What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4749931 about?

The tribunal order states: The term of the fixed-term tenancy of [The tenant/s] at [Tenancy address

How much money was awarded in case 4749931?

Compensation: $1,200.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4749931?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4749931?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9770313-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4749931 about?

The tribunal order states: The term of the fixed-term tenancy of [The tenant/s] at [Tenancy address

How much money was awarded in case 4749931?

Compensation: $1,200.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4749931?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4749931?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9770313-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4749931 — Tenancy dispute

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4749931 — net $1,179.56 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Compensation for leaving a fixed term early	$1,200.00		Compensation for leaving a fixed term early
Filing fee reimbursement		$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Total award	$1,200.00	$20.44
Net award	$1,179.56
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,179.56

The term of the fixed-term tenancy of [The tenant/s] at [Tenancy address suppressed] is reduced and now ends at 11.59pm on 22 December 2023.

[The tenant/s] must pay Gold Property Management Limited as agent for Ken and Bronwyn Dawson $1,179.56 on or before 22 December 2023 as calculated in the table below.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing by teleconference. Ms Mills attended on behalf of the landlord.

The tenant has applied for reduction of the fixed-term tenancy due to end on 28 January 2024.

The Tribunal may reduce a fixed term tenancy where: a. there has been an unforeseen change in the applicant’s circumstances; and b. there would be severe hardship to the applicant if the term is not reduced; and c. the applicant’s hardship would be greater than the hardship to the other party if the term is reduced under section 66(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (the Act).

There has been an unforeseen change in the tenant's circumstances. The tenant provided evidence that she has recently suffered a serious setback in her mental health.

The landlord gave the tenant notice earlier this year that the fixed term contract would not be renewed due to the owner’s plans to sell the property.

The tenant gave evidence that on receipt of this notice, and mindful of her deteriorating health, she requested that the landlord agree to reduce the fixed term to enable her to leave early, but the landlord declined to do so. The tenant said she then explained her health situation to the landlord, but the landlord did not agree to allow her to leave the tenancy early.

She feels she cannot continue to live at the tenancy property where she has no support for herself and no assistance to help her care for her 14-month-old child and teenage daughter. She has support available from whanau in Rolleston and has arranged a new tenancy there, with the help of her parents, from 22 December 2023.

The tenant provided a supporting letter from her health care practitioner which confirmed that, “[h]er current living situation is having a significant impact on [her] mental well-being and it would be beneficial for her if she could relocate as soon as possible.”

I have listened carefully to the evidence, and it is clear to me that the tenant is in a fragile and vulnerable state and has serious mental health issues. I am satisfied that the tenant would suffer severe hardship if the term of the tenancy were not reduced.

The landlord’s agent gave evidence that the owner would suffer hardship if the tenancy were reduced.

The agent confirmed that the landlord will lose $3171.00 for 37 days lost rent. The landlord will not be able to let the property due to the short period between the tenant’s proposed new vacate date and the intended sale of the property.

The agent said that the landlord would not be able to amend the sale timeframe at this late stage or commence any pre-sale work required due to the difficulty in getting tradespeople over the Christmas holiday period. The agent confirmed that the landlord had given the tenant correct notice and had made sale plans in reliance on the tenancy ending at the end of the fixed term period.

Although I accept that the landlord will suffer some financial hardship should the tenancy end 37 days early, I find that the tenant’s hardship would be greater if she were made to continue the tenancy to the end of the fixed term.

The fixed term is reduced, and the tenancy will now end on 22 December 2023.

Where the Tribunal reduces a fixed-term tenancy, it may order the tenant to pay the landlord reasonable compensation for any resulting loss under section 66(2) of the Act.

I award compensation of $1200.00 to the landlord. This equates to two weeks rent which I consider sufficient compensation given the proximity of the end of the tenancy and the landlord’s stated intention to sell the property early in the new year.

Given the personal nature of the evidence referred to above, I have suppressed the tenant’s name under section 95A(4) of the Act and it will not appear in the published version of this order.

As [The applicant/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4749931 — net $1,179.56 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Tenant	Reason
Compensation for leaving a fixed term early	$1,200.00		Compensation for leaving a fixed term early
Filing fee reimbursement		$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Total award	$1,200.00	$20.44
Net award	$1,179.56
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,179.56

Order

The term of the fixed-term tenancy of [The tenant/s] at [Tenancy address suppressed] is reduced and now ends at 11.59pm on 22 December 2023.
[The tenant/s] must pay Gold Property Management Limited as agent for Ken and Bronwyn Dawson $1,179.56 on or before 22 December 2023 as calculated in the table below.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing by teleconference. Ms Mills attended on behalf of the landlord.
The tenant has applied for reduction of the fixed-term tenancy due to end on 28 January 2024.
The Tribunal may reduce a fixed term tenancy where: a. there has been an unforeseen change in the applicant’s circumstances; and b. there would be severe hardship to the applicant if the term is not reduced; and c. the applicant’s hardship would be greater than the hardship to the other party if the term is reduced under section 66(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (the Act).
There has been an unforeseen change in the tenant's circumstances. The tenant provided evidence that she has recently suffered a serious setback in her mental health.
The landlord gave the tenant notice earlier this year that the fixed term contract would not be renewed due to the owner’s plans to sell the property.
The tenant gave evidence that on receipt of this notice, and mindful of her deteriorating health, she requested that the landlord agree to reduce the fixed term to enable her to leave early, but the landlord declined to do so. The tenant said she then explained her health situation to the landlord, but the landlord did not agree to allow her to leave the tenancy early.
She feels she cannot continue to live at the tenancy property where she has no support for herself and no assistance to help her care for her 14-month-old child and teenage daughter. She has support available from whanau in Rolleston and has arranged a new tenancy there, with the help of her parents, from 22 December 2023.
The tenant provided a supporting letter from her health care practitioner which confirmed that, “[h]er current living situation is having a significant impact on [her] mental well-being and it would be beneficial for her if she could relocate as soon as possible.”
I have listened carefully to the evidence, and it is clear to me that the tenant is in a fragile and vulnerable state and has serious mental health issues. I am satisfied that the tenant would suffer severe hardship if the term of the tenancy were not reduced.
The landlord’s agent gave evidence that the owner would suffer hardship if the tenancy were reduced.
The agent confirmed that the landlord will lose $3171.00 for 37 days lost rent. The landlord will not be able to let the property due to the short period between the tenant’s proposed new vacate date and the intended sale of the property.
The agent said that the landlord would not be able to amend the sale timeframe at this late stage or commence any pre-sale work required due to the difficulty in getting tradespeople over the Christmas holiday period. The agent confirmed that the landlord had given the tenant correct notice and had made sale plans in reliance on the tenancy ending at the end of the fixed term period.
Although I accept that the landlord will suffer some financial hardship should the tenancy end 37 days early, I find that the tenant’s hardship would be greater if she were made to continue the tenancy to the end of the fixed term.
The fixed term is reduced, and the tenancy will now end on 22 December 2023.
Where the Tribunal reduces a fixed-term tenancy, it may order the tenant to pay the landlord reasonable compensation for any resulting loss under section 66(2) of the Act.
I award compensation of $1200.00 to the landlord. This equates to two weeks rent which I consider sufficient compensation given the proximity of the end of the tenancy and the landlord’s stated intention to sell the property early in the new year.
Given the personal nature of the evidence referred to above, I have suppressed the tenant’s name under section 95A(4) of the Act and it will not appear in the published version of this order.
As [The applicant/s] has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4749931 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Award balance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4749931 — Tenancy dispute

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