What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4807866 about?

The tribunal order states: [The landlord/s] must pay [The tenant/s] $756.43 immediately, calculated as

How much money was awarded in case 4807866?

Compensation: Failure to provide hea…: $450.00 awarded to tenant; Rent Credit Refunded: $306.43 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4807866?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4807866?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10424750-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4807866 about?

The tribunal order states: [The landlord/s] must pay [The tenant/s] $756.43 immediately, calculated as

How much money was awarded in case 4807866?

Compensation: Failure to provide hea…: $450.00 awarded to tenant; Rent Credit Refunded: $306.43 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4807866?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4807866?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10424750-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4807866 — Tenancy dispute

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4807866 — net $756.43 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Rent credit refunded	$306.43	Rent credit refunded
Compensation: Failure to provide heating	$450.00	Failure to provide heating
Net award	$756.43
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$756.43

Order

[The landlord/s] must pay [The tenant/s] $756.43 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,120.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [Tenant 1] and [Tenant 2] immediately.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing on 5 June 2024. The property manager, [The property manager/s], attended the hearing for the landlord. The tenant [Tenant 1] attended the hearing supported by his mother.
[Tenant 1] and [Tenant 2] entered into a periodic tenancy agreement with the landlord to rent these premises. The tenancy commenced on 20 February 2021. DescriptionTenant Rent credit refunded $306.43 Compensation: Failure to provide heating $450.00 Total award $756.43 Total payable by Landlord to Tenant $756.43 Prior to this tenancy another member of the tenant’s family had been the tenant under a previous agreement.
[Tenant 2] gave notice to end the tenancy and moved out of the premises in February 2024.
The landlord applied for termination and possession, rent arrears, bond refund and reimbursement of filing fee.
On 13 March 2024 this matter was considered at a teleconference and the Adjudicator made an order terminating the tenancy and granting possession to the landlord at 7pm on 17 March 2024. The Adjudicator then adjourned the landlord’s rent arrears claim to be heard at a face-to-face hearing which was set down for today.
The tenant filed a cross application seeking work orders, compensation for breach of Healthy Homes Standards, failure to provide heating, failure to maintain leaks and ant infestations. The tenant also disputed the rent arrears on the basis that notice of rent increase had not been sent.
As the tenancy has ended the work orders claim did not proceed today.

Does the tenant owe rent arrears?

The tenancy ended on 17 March 2024 pursuant to order of the Tribunal.
The landlord produced a rent summary and sought payment of $482.14 towards rent arrears to the tenancy end date.
The tenant disputed the rent arrears and raised two issues. Firstly, that he had not received a new tenancy agreement when the rent was increased from $530.00 to $590.00. Secondly that he had received no notice of the rent being increased to $620 per week.
There is no requirement that a new tenancy agreement is entered in to when the landlord increases the rent, however, rent must be increased in accordance with written notice given pursuant to section 24 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. Any notice must be in writing, specify the amount of the increase and the date on which the increase becomes payable which must be at least 60 days after the notice.
The rent record shows that the tenants paid the increased rent of $590.00 when it was due in July 2022 but there was no change to their payments in August 2023. The tenant stated he had no knowledge of the increase to $620.00.
The landlord provided a copy of notice given to the tenant regarding the rent increase to $590.00 which commenced in July 2022. The landlord could not provide proof of notice being given for the rent increase to $620.00 which the landlord commenced charging in August 2023.
The landlord agreed to modify the rent summary based on the rent remaining at $590.00 per week. This results in a rent refund to the tenant of $309.43.
This refund is ordered to be paid to the tenant. Bond
The bond centre records the bond lodged in the names of both tenants. The bond is held on trust for the tenants and unless the landlord is successful in a claim against the bond it must be refunded to the tenants.
The landlord today raised a claim against the bond for carpet cleaning but did not include this in their claim filed and it cannot be considered today.
As the rent is in credit the bond is refunded to the tenants.

Did the landlord breach Healthy Homes Standards?

[Tenant 1] claims that the landlord has breached the landlord’s obligations under section 45(1)(bb) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA), which requires compliance with the Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) 2019 (HHS). [Tenant 1] considers that the landlord has failed to comply with the HHS heating standard and moisture ingress standard.
Compliance dates for the HHS vary depending on the tenancy:
For private rentals (a)If the tenancy commenced between 1 July 2021 and before 28 August 2022, the rental must comply within 90 days of the commencement of any new or renewed tenancy; or (b)If the tenancy commenced between 28 August 2022 but before 3 March 2025, the rental must comply within 120 days of the commencement of any new or renewed tenancy. (c)All private rentals must comply by 1 July 2025. (d)All boarding houses must comply by 1 July 2021.
As this private tenancy commenced before 1 July 2021 the compliance date in 2025 has not yet arrived. Therefore, I find that the landlord is not in breach of compliance with the Healthy Homes Standards. Did the landlord breach their obligation to provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair?
[The tenant/s] claims that the landlord has breached their obligations under section 45 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Under section 45, a landlord has obligations including that they must provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair having regard to the age and character of the premises and comply with any relevant enactment in relation to buildings, health and safety.
The tenant claimed that the landlord breached these obligations by: (a)Failure to provide heating (b)Failure to maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair by failing to address roof leaks and ant infestations. Heating
The tenant stated that there was no heating provided and as the premises were old and damp it was very cold during winter.
The landlord agreed that there was no heating provided.
The property manager produced a video of interaction with the tenant on an August 2022 inspection date. The landlord claimed this was evidence that they had been told to leave the property. Although the video does not show this it does record the tenant talking angrily to the property manager stating that the premises are not being maintained and are cold because there is no heating.
The requirement to provide heating in homes predates the Healthy Homes Standards and has been a requirement for buildings since the 1947 Housing Improvement Regulations which sets out minimum standards of fitness for houses. The regulations state at clause 6 “Every living room shall be fitted with a fireplace and chimney or other approved form of heating.” Reference to this requirement is included in the information on the government Tenancy Services website which provides information to landlords and tenants.
As the landlord failed to provide heating they were in breach of their obligations.
The Tribunal can order a landlord to pay such sum by way of damages or compensation as the Tribunal shall assess in respect of the breach of any provision of the Residential Tenancies Act (section 77(2)(n)).
Rather than out of pocket expenses the Tenants’ claim for compensation is in the nature of general damages for the loss of amenity of living in cold premises without heating. The Tribunal has jurisdiction to make such award pursuant to section 77(2)(n) of the Act: Eayrs v Hindmarsh, DC Wellington, TT223/93, 12 November 1993. Awards of compensation are generally modest. Having considered the evidence I find that it is appropriate to award the tenant compensation for the winter months of the tenancy due to the lack of heating. The tenancy continued for three years, and I order compensation of $50.00 per month for the three winter months of each year totalling 9 months over the two years. I order compensation of $450.00 being 9 x $50.00. Roof leaks
It is agreed by both parties that the premises are old and the roof leaked during this tenancy. The tenant provided a copy of written notification to the landlord of this in May 2022. The landlord stated that they responded to this notification and investigated. The landlord provided a copy of a work order issued in early June 2022 and an invoice for repair work to the roof dated 27 June 2022. This invoice states that there is no guarantee to the work given the age and condition of the roof.
The landlord then proceeded to arrange for roof replacement and both parties provided copies of communication about this. The tenant claims that there were delays with the roof replacement and the workers created a mess while working. The landlord claims that the tenant refused access to the premises which created delays with the work. It is clear from the evidence given by the parties and the written communication provided that there were communication issues between the parties regarding the reroofing. The parties could not give exact dates but it appears the roof was replaced towards the end of 2022 or early 2023 and the work was fully completed by March 2023. A roof replacement is a large maintenance matter. Having considered the evidence including the conflicting claims about who is responsible for any delay I find that the tenant has not proved on the balance of probabilities that the landlord failed to address the roof leak maintenance issue. Ant infestation
The tenant stated that the premises were infested by ants but did not proceed with this claim as he stated he did not have sufficient evidence to present in respect of this matter. Filing fee/Suppression
As both parties have had some success in these proceedings, I make no order for reimbursement of filing fees.
Both parties have applied for suppression of identifying details in any publication of this order. If a party has wholly or substantially succeeded in the proceedings the Tribunal must make the order unless the Tribunal considers that publication is in the public interest or is justified because of the party’s conduct or any other circumstances of the case. Section 95A Residential Tenancies Act 1986. Both parties have had some success in these proceedings. Having considered the factors in this case the Tribunal grants suppression as sought.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4807866 — net $756.43 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Rent credit refunded	$306.43	Rent credit refunded
Compensation: Failure to provide heating	$450.00	Failure to provide heating
Net award	$756.43
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$756.43

Order

[The landlord/s] must pay [The tenant/s] $756.43 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,120.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [Tenant 1] and [Tenant 2] immediately.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing on 5 June 2024. The property manager, [The property manager/s], attended the hearing for the landlord. The tenant [Tenant 1] attended the hearing supported by his mother.
[Tenant 1] and [Tenant 2] entered into a periodic tenancy agreement with the landlord to rent these premises. The tenancy commenced on 20 February 2021. DescriptionTenant Rent credit refunded $306.43 Compensation: Failure to provide heating $450.00 Total award $756.43 Total payable by Landlord to Tenant $756.43 Prior to this tenancy another member of the tenant’s family had been the tenant under a previous agreement.
[Tenant 2] gave notice to end the tenancy and moved out of the premises in February 2024.
The landlord applied for termination and possession, rent arrears, bond refund and reimbursement of filing fee.
On 13 March 2024 this matter was considered at a teleconference and the Adjudicator made an order terminating the tenancy and granting possession to the landlord at 7pm on 17 March 2024. The Adjudicator then adjourned the landlord’s rent arrears claim to be heard at a face-to-face hearing which was set down for today.
The tenant filed a cross application seeking work orders, compensation for breach of Healthy Homes Standards, failure to provide heating, failure to maintain leaks and ant infestations. The tenant also disputed the rent arrears on the basis that notice of rent increase had not been sent.
As the tenancy has ended the work orders claim did not proceed today.

Does the tenant owe rent arrears?

The tenancy ended on 17 March 2024 pursuant to order of the Tribunal.
The landlord produced a rent summary and sought payment of $482.14 towards rent arrears to the tenancy end date.
The tenant disputed the rent arrears and raised two issues. Firstly, that he had not received a new tenancy agreement when the rent was increased from $530.00 to $590.00. Secondly that he had received no notice of the rent being increased to $620 per week.
There is no requirement that a new tenancy agreement is entered in to when the landlord increases the rent, however, rent must be increased in accordance with written notice given pursuant to section 24 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. Any notice must be in writing, specify the amount of the increase and the date on which the increase becomes payable which must be at least 60 days after the notice.
The rent record shows that the tenants paid the increased rent of $590.00 when it was due in July 2022 but there was no change to their payments in August 2023. The tenant stated he had no knowledge of the increase to $620.00.
The landlord provided a copy of notice given to the tenant regarding the rent increase to $590.00 which commenced in July 2022. The landlord could not provide proof of notice being given for the rent increase to $620.00 which the landlord commenced charging in August 2023.
The landlord agreed to modify the rent summary based on the rent remaining at $590.00 per week. This results in a rent refund to the tenant of $309.43.
This refund is ordered to be paid to the tenant. Bond
The bond centre records the bond lodged in the names of both tenants. The bond is held on trust for the tenants and unless the landlord is successful in a claim against the bond it must be refunded to the tenants.
The landlord today raised a claim against the bond for carpet cleaning but did not include this in their claim filed and it cannot be considered today.
As the rent is in credit the bond is refunded to the tenants.

Did the landlord breach Healthy Homes Standards?

[Tenant 1] claims that the landlord has breached the landlord’s obligations under section 45(1)(bb) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA), which requires compliance with the Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) 2019 (HHS). [Tenant 1] considers that the landlord has failed to comply with the HHS heating standard and moisture ingress standard.
Compliance dates for the HHS vary depending on the tenancy:
For private rentals (a)If the tenancy commenced between 1 July 2021 and before 28 August 2022, the rental must comply within 90 days of the commencement of any new or renewed tenancy; or (b)If the tenancy commenced between 28 August 2022 but before 3 March 2025, the rental must comply within 120 days of the commencement of any new or renewed tenancy. (c)All private rentals must comply by 1 July 2025. (d)All boarding houses must comply by 1 July 2021.
As this private tenancy commenced before 1 July 2021 the compliance date in 2025 has not yet arrived. Therefore, I find that the landlord is not in breach of compliance with the Healthy Homes Standards. Did the landlord breach their obligation to provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair?
[The tenant/s] claims that the landlord has breached their obligations under section 45 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Under section 45, a landlord has obligations including that they must provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair having regard to the age and character of the premises and comply with any relevant enactment in relation to buildings, health and safety.
The tenant claimed that the landlord breached these obligations by: (a)Failure to provide heating (b)Failure to maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair by failing to address roof leaks and ant infestations. Heating
The tenant stated that there was no heating provided and as the premises were old and damp it was very cold during winter.
The landlord agreed that there was no heating provided.
The property manager produced a video of interaction with the tenant on an August 2022 inspection date. The landlord claimed this was evidence that they had been told to leave the property. Although the video does not show this it does record the tenant talking angrily to the property manager stating that the premises are not being maintained and are cold because there is no heating.
The requirement to provide heating in homes predates the Healthy Homes Standards and has been a requirement for buildings since the 1947 Housing Improvement Regulations which sets out minimum standards of fitness for houses. The regulations state at clause 6 “Every living room shall be fitted with a fireplace and chimney or other approved form of heating.” Reference to this requirement is included in the information on the government Tenancy Services website which provides information to landlords and tenants.
As the landlord failed to provide heating they were in breach of their obligations.
The Tribunal can order a landlord to pay such sum by way of damages or compensation as the Tribunal shall assess in respect of the breach of any provision of the Residential Tenancies Act (section 77(2)(n)).
Rather than out of pocket expenses the Tenants’ claim for compensation is in the nature of general damages for the loss of amenity of living in cold premises without heating. The Tribunal has jurisdiction to make such award pursuant to section 77(2)(n) of the Act: Eayrs v Hindmarsh, DC Wellington, TT223/93, 12 November 1993. Awards of compensation are generally modest. Having considered the evidence I find that it is appropriate to award the tenant compensation for the winter months of the tenancy due to the lack of heating. The tenancy continued for three years, and I order compensation of $50.00 per month for the three winter months of each year totalling 9 months over the two years. I order compensation of $450.00 being 9 x $50.00. Roof leaks
It is agreed by both parties that the premises are old and the roof leaked during this tenancy. The tenant provided a copy of written notification to the landlord of this in May 2022. The landlord stated that they responded to this notification and investigated. The landlord provided a copy of a work order issued in early June 2022 and an invoice for repair work to the roof dated 27 June 2022. This invoice states that there is no guarantee to the work given the age and condition of the roof.
The landlord then proceeded to arrange for roof replacement and both parties provided copies of communication about this. The tenant claims that there were delays with the roof replacement and the workers created a mess while working. The landlord claims that the tenant refused access to the premises which created delays with the work. It is clear from the evidence given by the parties and the written communication provided that there were communication issues between the parties regarding the reroofing. The parties could not give exact dates but it appears the roof was replaced towards the end of 2022 or early 2023 and the work was fully completed by March 2023. A roof replacement is a large maintenance matter. Having considered the evidence including the conflicting claims about who is responsible for any delay I find that the tenant has not proved on the balance of probabilities that the landlord failed to address the roof leak maintenance issue. Ant infestation
The tenant stated that the premises were infested by ants but did not proceed with this claim as he stated he did not have sufficient evidence to present in respect of this matter. Filing fee/Suppression
As both parties have had some success in these proceedings, I make no order for reimbursement of filing fees.
Both parties have applied for suppression of identifying details in any publication of this order. If a party has wholly or substantially succeeded in the proceedings the Tribunal must make the order unless the Tribunal considers that publication is in the public interest or is justified because of the party’s conduct or any other circumstances of the case. Section 95A Residential Tenancies Act 1986. Both parties have had some success in these proceedings. Having considered the factors in this case the Tribunal grants suppression as sought.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4807866 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4807866 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Does the tenant owe rent arrears?

Did the landlord breach Healthy Homes Standards?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Does the tenant owe rent arrears?

Did the landlord breach Healthy Homes Standards?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions