What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4740873 about?

The tribunal order states: The tenancy of Penati Seuiavatele and Tumema Seuiavatele at [Tenancy

How much money was awarded in case 4740873?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,322.13 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4740873?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4740873?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9720073-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4740873 about?

The tribunal order states: The tenancy of Penati Seuiavatele and Tumema Seuiavatele at [Tenancy

How much money was awarded in case 4740873?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,322.13 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4740873?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4740873?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9720073-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4740873 — Rent arrears

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4740873 — net $2,342.57 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 16.11.2023	$2,322.13	Rent arrears to 16.11.2023
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,342.57
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,342.57

[The landlord’s support person 1] and [The landlord’s support person 2] as support people, both attended the hearing on behalf of the landlord. The phone numbers for the tenants, the last three digits being 249 and 469 respectively, were called without response. As the tenants were served, the hearing proceeded in their absence.

The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy for abandonment and rent arrears.

Should the tenancy be terminated?

The Tribunal may terminate the tenancy where the premises have been abandoned and rent is in arrears at the hearing date. See section 61 Residential Tenancies Act 1986. A tenancy is abandoned where the tenant leaves the premises without reasonable excuse, not intending to return or to meet their obligations, and fails to notify the landlord.

On 19 October 2023 the landlord became aware (or ought to have been aware) that the tenant had abandoned the premises. On 19 October 2023, the landlord visited the property to investigate a high water usage reading and discovered the tenants were not living there. The landlord said one of the tenant’s sister, Linda, who was at the property on 19 October 2023, told them the tenants had gone to Australia with their children. [The landlord’s support person 1] said Tumema Seuiavatele had told him her husband had gone to Australia for a funeral and would not be back until September 2023 but it appeared that she had also gone to Australia and had taken their children with her. He said he has tried repeatedly to reach the tenants by email and phone since 19 October 2023, and sent them two 14-day notices about not living at the property and rent arrears, to no avail.

The landlord said they visited the property on 4 December 2023, the day before the hearing, that nobody was home then and the letterbox was filled with uncollected mail. Based on the landlord’s evidence, which was uncontradicted, I find the premises have likely been abandoned.

Because the premises have been abandoned, and rent is in arrears, the tenancy is terminated immediately.

How much does the tenant owe?

The landlord provided rent records which prove the amount owing to 11 December 2023, which is $2,970.00, which they claimed.

However, this is a periodic tenancy. Section 61(3)(a) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (“RTA”) provides that a tenant who abandons the premises in a periodic tenancy shall be liable to pay the rent for 28 days after the date specified by the Tribunal as the date the landlord first became aware, or ought reasonably to have become aware, that the tenant had abandoned the premises.

As I have found the landlord became aware that the tenant had abandoned the property on 19 October 2023, the tenant is liable for rent for 28 days after that, which is to 16 November 2023.

The landlord provided rent records which prove the amount owing to 13 November 2023, which is $2,248.00. No payments were made by the tenant after 8 September 2023 on the rent records. Weekly rent is $173.00 so daily rent is $24.71. A further 3 days rent @ $24.71 is payable from 14 November 2023 to 16 November 2023, for a sub-total of $74.14. Therefore, the tenants owe the landlord a total of $2,322.13 in rent to 16 November 2023. The amount ordered includes rent in lieu of notice.

Because [The landlord/s] has been successful with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee.

The landlord requested suppression, which I grant as they have been successful with the claim. Therefore, I order that the landlord’s name and identifying details and the tenancy address are not to be published. See section 95A(1) RTA.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4740873 — net $2,342.57 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 16.11.2023	$2,322.13	Rent arrears to 16.11.2023
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,342.57
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,342.57

Order

The tenancy of Penati Seuiavatele and Tumema Seuiavatele at [Tenancy address suppressed] is terminated, and possession is granted to [The landlord/s], immediately.
Penati Seuiavatele and Tumema Seuiavatele must pay [The landlord/s] $2,342.57 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below:

Reasons

[The landlord’s support person 1] and [The landlord’s support person 2] as support people, both attended the hearing on behalf of the landlord. The phone numbers for the tenants, the last three digits being 249 and 469 respectively, were called without response. As the tenants were served, the hearing proceeded in their absence.
The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy for abandonment and rent arrears.

Should the tenancy be terminated?

The Tribunal may terminate the tenancy where the premises have been abandoned and rent is in arrears at the hearing date. See section 61 Residential Tenancies Act 1986. A tenancy is abandoned where the tenant leaves the premises without reasonable excuse, not intending to return or to meet their obligations, and fails to notify the landlord.
On 19 October 2023 the landlord became aware (or ought to have been aware) that the tenant had abandoned the premises. On 19 October 2023, the landlord visited the property to investigate a high water usage reading and discovered the tenants were not living there. The landlord said one of the tenant’s sister, Linda, who was at the property on 19 October 2023, told them the tenants had gone to Australia with their children. [The landlord’s support person 1] said Tumema Seuiavatele had told him her husband had gone to Australia for a funeral and would not be back until September 2023 but it appeared that she had also gone to Australia and had taken their children with her. He said he has tried repeatedly to reach the tenants by email and phone since 19 October 2023, and sent them two 14-day notices about not living at the property and rent arrears, to no avail.
The landlord said they visited the property on 4 December 2023, the day before the hearing, that nobody was home then and the letterbox was filled with uncollected mail. Based on the landlord’s evidence, which was uncontradicted, I find the premises have likely been abandoned.
Because the premises have been abandoned, and rent is in arrears, the tenancy is terminated immediately.

How much does the tenant owe?

The landlord provided rent records which prove the amount owing to 11 December 2023, which is $2,970.00, which they claimed.
However, this is a periodic tenancy. Section 61(3)(a) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (“RTA”) provides that a tenant who abandons the premises in a periodic tenancy shall be liable to pay the rent for 28 days after the date specified by the Tribunal as the date the landlord first became aware, or ought reasonably to have become aware, that the tenant had abandoned the premises.
As I have found the landlord became aware that the tenant had abandoned the property on 19 October 2023, the tenant is liable for rent for 28 days after that, which is to 16 November 2023.
The landlord provided rent records which prove the amount owing to 13 November 2023, which is $2,248.00. No payments were made by the tenant after 8 September 2023 on the rent records. Weekly rent is $173.00 so daily rent is $24.71. A further 3 days rent @ $24.71 is payable from 14 November 2023 to 16 November 2023, for a sub-total of $74.14. Therefore, the tenants owe the landlord a total of $2,322.13 in rent to 16 November 2023. The amount ordered includes rent in lieu of notice.
Because [The landlord/s] has been successful with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee.
The landlord requested suppression, which I grant as they have been successful with the claim. Therefore, I order that the landlord’s name and identifying details and the tenancy address are not to be published. See section 95A(1) RTA.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4740873 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4740873 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Should the tenancy be terminated?

How much does the tenant owe?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Should the tenancy be terminated?

How much does the tenant owe?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions