What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4795059 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] must pay Kāinga Ora–Homes And Communities $30,179.00

How much money was awarded in case 4795059?

Verified claim lines are listed on this page.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4795059?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Exemplary damages.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4795059?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10491884-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4795059 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] must pay Kāinga Ora–Homes And Communities $30,179.00

How much money was awarded in case 4795059?

Verified claim lines are listed on this page.

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4795059?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Exemplary damages.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4795059?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10491884-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4795059 — Rent arrears

Tenantcheck Insights

Order

[The tenant/s] must pay Kāinga Ora–Homes And Communities $30,179.00 immediately, being rent arrears to 25 June 2024.

Kāinga Ora is to undertake an inspection of the property in approximately a month’s time to address maintenance issues. They are to be permitted to take photos of the areas of maintenance they need to address and must promptly investigate and conduct any maintenance requirements pursuant to section 45(1)(b) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

The Tribunal orders suppression of the tenant name and identifying details.

This order is made to amend a typo in [The tenant/s] name in the reasoning. I apologise for my error in the initial order. No other changes are made.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing. [The tenant/s] attended with his estranged wife [redacted] as advocate and support person. Ms Smith represented the landlord.

[The tenant/s] and his whanau have lived in this home since 2014. Unfortunately, he has been having difficulties with the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) and the level at which they assess his rent. Currently his rent is set by MSD at a market rent rate which is significantly higher than he can afford.

The Housing Restructuring and Tenancy Matters Act 1992 and Social Housing Reform (Housing Restructuring and Tenancy Matters Amendment) Act 2013 govern how income related rent is granted and the allocation of state housing. The level of rent [the tenant/s] needs to pay is therefore set by MSD. The Tenancy Tribunal has no jurisdiction to review MSD’s decision, that is for their internal processes and the Benefits Review Committee. A decision of the Benefits Review Committee can be appealed to the Social Security Appeal Authority.

[The tenant/s] has had a number of letters from his landlord Kāinga Ora (KO) about the level of his rent. Each of these letters advises him that if he disagrees with the level of rent, he needs to address that with MSD.

There are two issues with [The tenant/s] receiving letters. One is that due to the location of his letterbox, sometimes he does not physically receive them. The second is that he is illiterate. Both of these have been addressed at this hearing with the following agreements: a. KO will now email a copy of all letters posted to him to [The tenant/s] care of [advocate/support person]. It would also be best practice if they follow up with a phone call where possible. b. KO are going to provide [The tenant/s], care of [advocate/support person], with some agencies that provide advocacy services to help him resolve his financial situation.

[The tenant/s] accepts that he has been told that he needs to speak to MSD a number of times, but has not been able to actually speak or see someone at MSD. Mainly this is due to their internal processes with respect to appointments and the automated phone system.

As discussed at length at the hearing and above, the Tenancy Tribunal does not have jurisdiction to review the rent set by MSD. I therefore provided [the tenant/s] with the documents needed to start the review process with MSD. We also discussed ways in which they can illicit action from MSD who clearly need to review the situation given [The tenant/s] is falling into greater and greater debt because of the level his rent is assessed at.

Because of the large rent arrears, KO now seeks a money order for the repayment of the debt. They are obliged to make this application pursuant to section 49 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA). As the amount owing has been proven in evidence, I must make the order as sought.

[The tenant/s] has cross applied for compensation and exemplary damages for various alleged breaches of the RTA by KO. He was not able to pursue those matters at today’s hearing because of the level of upset the discussion regarding the rent arrears created.

[The tenant/s] did indicate to me that he was not asking for anything in particular with respect to those matters but was just raising them in defence to KO’s application for rent arrears. However, I am concerned that when the issue of rent arrears is resolved, [The tenant/s] may still have some claims he needs to pursue.

I therefore will close his application however note that he is not barred from bringing a further claim against KO with respect to any alleged breaches of the RTA in the future if such is necessary. I take this position pursuant to section 85 of the RTA as [The tenant/s] was precluded from pursuing his claims today because of the greater concern being that of rent arrears. KO agrees with this course of action.

With respect to the maintenance issues, it was agreed by [advocate/support person] on [The tenant/s] behalf (he had given consent) that an inspection is going to take place in approximately a month. That inspection will be to look at any areas of maintenance that need to be worked on. The property manager will need to take photos of what maintenance is required to show their trades people. KO will contact [advocate/support person] and [The tenant/s] about this date.

Because this hearing and decision deals with personal issues of [The tenant/s], pursuant to section 95A of the RTA I do not consider it in the public interest to be aware of his details. I therefore direct that his and [advocate/ support person]’s identifying details be suppressed from the published decision. To be clear, it is not a breach of the suppression order for [The tenant/s] to provide a copy of this decision to MSD in support of his application for review of his rent assessment.

I do not suppress KO’s details as they did not apply for suppression and as a publicly funded body, I consider it in the public interest that their name be published.

Order

[The tenant/s] must pay Kāinga Ora–Homes And Communities $30,179.00 immediately, being rent arrears to 25 June 2024.

The Tribunal orders suppression of the tenant name and identifying details.

This order is made to amend a typo in [The tenant/s] name in the reasoning. I apologise for my error in the initial order. No other changes are made.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing. [The tenant/s] attended with his estranged wife [redacted] as advocate and support person. Ms Smith represented the landlord.

I do not suppress KO’s details as they did not apply for suppression and as a publicly funded body, I consider it in the public interest that their name be published.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4795059 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4795059 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Property management

Frequently asked questions