to act as soon as they are aware of issues at premises, particularly when those issues can impact on the health and safety of tenants.
I consider that an award of exemplary damages is warranted in the circumstances. An amount equivalent to two weeks rent, being $1,500.00 is reasonable in the circumstances. Filing fee and suppression
As both parties have had some success with their application, I make no award for reimbursement of the filing fee. For the same reason I suppress the names of both the tenant and landlord as sought.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4739550 — net $1,500.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Exemplary damages: Failure to maintain	$1,500.00	Failure to maintain
Net award	$1,500.00
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$1,500.00

Order

[The landlord/s] is granted possession of the premises at 453 Old North Road, Kumeu, RD 2, Kumeu 0892 at 5pm, Friday 15 December 2023.
[The landlord/s] must pay [The tenant/s] $1,500.00 immediately.
The remaining applications are dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for termination and compensation for damage. The application for exemplary damages was withdrawn at the hearing.
The tenant has applied for compensation and exemplary damages in relation to flooding, a leak and mould. Landlord application
The landlord has applied for possession of the premises following the termination of the tenancy.
The tenancy ended on 7 August 2023. The landlord applied to the Tribunal for possession on 18 August 2023 when the tenant did not vacate the premises.
The tenant’s explanation for not vacating was that she was confused as to what was happening because she had indicated that she wanted to purchase the property. The landlord emailed the tenant around the time of termination asking for a final inspection. The tenant did not accommodate a final inspection at that time and did not vacate the premises.
The parties have agreed to the date that the tenant is to vacate the premises.
The landlord applied for compensation in relation to two holes in the wall and in relation to two dogs at the property.
The landlord did not provide any evidence in support of these claims other than a quote for repairs. No photographs of any damage or the condition of the premises before the tenancy began were produced.
It seems that the wall holes are related to the tenant’s claim which will be dealt with below. The tenant claims that the previous Property Manager had provided consent for her to have a dog at the premises.
Due to a lack of evidence the claims are dismissed. Tenant’s application
The tenant claims in relation to damage at the premises following the January Auckland floods and in relation to a roof leak.
The tenant claims that the landlord has breached their obligations under section 45 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. Under section 45, a landlord must provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair.
Breaching any of these obligations is an unlawful act for which exemplary damages may be awarded up to a maximum of $7,200.00. See section 45(1A) and Schedule 1A Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The landlord failed to maintain the septic tank and water tank after the flood in a timely manner. The landlord failed to repair the roof leak and address the mould issue in a timely manner. The landlord failed to employ an electrician to check the safety of the power at the premises after the roof leak. I find they have committed an unlawful act.
Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest. See section 109(3) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
The tenant says that due to the floods the septic tank at the premises was flooding and the water tank needed to be emptied and cleaned. The tenant had arranged for contractors to attend at the premises because the landlord had not done so. There are emails from the tenant to the landlord asking for reimbursement for the contractors she got to look at the septic and water tanks. She says that she arranged for a new filter and pump for the water tank.
The landlord says that they contacted the insurance company, and the damage was assessed. The claim was lodged on 20 February which his almost a month after the floods. The landlord says that the insurance claim was completed on 7 March 2023.
It seems that the landlord’s response to the flood was too slow and left the tenant in a situation where the septic tank was flooded, and the water possibly contaminated. This should have been dealt with quicker. The tenant should not have needed to employ contractors herself to look at these issues.
In relation to the mould the tenant emailed the landlord about the leak and mould on 1 May 2023. The landlord arranged for a cleaner to attend to clean the mould but was not able to clean all of it. That is because the mould was in the hot water cupboard and in the wall cavity between the front door and the hot water cupboard.
The tenant’s friend, who is a roofer, temporarily fixed the roof leak. The landlord arranged for roofers to repair the roof in August 2023. The landlord says that the roofer had trouble gaining access to carry out the work.
There is correspondence from the tenant advising the landlord that due to the leak the power was blowing out. The tenant says that the power board is where the leak occurred. The walls below the leak were soft and there were holes in the walls from the water damage. It is these holes that the landlord wanted the tenant to pay for. Behind these holes is where a lot of the mould is located.
The tenant arranged for a family member, who is an electrician, to look at the power issues. He advised that the landlord needed to urgently look at this because it was likely that the water ingress had affected the power supply. The tenant phoned the landlord, but she said that she was busy.
The landlord has either not acted quick enough in respect of these issues, or in relation to the power, has not acted at all.
The landlord’s failure to act has had an effect on the tenant’s enjoyment of the premises and she says it affected her health and the health of her children.
It is in the public interest for landlords to act as soon as they are aware of issues at premises, particularly when those issues can impact on the health and safety of tenants.
I consider that an award of exemplary damages is warranted in the circumstances. An amount equivalent to two weeks rent, being $1,500.00 is reasonable in the circumstances. Filing fee and suppression
As both parties have had some success with their application, I make no award for reimbursement of the filing fee. For the same reason I suppress the names of both the tenant and landlord as sought.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4739550 — State of repair at 453 Old North Road, Kumeu, RD 2, Kumeu 0892

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4739550 — State of repair at 453 Old North Road, Kumeu, RD 2, Kumeu 0892

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions