Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 4747210 — Rent arrears at 29 Ida Road, Outer Kaiti, Gisborne 4010
Decided 5 Dec 2023 · Published 5 Dec 2023 · Application 4747210
Landlord favoured
- Rent arrears
Order
- The tenancy of Laura Taunoa at 29 Ida Road, Outer Kaiti, Gisborne 4010 is terminated, and possession is granted to Home Rental Services Limited, at 11:59pm on Sunday 10 December 2023.
- The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $1,320.00 (3397447-006) to Home Rental Services Limited immediately.
- Laura Taunoa must pay Home Rental Services Limited $23.28 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below:
Reasons
- Ms Kristensen attended the hearing on behalf of the landlord. The tenant, Ms Taunoa, did not attend. As the tenant was served, the hearing proceeded in her absence.
- The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy, rent arrears and refund of the bond.
- The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy for breach of the tenant’s obligations pursuant to section 56 Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (“RTA”), as well as pursuant to section 55(1)(a) RTA.
Should the tenancy be terminated?
- The Tribunal may terminate a tenancy for breach where, due to the nature or extent of the breach, it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate. See section 56(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
- Where the breach is not capable of remedy, the landlord is not expressly required to serve a 14-day breach notice on the tenant. A breach is not capable to remedy where the thing done, or its effect, cannot be undone.
- However, unless the breach is serious, the Tribunal usually requires the landlord to have warned the tenant about the likely consequences of continued breach before it will exercise its discretion to terminate.
- The landlord said the tenant has breached their obligations by not living at the property and by subletting the property to her sister, without the landlord’s consent. Whilst the landlord said they consented to the tenant’s sister staying at the property for a couple of months from around April 2023 while the tenant was away, the landlord maintained the tenant’s sister still lives at the property while the tenant does not, and the locks have now been changed. The landlord stated that they have been unable to reach the tenant. The landlord believed this was a breach incapable of remedy.
- I do not find this to be a breach incapable of remedy, as it is a situation that could be remedied by the tenant.
- With a breach capable of remedy, the landlord must serve a 14-day notice on the tenant in relation to the breach alleged, which the landlord has not done here. Therefore, the landlord’s claim for termination pursuant to section 56 RTA must fail and is dismissed.
- However, rent was at least 21 days in arrears on the date the application was filed. The tenancy is terminated. See section 55(1)(a) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
- The landlord provided rent records which prove the amount owing to 4 December 2023, which is $980.00. Weekly rent is $400.00 so daily rent is $57.14. A further 6 days rent @ $57.14 is payable from 5 December 2023 to 10 December 2023, for a sub-total of $342.84. Therefore, the tenant owes the landlord a total of $1,322.84 to 10 December 2023, which is the end of the tenancy.
- Because Home Rental Services Limited has been successful with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee.