What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4830445 about?

The tribunal order states: Alejandro Montefusco must pay [The tenant/s] $370.44 immediately, calculated

How much money was awarded in case 4830445?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4830445?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4830445?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10266218-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4830445 about?

The tribunal order states: Alejandro Montefusco must pay [The tenant/s] $370.44 immediately, calculated

How much money was awarded in case 4830445?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4830445?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4830445?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10266218-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4830445 — Tenancy dispute

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New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4830445 — Tenancy dispute | TenantCheck

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4830445 — net $370.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Refund of the bond	$350.00	Refund of the bond
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$370.44
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$370.44

Claims and awards for application 4830445 — net $370.44 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Refund of the bond

Amount: $350.00
Awarded to: Tenant
Reason: Refund of the bond

Filing fee reimbursement

Amount: $20.44
Awarded to: Tenant
Reason: Filing fee reimbursement

Net award

Tenant $370.44

Total payable by Landlord to Tenant

Tenant $370.44

Dismissed claims

Cleaning — because landlord’s are required to provide invoices to support their claim, and also because there are no photos.
Healthy Homes Standards — Should I make orders for the bond?

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Filing Fee Cleanliness

Order

Alejandro Montefusco must pay [The tenant/s] $370.44 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
This tenancy was very short and only lasted two months. The tenant moved into one room in a house owned by the landlord. The parties signed an agreement for renting the room and the tenant paid a bond. This bond was not lodged. Most of the bond was refunded by consent at the end of the tenancy, but the landlord held back $350 as the tenant’s “contribution” to replacing some sheets, replacing a vacuum cleaner, cleaning, and replacing a dryer.
The tenant has applied for refund of the bond and for compensation for breaches of health and safety and the healthy homes legislation.
The landlord had not made an application for the refund of the bond. Section 22B(2) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) provides that, where a tenant applies for refund of the bond, and the landlord seeks payment from the bond, the landlord must file an application setting out the details of the counterclaim.
Even without a counterclaim the tenant wanted all matters resolved today. He agreed to waive his right to notice to the claims against him so the matter could be dealt with today. The landlord agreed.

Did the tenant comply with his obligations at the end of the tenancy?

At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, remove all rubbish, return all keys and security devices, and leave all chattels provided for their benefit. See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) RTA.
The landlord said he paid a cleaner, but I do not have an invoice to show what was cleaned, or when. The tenant said he cleaned before he moved out. This is the landlord’s claim to prove.
I gave the landlord time to send in some photos showing the need for additional cleaning at the end of the tenancy. I did not receive any photos for the cleaning claim. This claim is not proved and it is dismissed because landlord’s are required to provide invoices to support their claim, and also because there are no photos.
The landlord said a set of sheets were missing at the end of the tenancy. The tenant said he left the sheets behind when he moved out. The landlord had a record of payment, but no invoice showing the money was spent on sheets. This claim is dismissed because the landlord has not proved the sheets were missing, and because the landlord has not proved the money was spent on sheets.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

In order to prove the claims for the vacuum cleaner and the dryer the landlord needs to prove that damage to the premises occurred during the tenancy, and is more than fair wear and tear. If this is established, to avoid liability, the tenant must prove they did not carelessly or intentionally cause or permit the damage. See sections 40(2)(a), 41 and 49B RTA.
The landlord has to prove these claims. The tenant said he did not damage the vacuum cleaner, and he sent a message and a photo to the landlord while he was living there alerting the landlord to the broken appliance. The tenant said the claim for the dryer should fail because someone else living in the house bought the new dryer, not the landlord. I have considered the landlord’s evidence. The difficulty for the landlord is trying to prove it was the tenant – and not one of the others – who damaged the appliances. The landlord is not allowed to claim from all the tenants and divide by three to get this this tenant’s contribution to the house. I find the landlord has not proved it was the tenant who damaged the appliances. These claims are dismissed.

Were there breaches of health and safety or the healthy homes legislation?

This claim relates to the fact there was a curtain and not a door to the upstairs area used by the tenant and used as a bedroom. The tenant said there were no security concerns, but the lack of a door was a factor in him moving out so quickly. I am not persuaded there was any breach here. The tenant rented a room in a house and there are no requirements for fire separation like there are in an apartment or in a multi dwelling building. I cannot see how the lack of a door would be a breach of the healthy homes standards either. This claim is dismissed.

Should I make orders for the bond?

Because the landlord has not succeeded with his claims the bond must be refunded to the tenant immediately.
The tenant noted that the bond was not lodged in the application, but he did not claim exemplary damages, which are like a penalty the landlord has to pay to the tenant. I have not made an order for exemplary damages because these need to be specifically claimed in the application.
Sections 19(1), (2) and Schedule 1A RTA state that if a landlord collects a bond it must be paid to the Bond Centre within 23 working days after the payment is received. Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act for which the Tribunal may award exemplary damages up to a maximum of $1,500.00. I have included this information as a warning to the landlord. I note my advice to the landlord that he must seek legal advice and/or educate himself on the RTA if he wants to rent the future. Other orders
Because the landlord has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.
The tenant’s application for suppression is allowed because the tenant is the most successful party. The landlord’s name is published because of the bond breach.

Claims & awards

What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4830445 — net $370.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Refund of the bond	$350.00	Refund of the bond
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$370.44
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$370.44

Claims and awards for application 4830445 — net $370.44 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Refund of the bond

Amount: $350.00
Awarded to: Tenant
Reason: Refund of the bond

Filing fee reimbursement

Amount: $20.44
Awarded to: Tenant
Reason: Filing fee reimbursement

Net award

Tenant $370.44

Total payable by Landlord to Tenant

Tenant $370.44

Dismissed claims

Cleaning — because landlord’s are required to provide invoices to support their claim, and also because there are no photos.
Healthy Homes Standards — Should I make orders for the bond?

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Filing Fee Cleanliness

Order

Alejandro Montefusco must pay [The tenant/s] $370.44 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
This tenancy was very short and only lasted two months. The tenant moved into one room in a house owned by the landlord. The parties signed an agreement for renting the room and the tenant paid a bond. This bond was not lodged. Most of the bond was refunded by consent at the end of the tenancy, but the landlord held back $350 as the tenant’s “contribution” to replacing some sheets, replacing a vacuum cleaner, cleaning, and replacing a dryer.
The tenant has applied for refund of the bond and for compensation for breaches of health and safety and the healthy homes legislation.
The landlord had not made an application for the refund of the bond. Section 22B(2) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) provides that, where a tenant applies for refund of the bond, and the landlord seeks payment from the bond, the landlord must file an application setting out the details of the counterclaim.
Even without a counterclaim the tenant wanted all matters resolved today. He agreed to waive his right to notice to the claims against him so the matter could be dealt with today. The landlord agreed.

Did the tenant comply with his obligations at the end of the tenancy?

At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, remove all rubbish, return all keys and security devices, and leave all chattels provided for their benefit. See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) RTA.
The landlord said he paid a cleaner, but I do not have an invoice to show what was cleaned, or when. The tenant said he cleaned before he moved out. This is the landlord’s claim to prove.
I gave the landlord time to send in some photos showing the need for additional cleaning at the end of the tenancy. I did not receive any photos for the cleaning claim. This claim is not proved and it is dismissed because landlord’s are required to provide invoices to support their claim, and also because there are no photos.
The landlord said a set of sheets were missing at the end of the tenancy. The tenant said he left the sheets behind when he moved out. The landlord had a record of payment, but no invoice showing the money was spent on sheets. This claim is dismissed because the landlord has not proved the sheets were missing, and because the landlord has not proved the money was spent on sheets.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

In order to prove the claims for the vacuum cleaner and the dryer the landlord needs to prove that damage to the premises occurred during the tenancy, and is more than fair wear and tear. If this is established, to avoid liability, the tenant must prove they did not carelessly or intentionally cause or permit the damage. See sections 40(2)(a), 41 and 49B RTA.
The landlord has to prove these claims. The tenant said he did not damage the vacuum cleaner, and he sent a message and a photo to the landlord while he was living there alerting the landlord to the broken appliance. The tenant said the claim for the dryer should fail because someone else living in the house bought the new dryer, not the landlord. I have considered the landlord’s evidence. The difficulty for the landlord is trying to prove it was the tenant – and not one of the others – who damaged the appliances. The landlord is not allowed to claim from all the tenants and divide by three to get this this tenant’s contribution to the house. I find the landlord has not proved it was the tenant who damaged the appliances. These claims are dismissed.

Were there breaches of health and safety or the healthy homes legislation?

This claim relates to the fact there was a curtain and not a door to the upstairs area used by the tenant and used as a bedroom. The tenant said there were no security concerns, but the lack of a door was a factor in him moving out so quickly. I am not persuaded there was any breach here. The tenant rented a room in a house and there are no requirements for fire separation like there are in an apartment or in a multi dwelling building. I cannot see how the lack of a door would be a breach of the healthy homes standards either. This claim is dismissed.

Should I make orders for the bond?

Because the landlord has not succeeded with his claims the bond must be refunded to the tenant immediately.
The tenant noted that the bond was not lodged in the application, but he did not claim exemplary damages, which are like a penalty the landlord has to pay to the tenant. I have not made an order for exemplary damages because these need to be specifically claimed in the application.
Sections 19(1), (2) and Schedule 1A RTA state that if a landlord collects a bond it must be paid to the Bond Centre within 23 working days after the payment is received. Breaching this obligation is an unlawful act for which the Tribunal may award exemplary damages up to a maximum of $1,500.00. I have included this information as a warning to the landlord. I note my advice to the landlord that he must seek legal advice and/or educate himself on the RTA if he wants to rent the future. Other orders
Because the landlord has substantially succeeded with the claim I have reimbursed the filing fee.
The tenant’s application for suppression is allowed because the tenant is the most successful party. The landlord’s name is published because of the bond breach.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4830445 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4830445 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

Did the tenant comply with his obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Were there breaches of health and safety or the healthy homes legislation?

Should I make orders for the bond?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Dismissed claims

Order

Reasons

Did the tenant comply with his obligations at the end of the tenancy?

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Were there breaches of health and safety or the healthy homes legislation?

Should I make orders for the bond?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions