Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 4802883 — Rent arrears at 13 Eileen Newey Place, Henderson, Auckland 0612
Decided 9 Apr 2024 · Published 9 Apr 2024 · Application 4802883
- Rent arrears
Party names are redacted in the official published order.
Order
- An application for suppression has been made in this case, and the Tribunal orders suppression of the name of the tenant with the initials “TS” from the published order.
- Te Rangimaire Kuka [The tenant/s] must pay Crystal Realty Limited T/A: Harcourts Mt Roskill $14,212.56 immediately, calculated as shown in the table below.
Reasons
- The landlord’s representative and the tenant, TS, and her support person, attended the video hearing today. The tenant, TRK, did not attend and her phone was switched to voicemail when I tried to contact her. I continued in her absence because she has been emailed and texted notice of this second hearing and of the first order.
- The landlord has applied for payment of rent and water arrears.
How much is owed for rent and water rates?
- The tenancy ended on 3 April 2024 pursuant to my previous order dated 21 March 2024.
- The landlord agreed to allow an additional day for cleaning and removal of belongings.
- The rent ledger proves the amount owing to 4 April 2024 is $16,907.14.
- The landlord supplied a water rates ledger and a copy of the invoice from February 2024.
- After the hearing ended, I noticed that the February invoice shows a debt collection charge of $56.33. I have deducted this from the amount payable by the tenants because the landlord is responsible for paying the water rates to Watercare on time.
- The amount owing by the tenants for water usage is $284.98.
Are the tenants liable to pay other end of tenancy costs?
- The landlord says that the tenants have not returned all keys or made sure the premises are cleaned, lawns mowed, and rubbish removed.
- The landlord has not yet had this work done and today agreed to allow the tenants the chance to avoid more costs by finishing off this work tomorrow.
- The Tribunal cannot award compensation for these costs without invoices which must be reasonable for any work required. A new application would be required.
Are both tenants equally liable for the debt?
- TS and TRK are both tenants named on the tenancy agreement, and both signed the contract.
- Legally, this means that they are both jointly liable for any debt. The landlord has the right to enforce payment against both of them, or just one of them. The landlord does not have to split the debt equally.
- However, TS has provided evidence to the Tribunal which shows that she has paid 50% of the rent from the date that she moved into the tenancy premises – which was from 3 October 2023.
- TS paid a total of $7,875.00 to TRK up until 28 February 2024. She then discovered that TRK had not been paying the rent to the landlord.
- TS then began paying 50% of the weekly rent directly to the landlord and has paid an additional $1,875.00.
- The landlord accepts that most of the rent debt has been caused by TRK not paying the rent.
- TS has done what she can to take responsibility including finding support through an advocacy agency and attending both Tribunal hearings.
- Unfortunately, she is still legally liable for the debt.
- For the above reasons, I have decided to make an order suppressing TS’s name from the published order.
- I ordered the refund of the bond to the landlord after the first hearing so this is deducted from the amount owing.