Published tribunal order
Tenancy Tribunal case 4849665 — Healthy homes
Decided 22 May 2024 · Published 22 May 2024 · Application 4849665
- Healthy homes
Party names are redacted in the official published order.
Order
- By consent, the landlord’s notice of a rent increase is set aside.
- By consent, the landlord will refund the tenant rent of $1,350.00 (3 x $450.00) within 5 days of the date of this order.
- By consent, the rent will remain at $800.00 per week until the expiry of a new 90-day notice of rent increase yet to be given.
- The landlord must lodge the bond with the Bond Centre within 5 days of the date of this order. The tenant has agreed to sign the bond form, but if that does not happen the bond must still be lodged.
Reasons
- Both parties attended the hearing. The tenant attended in person. The landlord attended by phone. The landlord’s authorised agent attended in person.
- Each party has made claims against the other which I need not detail in this decision.
- The tenant and the landlord’s agent met today and resolved all issues raised in the applications.
- The landlord has had the premises assessed for compliance with the Healthy Homes Standards (HHS). Some work has been completed and some is still required before the premises are deemed compliant.
- I have made orders on some of the agreements reached. Other agreements reached are not matters on which the Tribunal can or need make orders.
- Although not specifically mentioned by the parties I have put time frames against the order for the rent refund and bond lodgement which are needed so the orders can be enforced if needed.
- I will record the full list of agreements reached: •The landlord will complete some remaining repairs following which it will seek a compliance report from the Healthy Homes Assessor. •The tenant agrees to sign the bond lodgement form. (However, I have made an order for the bond to be lodged even if the tenant does not sign the form). •After the repairs are completed and the Healthy Homes report confirms compliance with the HHS, the landlord will issue a new notice of a rent increase. The landlord will give 90 days’ notice of the increased rent. •The tenant agrees to pay rent of $1,250.00 per week commencing from the notified start date of increased rent. •Until the new rent takes effect, the rent will remain at $800.00 per week. •The landlord will refund the tenant 3 x $450.00 ($1,350.00 in total) because she has paid the higher rent for the last 3 weeks. (I have put a time frame against that for enforcement purposes). •The parties will sign a variation of the tenancy agreement (or enter a new tenancy agreement) to allow the tenant to keep pets and to sub-let part of the premises. •The landlord’s agent will now be the person the tenant should contact for any matters about the tenancy.
- Because these agreements are by consent, I have granted name suppression for both parties. In effect, they achieved their own settlement with a little guidance from the Tribunal. In that sense each party has been successful. There is no public interest in the order being published – see section 95A of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
- I record that the landlord’s agent confirmed he had full authority to reach a settlement with the tenant on the terms set out above.