What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4750669 about?

The tribunal order states: Century 21 Edwards Realty must pay [The tenant/s] $920.44 immediately,

How much money was awarded in case 4750669?

Property Damage: $200.00 awarded to tenant; Compensation: Unattended Fireplace: $150.00 awarded to tenant; Compensation: Unattended Heatpump: $250.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $300.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4750669?

The primary dispute was Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4750669?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10378606-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4750669 about?

The tribunal order states: Century 21 Edwards Realty must pay [The tenant/s] $920.44 immediately,

How much money was awarded in case 4750669?

Property Damage: $200.00 awarded to tenant; Compensation: Unattended Fireplace: $150.00 awarded to tenant; Compensation: Unattended Heatpump: $250.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $300.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4750669?

The primary dispute was Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4750669?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10378606-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

41 Riverlea Avenue, Pakuranga, Auckland 2010 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4750669 — Property damage

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4750669 — net $920.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Compensation: unattended heatpump	$250.00	unattended heatpump
Compensation: unattended fireplace	$150.00	unattended fireplace
Compensation: late repair of toilet flush	$200.00	late repair of toilet flush
Reimbursement of repair costs to one glass pane	$300.00	Reimbursement of repair costs to one glass pane
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$920.44
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$920.44

Order

Century 21 Edwards Realty must pay [The tenant/s] $920.44 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The tenant seeks compensation against the landlord due to various items in the premises being unrepaired or unattended to without a reasonable timeframe after being notified to the landlord. The tenant contends that repairs and maintenance are required to be carried out by the landlord on the premises during the 1 year period that they were residing at the premises.
I firstly set out the relevant legal principles that I must address when dealing with complaints raised by the tenant regarding maintenance.
Under section 45 Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (‘RTA’), a landlord must provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair.
A landlord must maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair having regard to the age and character of the premises and to comply with all requirements in respect of buildings, health, and safety under any enactment so far as they applied to the premises.
A tenant has a corresponding duty to notify the landlord, as soon as possible after discovery of any damage to the premises, or of the need for any repairs (see section 40(1)(d) RTA).
The landlord’s obligation is therefore to repair within a reasonable time after knowledge of the need for repair, either from observing the property or notice from the tenant: “... the obligation of the landlord, under section 45, is to investigate and repair a defect brought to its attention within a timeframe which is reasonable in the circumstances; and as to what that time is, I think, depends not only on the gravity of the problem but also on the objective evidence of the attempts made by the landlord to investigate, and put right, whatever the problem may be.” (Collins v Professionals Hutt City Ltd DC Wellington, CIV-2009-085-001431, 24 February 2010; see also Merwald Real Estate v Lanauze DC Auckland, MA151-89, 2 May 1989).
Compensation ought to be awarded for breach of the landlord’s obligations and where the other party has suffered a loss or inconvenience because of that breach.
It goes without saying that only if the landlord is found to in breach of their obligations under section 45 (as set out above) and the tenant has carried out his/her corresponding duty to notify and allow maintenance to be attended to, would an award of compensation be considered and made. Where the tenant has not carried out his/her corresponding duty to notify or not allow maintenance to be attended to, no award of compensation will be made.
I now address the specific instances of complaints raised by the tenant of items requiring attention, when the landlord was advised of the issue, and when, if any, the repairs and works had been (or never) carried out during the tenancy and if not, why they haven’t been carried out or attended to.
On 28 December 2022 the tenants emailed the landlord about the living room heat/pump air conditioner fan working but not cooling at all. The ball was then on the landlord’s court to attend to the complaint by sending a technician to investigate the problem. I accept the tenant’s submission that despite the item being a “heatpump”, the air conditioning and cooling function ought to have worked as well. The issue was only attended to by a tradesperson on 9 May 2023 who confirmed that the chattel was working fine. I consider that the tenant is entitled to compensation for the issue being unresolved and unattended to for 5 months as set out in the table above.
On 28 December 2022 the tenants emailed the landlord about the fireplace being boarded up internally; the tenant anticipates that they will be needing it for winter. The tenant concluded in their email that “we have not been very fussy or complaining about anything regardless of a few major things that need attention and still look forward to staying a long time in this house.” The ball was then on the landlord’s court to respond to the tenant not to use that boarded up fireplace and that they should only use the other Masport woodburner and the heatpump in winter. I consider that the tenant is entitled to general damages for the failure by the landlord to communicate with the tenant on that particular fireplace’s unavailability as set out in the table above.
The same approach was apparently taken by the landlord in respect of the tenant’s complaint about the toilet flush not working properly. The tenant had to complain to the headquarters/parent of Century 21 property management company to get traction on the issue. The 16 May 2023 invoice attached indicates that the toilet flush was finally fixed. I consider that the tenant is entitled to compensation for the issue being unresolved and unattended to for 5 months as set out in the table above.
Finally, the tenant sought reimbursement of $650.00 costs spent to repair 2 cracked window panes. I accept that there was a pre-existing crack on one smaller glass pane since the start of the tenancy which ought to have been replaced instead of just being glossed over with some form of resin. As for the repairs to the larger crack in the other window pane, the tenant has not satisfied me that the damage was fair wear and tear or caused by weather events beyond their control. Only the claim for reimbursement of the pre-existing damage is proved.
As the tenant was largely successful, there will be an order for name suppression and reimbursement of the Tribunal filing fee to the tenant accordingly.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4750669 — net $920.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Compensation: unattended heatpump	$250.00	unattended heatpump
Compensation: unattended fireplace	$150.00	unattended fireplace
Compensation: late repair of toilet flush	$200.00	late repair of toilet flush
Reimbursement of repair costs to one glass pane	$300.00	Reimbursement of repair costs to one glass pane
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$920.44
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$920.44

Order

Century 21 Edwards Realty must pay [The tenant/s] $920.44 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The tenant seeks compensation against the landlord due to various items in the premises being unrepaired or unattended to without a reasonable timeframe after being notified to the landlord. The tenant contends that repairs and maintenance are required to be carried out by the landlord on the premises during the 1 year period that they were residing at the premises.
I firstly set out the relevant legal principles that I must address when dealing with complaints raised by the tenant regarding maintenance.
Under section 45 Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (‘RTA’), a landlord must provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair.
A landlord must maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair having regard to the age and character of the premises and to comply with all requirements in respect of buildings, health, and safety under any enactment so far as they applied to the premises.
A tenant has a corresponding duty to notify the landlord, as soon as possible after discovery of any damage to the premises, or of the need for any repairs (see section 40(1)(d) RTA).
The landlord’s obligation is therefore to repair within a reasonable time after knowledge of the need for repair, either from observing the property or notice from the tenant: “... the obligation of the landlord, under section 45, is to investigate and repair a defect brought to its attention within a timeframe which is reasonable in the circumstances; and as to what that time is, I think, depends not only on the gravity of the problem but also on the objective evidence of the attempts made by the landlord to investigate, and put right, whatever the problem may be.” (Collins v Professionals Hutt City Ltd DC Wellington, CIV-2009-085-001431, 24 February 2010; see also Merwald Real Estate v Lanauze DC Auckland, MA151-89, 2 May 1989).
Compensation ought to be awarded for breach of the landlord’s obligations and where the other party has suffered a loss or inconvenience because of that breach.
It goes without saying that only if the landlord is found to in breach of their obligations under section 45 (as set out above) and the tenant has carried out his/her corresponding duty to notify and allow maintenance to be attended to, would an award of compensation be considered and made. Where the tenant has not carried out his/her corresponding duty to notify or not allow maintenance to be attended to, no award of compensation will be made.
I now address the specific instances of complaints raised by the tenant of items requiring attention, when the landlord was advised of the issue, and when, if any, the repairs and works had been (or never) carried out during the tenancy and if not, why they haven’t been carried out or attended to.
On 28 December 2022 the tenants emailed the landlord about the living room heat/pump air conditioner fan working but not cooling at all. The ball was then on the landlord’s court to attend to the complaint by sending a technician to investigate the problem. I accept the tenant’s submission that despite the item being a “heatpump”, the air conditioning and cooling function ought to have worked as well. The issue was only attended to by a tradesperson on 9 May 2023 who confirmed that the chattel was working fine. I consider that the tenant is entitled to compensation for the issue being unresolved and unattended to for 5 months as set out in the table above.
On 28 December 2022 the tenants emailed the landlord about the fireplace being boarded up internally; the tenant anticipates that they will be needing it for winter. The tenant concluded in their email that “we have not been very fussy or complaining about anything regardless of a few major things that need attention and still look forward to staying a long time in this house.” The ball was then on the landlord’s court to respond to the tenant not to use that boarded up fireplace and that they should only use the other Masport woodburner and the heatpump in winter. I consider that the tenant is entitled to general damages for the failure by the landlord to communicate with the tenant on that particular fireplace’s unavailability as set out in the table above.
The same approach was apparently taken by the landlord in respect of the tenant’s complaint about the toilet flush not working properly. The tenant had to complain to the headquarters/parent of Century 21 property management company to get traction on the issue. The 16 May 2023 invoice attached indicates that the toilet flush was finally fixed. I consider that the tenant is entitled to compensation for the issue being unresolved and unattended to for 5 months as set out in the table above.
Finally, the tenant sought reimbursement of $650.00 costs spent to repair 2 cracked window panes. I accept that there was a pre-existing crack on one smaller glass pane since the start of the tenancy which ought to have been replaced instead of just being glossed over with some form of resin. As for the repairs to the larger crack in the other window pane, the tenant has not satisfied me that the damage was fair wear and tear or caused by weather events beyond their control. Only the claim for reimbursement of the pre-existing damage is proved.
As the tenant was largely successful, there will be an order for name suppression and reimbursement of the Tribunal filing fee to the tenant accordingly.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4750669 — Property damage at 41 Riverlea Avenue, Pakuranga, Auckland 2010

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4750669 — Property damage at 41 Riverlea Avenue, Pakuranga, Auckland 2010

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