Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 4754390 — Property damage
Decided 3 May 2024 · Published 3 May 2024 · Application 4754390
- Property damage
- Cleanliness
- Rent arrears
Party names are redacted in the official published order.
Order
- 2.
Reasons
Background
- The tenancy began in May 2005.
- [The property management company] is the current property manager.
- The tenancy ended on 17 September 2023. [The landlord/s] issued anti-social behaviour notices in June / July 2023 in response to numerous complaints from neighbours about the behaviour of the persons occupying the property. It appears that Mr Tautari had not lived there for a long time.
- The landlord’s application seeks rent arrears, water rates, cleaning, rubbish removal, change of locks, painting, and loss of rent costs.
- The hearing took place in [Event location suppressed] on 29 April 2024. [The landlord’s representative] represented the landlord at the hearing. There was no appearance by the tenant. Rent, water
- The landlord’s rent record establishes rent arrears of $588.65 to 17 September 2023. The landlord received payments of $100.00 on 18 September and 26 September, which were applied to rent arrears.
- The balance owing is $388.65.
- Water rates are owed for the period from 13 December 2022 to 14 June 2023, per an invoice from the [The District Council].
- The landlord is not claiming for water used from 15 June 2023 to the end of the tenancy. Cleaning, rubbish removal
- Tenants must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and remove all rubbish at the end of the tenancy.
- [The landlord’s representative] provided a video recording showing the condition of the premises when he re-took possession.
- The premises were left in a very unclean state. There was rubbish left behind, in particular underneath the house.
- The amount claimed for cleaning is proven, and is fair and reasonable having regard to the landlord’s video evidence.
- The rubbish removal claim seeks the cost of a skip bin hire only.
- The claim is proven. Locks / keys
- No keys were returned at the end of the tenancy.
- The cost of changing the locks is proven. Damage
- The exit video shows extensive intentional damage throughout the house. Many doors were badly damaged. There were holes in walls, some of which badly “repaired”. There was graffiti on most of the walls.
- The claim seeks $3,000.00 for painting. [The landlord’s representative] recalled that the walls in the kitchen and lounge may have been painted during Mr Tautari’s tenancy following a kitchen fire a few years ago, but he had no details about this. Parts of the house had not been painted since Mr Tautari’s tenancy began in 2005.
- [The landlord’s representative] acknowledged that substantial depreciation must apply to the painting cost. The premises were well overdue for repainting.
- [The landlord’s representative] did not have evidence of the cost of repairs to walls and doors.
- Mr Tautari is legally responsible for the damage that occurred during his tenancy, even if (as seems very likely) he did not cause it himself.
- Because of the lack of evidence around the cost of repairs, and the depreciation that must apply to the re-painting cost, I am unable to award an amount to the landlord that would be anywhere close to the actual costs / losses that the landlord has incurred. It is appropriate to make a conservative award of compensation even in the absence of detailed costings, because the extent of the damage is obvious and the cost of repairs would have been significant.
- I will award $750.00.
- A glass pane in the ranchslider was badly broken. The cost of re-glazing is proven. Loss of rent
- The property could not be re-tenanted for a prolonged period because of the cleaning, repairs, painting, and rubbish removal that needed to be done at the premises.
- Some of the delay is in the category of much needed maintenance and re- decorating, but some was a direct consequence of repairs and cleaning for which the tenant is legally responsible.
- I will award two weeks’ loss of rent. Filing fee, bond, name suppression
- The landlord has been successful in this application, and I will award the landlord the filing fee of $20.44.
- The bond will be released to the landlord.
- The landlord sought name suppression. Name suppression is granted on the grounds that the landlord has succeeded in the proceedings.