What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4844820 about?

The tribunal order states: Lina Pauli and Falemasame Seuoti must pay [The landlord/s] $1,011.76

How much money was awarded in case 4844820?

Cleaning: $100.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,371.42 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $1,159.90 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4844820?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4844820?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10502908-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4844820 about?

The tribunal order states: Lina Pauli and Falemasame Seuoti must pay [The landlord/s] $1,011.76

How much money was awarded in case 4844820?

Cleaning: $100.00 awarded to landlord; Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Rent Arrears: $2,371.42 awarded to landlord; Water Rates: $1,159.90 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4844820?

The primary dispute was Rent arrears. Related themes: Cleanliness.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4844820?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10502908-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4844820 — Rent arrears

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New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4844820 — Rent arrears | 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 4844820 — net $1,011.76 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears	$2,371.42	Rent arrears
Water rates	$1,159.90	Water rates
Cleaning	$100.00	premises were not left reasonably clean and tidy. The tenant is ordered to pay $100.00 towards the cleaning of the stain.
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$1,011.76
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,011.76

Claims and awards for application 4844820 — net $1,011.76 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Rent arrears

Amount: $2,371.42
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rent arrears

Water rates

Amount: $1,159.90
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Water rates

Cleaning

Amount: $100.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: premises were not left reasonably clean and tidy. The tenant is ordered to pay $100.00 towards the cleaning of the stain.

Filing fee reimbursement

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

Net award

Landlord $1,011.76

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $1,011.76

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Cleanliness Filing Fee Rent arrears Water Rates

Order

Lina Pauli and Falemasame Seuoti must pay [The landlord/s] $1,011.76 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,640.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

How much is owed for rent and water rates?

The tenancy ended on 29 February 2024. The landlord provided rent records and water rates invoices which prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy was $2,371.42 for rent and $1,159.90 for water rates. The tenant agreed that the amounts claimed were correct.

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

At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and remove all rubbish. See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Landlords are required to provide the premises to the tenant at the start of the tenancy in a reasonable state of cleanliness (see s 45(1)(a) RTA). 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 (ss 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. 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.
The landlord provided a cleaning invoice in evidence. The landlord said that a final inspection report had been sent to the wrong email address for the Tribunal and that it had been resent on the morning of the hearing. The Notice of Hearing sent to the parties prior to the hearing informs the parties of the correct email address for the Tribunal and records that evidence must be received no later than 72 hours before the hearing. I had not seen the report at the time of the hearing and have not taken it into account for the reasons set out above. The landlord asked for the cleaning claim to be adjourned to allow the evidence to be placed before the Tribunal. This matter was initially filed by the landlord in March 2024. The Tribunal is required by the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 to deal with matters expeditiously. For those reasons I consider that this matter needs to be finalised without further delay.
The tenant said that they had cleaned the premises at the end of the tenancy. She said that carpets put in the bathroom may have caused a stain which they were unable to remove. I consider that cleaning required to remove the stain should be charged to the tenant.
The landlord said that the cleaning charged for was the only cleaning carried out between the end of this tenancy and the commencement of the subsequent tenancy. The standard required of this tenant is to leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy. That is generally accepted for the reasons referred to in Ace Property Management v Owens to be a lower standard than might be expected at the commencement of a tenancy. The evidence provided has not been sufficient to prove (with the exception of the stain) on the balance of probabilities that the premises were not left reasonably clean and tidy. The tenant is ordered to pay $100.00 towards the cleaning of the stain.
As [The landlord/s] has substantially succeeded with the claim, I have ordered the tenant to reimburse the filing fee.
Both parties applied for name suppression. The landlord has been substantially successful in this matter and the landlord name and details are suppressed. The tenant has not been wholly or substantially successful in this matter and the tenant application is dismissed.

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 4844820 — net $1,011.76 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent arrears	$2,371.42	Rent arrears
Water rates	$1,159.90	Water rates
Cleaning	$100.00	premises were not left reasonably clean and tidy. The tenant is ordered to pay $100.00 towards the cleaning of the stain.
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$1,011.76
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$1,011.76

Claims and awards for application 4844820 — net $1,011.76 NZD. Verify on MoJ.

Rent arrears

Amount: $2,371.42
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Rent arrears

Water rates

Amount: $1,159.90
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: Water rates

Cleaning

Amount: $100.00
Awarded to: Landlord
Reason: premises were not left reasonably clean and tidy. The tenant is ordered to pay $100.00 towards the cleaning of the stain.

Filing fee reimbursement

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

Net award

Landlord $1,011.76

Total payable by Tenant to Landlord

Landlord $1,011.76

Claim types — money lines allowed on this order

Cleanliness Filing Fee Rent arrears Water Rates

Order

Lina Pauli and Falemasame Seuoti must pay [The landlord/s] $1,011.76 immediately, calculated as shown in table below.
The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,640.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) to [The landlord/s] immediately.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
The landlord has applied for rent arrears, compensation, refund of the bond, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

How much is owed for rent and water rates?

The tenancy ended on 29 February 2024. The landlord provided rent records and water rates invoices which prove the amount owing at the end of the tenancy was $2,371.42 for rent and $1,159.90 for water rates. The tenant agreed that the amounts claimed were correct.

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

At the end of the tenancy the tenant must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy and remove all rubbish. See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Landlords are required to provide the premises to the tenant at the start of the tenancy in a reasonable state of cleanliness (see s 45(1)(a) RTA). 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 (ss 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. 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.
The landlord provided a cleaning invoice in evidence. The landlord said that a final inspection report had been sent to the wrong email address for the Tribunal and that it had been resent on the morning of the hearing. The Notice of Hearing sent to the parties prior to the hearing informs the parties of the correct email address for the Tribunal and records that evidence must be received no later than 72 hours before the hearing. I had not seen the report at the time of the hearing and have not taken it into account for the reasons set out above. The landlord asked for the cleaning claim to be adjourned to allow the evidence to be placed before the Tribunal. This matter was initially filed by the landlord in March 2024. The Tribunal is required by the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 to deal with matters expeditiously. For those reasons I consider that this matter needs to be finalised without further delay.
The tenant said that they had cleaned the premises at the end of the tenancy. She said that carpets put in the bathroom may have caused a stain which they were unable to remove. I consider that cleaning required to remove the stain should be charged to the tenant.
The landlord said that the cleaning charged for was the only cleaning carried out between the end of this tenancy and the commencement of the subsequent tenancy. The standard required of this tenant is to leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy. That is generally accepted for the reasons referred to in Ace Property Management v Owens to be a lower standard than might be expected at the commencement of a tenancy. The evidence provided has not been sufficient to prove (with the exception of the stain) on the balance of probabilities that the premises were not left reasonably clean and tidy. The tenant is ordered to pay $100.00 towards the cleaning of the stain.
As [The landlord/s] has substantially succeeded with the claim, I have ordered the tenant to reimburse the filing fee.
Both parties applied for name suppression. The landlord has been substantially successful in this matter and the landlord name and details are suppressed. The tenant has not been wholly or substantially successful in this matter and the tenant application is dismissed.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4844820 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4844820 — Rent arrears

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for rent and water rates?

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

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for rent and water rates?

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

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions