What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4796680 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] owes Proven Property Management Limited $270.43 (“the debt”)

How much money was awarded in case 4796680?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $249.99 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4796680?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4796680?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10402954-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4796680 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] owes Proven Property Management Limited $270.43 (“the debt”)

How much money was awarded in case 4796680?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $249.99 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4796680?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4796680?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10402954-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4796680 — Rent arrears

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4796680 — net $270.43 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 30 May 2024	$249.99	Rent arrears to 30 May 2024
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$270.43
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$270.43

Order

[The tenant/s] owes Proven Property Management Limited $270.43 (“the debt”) calculated as shown in the table:
[The tenant/s] must pay rent and the debt as follows: a. By 6 weekly payments of $890.00, being $850.00 for rent and $40.00 for the debt. b. A final payment of $880.43, being $850.00 for rent and $30.43 for the debt. c. Payments will be every Tuesday, with the first payment on 04/06/2024 and continuing until 16/07/2024.
Payments will be allocated in the following order: rent, rent arrears, and the filing fee.
All other claims are dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy, rent arrears and reimbursement of the filing fee.
The landlord provided a rent summary showing the rent owed to today, 31 May 2024. The tenant agreed she owes the rent. Should the tenancy be terminated – recidivist rent?
The landlord submitted that it had met the requirements of the recidivist rent provisions. These provisions state that the Tribunal shall terminate a tenancy where: a. on 3 separate occasions within a 90-day period the rent has been at least 5 working days in arrear; and b. on each occasion the landlord gave the tenant written notice advising the tenant of the arrear, the dates for which rent was overdue, the amount or amounts of overdue rent, and the tenant’s right to make an application to the Tribunal challenging the notice; and c. each notice stated how many other notices (if any) the landlord had given the tenant under this paragraph in relation to the same tenancy and 90-day period; and d. the landlord’s application to the Tribunal was made within 28 days after the landlord gave the third notice. See section 55(1)(aa) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA).
The landlord has not complied with any of these requirement and this claim is dismissed. Should the tenancy be terminated – rent breach?
The landlord asked that the tenancy be terminated because of all the rent arrears breaches. The Tribunal may terminate a tenancy for breach where, due to the nature or extent of the breach, it would be inequitable – very unfair - to refuse to terminate. See section 56(1) RTA.
Where the breach is capable of remedy the landlord must first serve a notice on the tenant requiring them to remedy the breach within at least 14 days and establish that the tenant has failed to do so.
The tenant has breached her obligations by failing to pay rent. The landlord has served three 14 day notices for failure to pay rent in the last nine months. The notice given on 28 August 2023 was remedied because the tenant paid the money owed. The notice given on 13 November 2023 was also remedied. The notice given on 4 March 2024 was not remedied. Less money is owed than when the application was filed. As at the hearing rent is two days in arrears.
I find there are no grounds to end the tenancy because of rent arrears. It seems most likely to me the tenant will remedy the latest arears as well. This claim is dismissed.

Should a conditional termination order be made?

The landlord submitted that a conditional termination order should be made with a “consequential clause”. A conditional termination order can only be made if the landlord has established the grounds to terminate. This is not the case here. See section 78(3) RTA. Should the tenancy be terminated – cleanliness?
The landlord claimed that the tenancy should be terminated because of the number of 14 day notices stating that the house is not reasonably clean and tidy. The Tribunal may terminate a tenancy for this type of breach where, due to the nature or extent of the breach, it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate.
Tenants must keep the premises reasonably clean and tidy during the tenancy, and they must return them in a reasonably clean and tidy state and remove their rubbish at the end of the tenancy. See section 40(1)(c) and (e)(iii) RTA.
In Ace Property Management v Owens (DC Wellington, CIV-2008-085-14441, 17 December 2008) the District Court said: A tenant’s obligation pursuant to the Act to leave a property in a “reasonably clean and reasonably tidy condition” does not mean that it will necessarily be up to a standard that a landlord may consider for a new tenant. It is a mistake for landlords to confuse those two matters.
The RTA does not require the premises to be provided or returned in a spotless or an immaculate condition. Tenants are not required to have the house spotless or immaculate for inspections either. The standard is based on what an average bystander would consider reasonable; not on the subjective opinions of the landlord and tenant. There is no scientific way to determine what is reasonably clean and tidy, and the Tribunal must evaluate the evidence available, and in particular inspection reports and photographs.
This is the landlord’s claim to prove. The photos taken in November 2023 show one dirty light switch, the stairs in need of a vacuum, one dirty windowsill and a dirty kitchen floor. This is not sufficient evidence for me to find the whole house was not reasonably clean. The property manager did not take any photos of the house in the January 2024 inspection. There are photos of what look like fleas, but fleas in the height of summer do not prove the house was unclean.
I am not persuaded by the landlord’s evidence. This claim is dismissed.
This means the tenancy continues. Other orders
Because the landlord has succeeded with the rent claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.
I am using my discretion to allow suppression for the tenant. This is because she has successfully defended the applications to end the tenancy, which makes her the most successful party today. See section 95A RTA.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4796680 — net $270.43 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears to 30 May 2024	$249.99	Rent arrears to 30 May 2024
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$270.43
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$270.43

Order

[The tenant/s] owes Proven Property Management Limited $270.43 (“the debt”) calculated as shown in the table:
[The tenant/s] must pay rent and the debt as follows: a. By 6 weekly payments of $890.00, being $850.00 for rent and $40.00 for the debt. b. A final payment of $880.43, being $850.00 for rent and $30.43 for the debt. c. Payments will be every Tuesday, with the first payment on 04/06/2024 and continuing until 16/07/2024.
Payments will be allocated in the following order: rent, rent arrears, and the filing fee.
All other claims are dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for termination of the tenancy, rent arrears and reimbursement of the filing fee.
The landlord provided a rent summary showing the rent owed to today, 31 May 2024. The tenant agreed she owes the rent. Should the tenancy be terminated – recidivist rent?
The landlord submitted that it had met the requirements of the recidivist rent provisions. These provisions state that the Tribunal shall terminate a tenancy where: a. on 3 separate occasions within a 90-day period the rent has been at least 5 working days in arrear; and b. on each occasion the landlord gave the tenant written notice advising the tenant of the arrear, the dates for which rent was overdue, the amount or amounts of overdue rent, and the tenant’s right to make an application to the Tribunal challenging the notice; and c. each notice stated how many other notices (if any) the landlord had given the tenant under this paragraph in relation to the same tenancy and 90-day period; and d. the landlord’s application to the Tribunal was made within 28 days after the landlord gave the third notice. See section 55(1)(aa) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA).
The landlord has not complied with any of these requirement and this claim is dismissed. Should the tenancy be terminated – rent breach?
The landlord asked that the tenancy be terminated because of all the rent arrears breaches. The Tribunal may terminate a tenancy for breach where, due to the nature or extent of the breach, it would be inequitable – very unfair - to refuse to terminate. See section 56(1) RTA.
Where the breach is capable of remedy the landlord must first serve a notice on the tenant requiring them to remedy the breach within at least 14 days and establish that the tenant has failed to do so.
The tenant has breached her obligations by failing to pay rent. The landlord has served three 14 day notices for failure to pay rent in the last nine months. The notice given on 28 August 2023 was remedied because the tenant paid the money owed. The notice given on 13 November 2023 was also remedied. The notice given on 4 March 2024 was not remedied. Less money is owed than when the application was filed. As at the hearing rent is two days in arrears.
I find there are no grounds to end the tenancy because of rent arrears. It seems most likely to me the tenant will remedy the latest arears as well. This claim is dismissed.

Should a conditional termination order be made?

The landlord submitted that a conditional termination order should be made with a “consequential clause”. A conditional termination order can only be made if the landlord has established the grounds to terminate. This is not the case here. See section 78(3) RTA. Should the tenancy be terminated – cleanliness?
The landlord claimed that the tenancy should be terminated because of the number of 14 day notices stating that the house is not reasonably clean and tidy. The Tribunal may terminate a tenancy for this type of breach where, due to the nature or extent of the breach, it would be inequitable to refuse to terminate.
Tenants must keep the premises reasonably clean and tidy during the tenancy, and they must return them in a reasonably clean and tidy state and remove their rubbish at the end of the tenancy. See section 40(1)(c) and (e)(iii) RTA.
In Ace Property Management v Owens (DC Wellington, CIV-2008-085-14441, 17 December 2008) the District Court said: A tenant’s obligation pursuant to the Act to leave a property in a “reasonably clean and reasonably tidy condition” does not mean that it will necessarily be up to a standard that a landlord may consider for a new tenant. It is a mistake for landlords to confuse those two matters.
The RTA does not require the premises to be provided or returned in a spotless or an immaculate condition. Tenants are not required to have the house spotless or immaculate for inspections either. The standard is based on what an average bystander would consider reasonable; not on the subjective opinions of the landlord and tenant. There is no scientific way to determine what is reasonably clean and tidy, and the Tribunal must evaluate the evidence available, and in particular inspection reports and photographs.
This is the landlord’s claim to prove. The photos taken in November 2023 show one dirty light switch, the stairs in need of a vacuum, one dirty windowsill and a dirty kitchen floor. This is not sufficient evidence for me to find the whole house was not reasonably clean. The property manager did not take any photos of the house in the January 2024 inspection. There are photos of what look like fleas, but fleas in the height of summer do not prove the house was unclean.
I am not persuaded by the landlord’s evidence. This claim is dismissed.
This means the tenancy continues. Other orders
Because the landlord has succeeded with the rent claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.
I am using my discretion to allow suppression for the tenant. This is because she has successfully defended the applications to end the tenancy, which makes her the most successful party today. See section 95A RTA.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4796680 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4796680 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

Should a conditional termination order be made?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

Should a conditional termination order be made?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions