What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4744489 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] must pay Rentsmart NZ Limited $120.00 from the bond,

How much money was awarded in case 4744489?

Lawns and Garden Work: $120.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4744489?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4744489?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10054265-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4744489 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] must pay Rentsmart NZ Limited $120.00 from the bond,

How much money was awarded in case 4744489?

Lawns and Garden Work: $120.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4744489?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4744489?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10054265-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

45 Guys Hill Road, Hospital Hill, Napier 4110 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4744489 — Tenancy dispute

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4744489 — net $120.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Lawns and Garden work	$120.00	Lawns and Garden work
Net award	$120.00
Bond	$2,920.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$120.00

Both parties attended the hearing.

The landlord has applied for compensation for lawn and garden work following the end of the tenancy.

Although the total claim is for $240.00, the whole of the tenant’s bond of $2,920.00 has remained held at the Bond Centre since the tenancy ended on 30 October 2023. There is no reasonable explanation for the uncontested part of the tenant’s bond not being released.

The landlord claims that the tenant did not meet his obligation to leave the lawns and gardens in reasonably clean and tidy condition at the end of the tenancy. A gardening contractor was engaged, who rendered an invoice for $240.00. The landlord seeks compensation in the amount of that invoice.

The tenant acknowledges that he had a responsibility to maintain the lawns and gardens in a reasonably tidy condition and to leave them in that state at the end of the tenancy.

The tenant disputes the claim saying that he engaged a local teenager to mow the lawns regularly and weeded the gardens himself to make sure they were in a reasonably tidy condition at the end of the tenancy.

The contractor has charged: 2 hours @ $40.00 per hour for “Hedge trimming around [the] property including removal of rubbish” 4 hours @ $40.00 per hour for “Weed eating borders, general weeding, pruning back overgrown shrubs and mowing all lawns – removal of rubbish”

In the absence of contrary evidence, I assume that the refence in the invoice to removal of rubbish means disposing of the clippings and pruning generated by the contractor’s work.

In terms of the agreement, the tenant agreed to, “.......keep the lawns and gardens weeded and in a generally tidy condition.”

In my view the work undertaken by the contractor to trim hedges and prune back overgrown shrubs, extends beyond that obligation.

Evidence shows that the lawns were mowed by the tenant’s lawnmower as part of the usual pattern around 10 days before the end of the tenancy. The invoice from the landlord’s contractor is dated 10 November 2023. The landlord says that the work was done before then, but in the absence of other evidence that is the best evidence of the date on which the work was done.

Photographs show that at the end of the tenancy the lawns were close to the point of needing to be mowed again. However, I do not find it proved that with the lawns having been mowed 10 days before as part of a regular cycle of lawn maintenance contracted by the tenant, that the tenant breached his obligation to keep and leave the lawns reasonably tidy as required.

The tenant’s lawnmower was not engaged to maintain the gardens and by his own admission the tenant is not an experienced gardener.

The photographs show that at the end of the tenancy some of the garden beds were somewhat overgrown and needed clearing of weeds. That was an obligation on the tenant and the landlord is entitled to be compensated for the cost of having that work done.

As best as I can from the evidence available, I assess 3 hours @$40.00 per hour as the part of the contractor’s invoice reasonably attributable to that work.

Given the cost already incurred to the tenant by his bond being withheld since the end of the tenancy, no order is made regarding the filing fee.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4744489 — net $120.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Lawns and Garden work	$120.00	Lawns and Garden work
Net award	$120.00
Bond	$2,920.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$120.00

Order

[The tenant/s] must pay Rentsmart NZ Limited $120.00 from the bond, calculated as shown in the table below:
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,920.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) immediately apportioned as follows: Rentsmart NZ Limited: $120.00 [The tenant/s]: $2,800.00

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for compensation for lawn and garden work following the end of the tenancy.
Although the total claim is for $240.00, the whole of the tenant’s bond of $2,920.00 has remained held at the Bond Centre since the tenancy ended on 30 October 2023. There is no reasonable explanation for the uncontested part of the tenant’s bond not being released.
The landlord claims that the tenant did not meet his obligation to leave the lawns and gardens in reasonably clean and tidy condition at the end of the tenancy. A gardening contractor was engaged, who rendered an invoice for $240.00. The landlord seeks compensation in the amount of that invoice.
The tenant acknowledges that he had a responsibility to maintain the lawns and gardens in a reasonably tidy condition and to leave them in that state at the end of the tenancy.
The tenant disputes the claim saying that he engaged a local teenager to mow the lawns regularly and weeded the gardens himself to make sure they were in a reasonably tidy condition at the end of the tenancy.
The contractor has charged: 2 hours @ $40.00 per hour for “Hedge trimming around [the] property including removal of rubbish” 4 hours @ $40.00 per hour for “Weed eating borders, general weeding, pruning back overgrown shrubs and mowing all lawns – removal of rubbish”
In the absence of contrary evidence, I assume that the refence in the invoice to removal of rubbish means disposing of the clippings and pruning generated by the contractor’s work.
In terms of the agreement, the tenant agreed to, “.......keep the lawns and gardens weeded and in a generally tidy condition.”
In my view the work undertaken by the contractor to trim hedges and prune back overgrown shrubs, extends beyond that obligation.
Evidence shows that the lawns were mowed by the tenant’s lawnmower as part of the usual pattern around 10 days before the end of the tenancy. The invoice from the landlord’s contractor is dated 10 November 2023. The landlord says that the work was done before then, but in the absence of other evidence that is the best evidence of the date on which the work was done.
Photographs show that at the end of the tenancy the lawns were close to the point of needing to be mowed again. However, I do not find it proved that with the lawns having been mowed 10 days before as part of a regular cycle of lawn maintenance contracted by the tenant, that the tenant breached his obligation to keep and leave the lawns reasonably tidy as required.
The tenant’s lawnmower was not engaged to maintain the gardens and by his own admission the tenant is not an experienced gardener.
The photographs show that at the end of the tenancy some of the garden beds were somewhat overgrown and needed clearing of weeds. That was an obligation on the tenant and the landlord is entitled to be compensated for the cost of having that work done.
As best as I can from the evidence available, I assess 3 hours @$40.00 per hour as the part of the contractor’s invoice reasonably attributable to that work.
Given the cost already incurred to the tenant by his bond being withheld since the end of the tenancy, no order is made regarding the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4744489 — Tenancy dispute at 45 Guys Hill Road, Hospital Hill, Napier 4110

At a glance

Award balance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4744489 — Tenancy dispute at 45 Guys Hill Road, Hospital Hill, Napier 4110

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Frequently asked questions

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Frequently asked questions