What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4752534 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] must pay Csi Property Management Limited as Agent for

How much money was awarded in case 4752534?

Cleaning: $632.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $27.28 awarded to landlord; Paintwork throughout house and garag…: $1,975.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4752534?

The primary dispute was Property damage. Related themes: Cleanliness, Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4752534?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10498151-Tribunal_Order.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4752534 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] must pay Csi Property Management Limited as Agent for

How much money was awarded in case 4752534?

Cleaning: $632.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $27.28 awarded to landlord; Paintwork throughout house and garag…: $1,975.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4752534?

The primary dispute was Property damage. Related themes: Cleanliness, Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4752534?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10498151-Tribunal_Order.pdf.

32 Akeake Lane, Manurewa, Auckland 2102 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4752534 — Property damage

Tenantcheck Insights

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4752534 — net $2,654.72 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Residue of rent arrears	$27.28	Residue of rent arrears
Cleaning	$632.00	Cleaning
Repairs: Paintwork throughout house and garage	$1,975.00	Repairs: Paintwork throughout house and garage
Net award	$2,654.72
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,654.72

[The tenant/s] must pay Csi Property Management Limited as Agent for Astraveda Ltd $2,654.72 immediately, calculated as shown in table below: DescriptionLandlord Filing fee reimbursement$20.44 Residue of rent arrears$27.28 Cleaning$632.00 Repairs: Paintwork throughout house and garage$1,975.00 Total award$2,654.72 Total payable by Tenant to Landlord$2,654.72

Reasons

The landlord attended the hearing, the tenant did not attend.

On 1 May 2024 there had been an earlier hearing of this matter. The tenant had turned up on that occasion. The landlord was on the phone due to recovering after a car accident. The tenant was advised that he could appear on the phone for this hearing. The Tribunal rang Mr Brown on the mobile number in the application, but it appeared to be disconnected.

The landlord had applied for rent arrears, compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

There had been a mediation on 22 December 2023 between the parties and a sealed Mediator’s Order issued that considered the rent arrears, water bills, damages, and cleaning.

The Mediated Order reflected the parties agreement that the $2800.00 in bond should be released to the landlord to cover the rent arrears and water bills only. The water bills and rent arrears came to a total of $2827.28. The landlord confirmed at the hearing that the bond had been released back to them, leaving a small outstanding balance of $27.28. I am ordering the sum of $27.28 to be paid by the tenant to the landlord.

The mediator left the cleaning costs and damages to be determined by the Tribunal, as there was no agreement between the parties at the mediation conference.

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, remove all rubbish, return all keys and security devices, and leave all chattels provided for their benefit. See section 40(1)(e)(ii) -(v) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The tenant is required to replace worn out smoke alarm batteries during the tenancy. See section 40(1) (ca) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The tenant must also replace standard light bulbs.

The tenant did not leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and did not remove all rubbish.

The landlord provided an entry and exit report and photographs of the property at the start and at the end of the tenancy. The photos show that while overall the property did look clean and tidy, there were parts of the property that needed to be cleaned such as the ensuite, bathroom, kitchen, spiderwebs and carpet stains. After consideration of the photos, I find that the landlord has been successful in their claim for cleaning costs.

The landlord provided the Tribunal with an invoice for $632.00 for the cost of cleaning.

The amounts ordered are proved.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

A landlord must prove that damage to the premises occurred during the tenancy and is more than fair wear and tear. If this is established, to avoid liability, the tenant must prove they did not carelessly or intentionally cause or permit the damage. Tenants are liable for the actions of people at the premises with their permission. See sections 40(2)(a), 41 and 49B RTA.

Where the damage is careless, and occurs after 27 August 2019, section 49B RTA applies. If the landlord becomes aware of the damage after 27 August, the damage is presumed to have occurred after that date unless the tenant proves otherwise.

Where the damage is caused carelessly, and is covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to the lesser of the insurance excess or four weeks' rent (or four weeks' market rent in the case of a tenant paying income-related rent). See section 49B(3)(a) RTA.

Where the damage is careless and is not covered by the landlord's insurance, the tenant's liability is limited to four weeks' rent (or market rent). See section 49B(3)(b) RTA. Where insurance money is irrecoverable because of the tenant's conduct, the property is treated as if it is not insured against the damage. See section 49B(3A) (a) RTA.

Tenants are liable for the cost of repairing damage that is intentional or which results from any activity at the premises that is an imprisonable offence. This applies to anything the tenant does and anything done by a person they are responsible for. See section 49B (1) RTA.

Damage is intentional where a person intends to cause damage and takes the necessary steps to achieve that purpose. Damage is also intentional where a person does something, or allows a situation to continue, knowing that damage is a certainty. See Guo v Korck [2019] NZHC 1541.

The following damage was caused during the tenancy: -Damage to the paintwork throughout the house and garage.

The landlord provided detailed photos of the damage to the walls throughout the property. Two areas that required complete repainting were one wall in the garage and the other in the hallway. Both these walls had obviously been damaged and the tenant has sought to fix the damage. However, he repainted these two walls with a different colour than the rest of the walls in the rooms. The repainting by the tenant, on both walls, was only partially done and did not cover the full wall. Many other areas in the house, such as the hallway cupboard and inside wardrobes were stained, drawn on and scuffed.

. The damage is more than fair wear and tear, and the tenant has not disproved liability for the damage.

The landlord has provided the Tribunal with an invoice for $1975.00 for the cost to repair the walls.

The amounts ordered are proved.

Because Csi Property Management Limited as Agent for Astraveda Ltd has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee.

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4752534 — net $2,654.72 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Residue of rent arrears	$27.28	Residue of rent arrears
Cleaning	$632.00	Cleaning
Repairs: Paintwork throughout house and garage	$1,975.00	Repairs: Paintwork throughout house and garage
Net award	$2,654.72
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,654.72

Reasons

The landlord attended the hearing, the tenant did not attend.

The landlord had applied for rent arrears, compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

There had been a mediation on 22 December 2023 between the parties and a sealed Mediator’s Order issued that considered the rent arrears, water bills, damages, and cleaning.

The mediator left the cleaning costs and damages to be determined by the Tribunal, as there was no agreement between the parties at the mediation conference.

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

The tenant did not leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and did not remove all rubbish.

The landlord provided the Tribunal with an invoice for $632.00 for the cost of cleaning.

The amounts ordered are proved.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

The following damage was caused during the tenancy: -Damage to the paintwork throughout the house and garage.

. The damage is more than fair wear and tear, and the tenant has not disproved liability for the damage.

The landlord has provided the Tribunal with an invoice for $1975.00 for the cost to repair the walls.

The amounts ordered are proved.

Because Csi Property Management Limited as Agent for Astraveda Ltd has wholly succeeded with the claim I must reimburse the filing fee.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4752534 — Property damage at 32 Akeake Lane, Manurewa, Auckland 2102

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4752534 — Property damage at 32 Akeake Lane, Manurewa, Auckland 2102

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Did the tenant comply with their obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions