What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4830198 about?

The tribunal order states: Hannah Edwards must pay [The tenant/s] $1,120.44 immediately, calculated as

How much money was awarded in case 4830198?

Compensation: $100.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant; Ursement Of Utilities/Expenses For W…: $1,000.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4830198?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4830198?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10450683-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4830198 about?

The tribunal order states: Hannah Edwards must pay [The tenant/s] $1,120.44 immediately, calculated as

How much money was awarded in case 4830198?

Compensation: $100.00 awarded to tenant; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant; Ursement Of Utilities/Expenses For W…: $1,000.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4830198?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4830198?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10450683-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

658 Mount Wellington Highway, Mount Wellington, Tenancy Tribunal Case 4830198 — Tenancy dispute

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4830198 — net $1,120.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
ursement of utilities/expenses for water, power, internet/wifi and 5 streaming services charged for 7 months from Aug 20	$1,000.00	ursement of utilities/expenses for water, power, internet/wifi and 5 streaming services charged for 7 months from Aug 20
Compensation for disruption of internet access from 10pm to 6am for one week in mid Feb 2024	$100.00	Compensation for disruption of internet access from 10pm to 6am for one week in mid Feb 2024
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$1,120.44
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$1,120.44

Both parties attended the hearing.

The landlord seeks rent arrears and utilities/expenses from the tenant after the tenancy ended on 4 March 2024.

While the landlord seeks rent arrears of $450.00 calculated to 4 March 2024, the landlord’s rent summary and tenant’s payments from 23 December 2022 to date indicates that rent has been paid in advance and not in arrears as of 4 March 2024. Consequently, the landlord’s claim for rent arrears fail.

The landlord’s claim for expenses/utilities also fails. The tenant is only responsible for outgoings in respect of the premises that are exclusively attributable to the tenant’s occupation of the premises or to the tenant’s use of the facilities as set out in section 39 Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The landlord’s claim for $200 of unpaid expenses cannot be substantiated as the power charges, water rates and internet charges cannot be attributed exclusively to the tenant’s occupation of the 2-bedroom cottage or to the tenant’s use of facilities.

[The tenant/s] claims the landlord has interfered with their peace and comfort when the landlord’s teenage son sworn obscenities and yelled at neighbours while they were living next door to the landlord’s main house.

A landlord must not interfere with the reasonable peace, comfort or privacy of the tenant in their use of the premises; see section 38(2) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

In this case, I consider that the landlord is not responsible for their son’s actions. Efforts were made by the landlord to mitigate their son’s unsociable behaviours by sending him away to his grandmother. Their son’s conduct and actions have not been condoned by the landlord in any manner whatsoever.

The landlord has therefore not caused the interference to the tenant’s peace and quiet enjoyment concerned nor permitted the interference to continue unabated. Consequently I dismiss the tenant’s claim against the landlord for breach of their quiet enjoyment in this regard.

The tenant’s claim for reimbursement of utilities/expenses for water, power, internet/Wi-Fi and 5 streaming services charged by the landlord for 7 months from Aug 2023 to March 2024 is successful but only partially. The landlord cannot attribute the power charges, water rates and internet charges exclusively to the tenant’s occupation of the 2-bedroom cottage or to the tenant’s exclusive use of those facilities.

I do not consider it just to order the full refund of the utilities/expenses paid by the tenant of $2,850 from August 2023 to March 2024 because the tenant has made those payments to the landlord voluntarily and the tenant has clearly benefited from the streaming services and internet/Wi-Fi provided by the landlord and would have used water and power during their occupation at the cottage at the material times. In exercising my jurisdiction to determine the dispute according to substantive merits and justice of the case, I only order of refund of $1,000 to the tenant.

Lastly, I award the tenant compensation of $100 for the landlord switching off the internet from 10pm to 6am for a week in February 2024. This recognises the inconvenience and loss of amenity to the tenant for that period in question.

Only the amounts awarded in the table above are proved.

Because the tenant is partly successful in their claim, I order the reimbursement of the filing fee as well as name suppression of the tenant’s names.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4830198 — net $1,120.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
ursement of utilities/expenses for water, power, internet/wifi and 5 streaming services charged for 7 months from Aug 20	$1,000.00	ursement of utilities/expenses for water, power, internet/wifi and 5 streaming services charged for 7 months from Aug 20
Compensation for disruption of internet access from 10pm to 6am for one week in mid Feb 2024	$100.00	Compensation for disruption of internet access from 10pm to 6am for one week in mid Feb 2024
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$1,120.44
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$1,120.44

Order

Hannah Edwards must pay [The tenant/s] $1,120.44 immediately, calculated as shown in table below:
The landlord’s claims are dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord seeks rent arrears and utilities/expenses from the tenant after the tenancy ended on 4 March 2024.
While the landlord seeks rent arrears of $450.00 calculated to 4 March 2024, the landlord’s rent summary and tenant’s payments from 23 December 2022 to date indicates that rent has been paid in advance and not in arrears as of 4 March 2024. Consequently, the landlord’s claim for rent arrears fail.
The landlord’s claim for expenses/utilities also fails. The tenant is only responsible for outgoings in respect of the premises that are exclusively attributable to the tenant’s occupation of the premises or to the tenant’s use of the facilities as set out in section 39 Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The landlord’s claim for $200 of unpaid expenses cannot be substantiated as the power charges, water rates and internet charges cannot be attributed exclusively to the tenant’s occupation of the 2-bedroom cottage or to the tenant’s use of facilities.
[The tenant/s] claims the landlord has interfered with their peace and comfort when the landlord’s teenage son sworn obscenities and yelled at neighbours while they were living next door to the landlord’s main house.
A landlord must not interfere with the reasonable peace, comfort or privacy of the tenant in their use of the premises; see section 38(2) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
In this case, I consider that the landlord is not responsible for their son’s actions. Efforts were made by the landlord to mitigate their son’s unsociable behaviours by sending him away to his grandmother. Their son’s conduct and actions have not been condoned by the landlord in any manner whatsoever.
The landlord has therefore not caused the interference to the tenant’s peace and quiet enjoyment concerned nor permitted the interference to continue unabated. Consequently I dismiss the tenant’s claim against the landlord for breach of their quiet enjoyment in this regard.
The tenant’s claim for reimbursement of utilities/expenses for water, power, internet/Wi-Fi and 5 streaming services charged by the landlord for 7 months from Aug 2023 to March 2024 is successful but only partially. The landlord cannot attribute the power charges, water rates and internet charges exclusively to the tenant’s occupation of the 2-bedroom cottage or to the tenant’s exclusive use of those facilities.
I do not consider it just to order the full refund of the utilities/expenses paid by the tenant of $2,850 from August 2023 to March 2024 because the tenant has made those payments to the landlord voluntarily and the tenant has clearly benefited from the streaming services and internet/Wi-Fi provided by the landlord and would have used water and power during their occupation at the cottage at the material times. In exercising my jurisdiction to determine the dispute according to substantive merits and justice of the case, I only order of refund of $1,000 to the tenant.
Lastly, I award the tenant compensation of $100 for the landlord switching off the internet from 10pm to 6am for a week in February 2024. This recognises the inconvenience and loss of amenity to the tenant for that period in question.
Only the amounts awarded in the table above are proved.
Because the tenant is partly successful in their claim, I order the reimbursement of the filing fee as well as name suppression of the tenant’s names.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4830198 — Tenancy dispute at 658 Mount Wellington Highway, Mount Wellington,

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4830198 — Tenancy dispute at 658 Mount Wellington Highway, Mount Wellington,

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Frequently asked questions