What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4854729 about?

The tribunal order states: [The landlord/s] must pay [The tenant/s] $207.00 immediately.

How much money was awarded in case 4854729?

Compensation: Overpaid break lease f…: $207.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4854729?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4854729?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10768309-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4854729 about?

The tribunal order states: [The landlord/s] must pay [The tenant/s] $207.00 immediately.

How much money was awarded in case 4854729?

Compensation: Overpaid break lease f…: $207.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4854729?

The dispute type was not classified.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4854729?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10768309-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4854729 — Tenancy dispute

Reasons

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4854729 — net $207.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Compensation: Overpaid break lease fee	$207.00	Overpaid break lease fee
Net award	$207.00
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$207.00

Both parties attended the hearing. The tenant’s father attended as the tenant’s representative via teleconference. The landlord attended in person.

The tenant signed a tenancy agreement with the landlord on 20 th February 2024. The tenancy was to begin on 26 th February 2024 and was for a fixed term ending on 15 th November 2024.

The tenant had paid 4 weeks’ rent as bond and 2 weeks’ rent in advance. The total paid for the move in was $2,280.00.

While moving in on 26 th February 2024, the tenant noticed that the neighbour was someone that she had previously seen and heard about while living in another unit in the same building. The neighbour was a man wearing an electronically monitored bracelet. He was shirtless at the time.

The tenant and her parents were worried about the tenant having to live next door to this man.

The tenant did not stay even the first night and vacated the premises. The tenant went to the landlord and explained the situation straight away.

The landlord explained that the tenant would still be liable to pay rent until a new tenant was found and that the tenant would be liable for a break-lease fee.

A new tenant was found after 3 weeks.

From the $2,280.00 received, the landlord deducted a total of $2,010.00 being 3 weeks of rent and the break lease fee of $870.00. The landlord refunded the tenant the remaining balance of $170.00.

The tenant claimed that the landlord had breached their duty to disclose important information about the tenant’s potential safety concerns such as the criminal history of a neighbouring tenant. The tenant said that the tenant would never have signed up to the tenancy if she had known about the neighbour.

The tenant’s father claimed $192.35 for half-day’s leave to attend viewings to find another rental, $58.71 for petrol, $20.50 for parking and $58.50 for the bus in addition to the $2,010.00 that was deducted by the landlord.

The tenant also contended that $870.00 was excessive for the break lease fee as it included full 4 hours of “tenancy finalisation costs” at $60.00 + GST per hour. The tenancy finalisation costs included: a. Conducting an exit inspection; and b. Finalising end of tenancy matters and bond (e.g. obtaining quotes for cleaning, damage repair etc; preparing and filing bond refund form).

Under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, there is no duty or responsibility imposed on the landlord to disclose any neighbour-related safety concerns to prospective tenants. The landlord would be breaching privacy laws if the landlord was to disclose criminal history of neighbouring tenants even if they somehow knew. It is the tenant’s responsibility to do the due diligence about the neighbours or the neighbourhood.

However, I do accept that full 4 hours of tenancy finalisation costs was too much. Given that the tenant did not even stay a single night, a reasonable deduction would be 1 hours’ worth instead of 4. The bond had been lodged with the Bond Centre previously so there would have been some work involved in finalising the tenancy.

The landlord had no issues with the tenancy finalisation cost being reduced.

Accordingly, I order the landlord to refund the tenant $207.00 being $180.00 plus GST.

All other claims by the tenant are dismissed.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4854729 — net $207.00 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Compensation: Overpaid break lease fee	$207.00	Overpaid break lease fee
Net award	$207.00
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$207.00

Order

[The landlord/s] must pay [The tenant/s] $207.00 immediately.
The tenant’s other claims are dismissed.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing. The tenant’s father attended as the tenant’s representative via teleconference. The landlord attended in person.
The tenant signed a tenancy agreement with the landlord on 20 th February 2024. The tenancy was to begin on 26 th February 2024 and was for a fixed term ending on 15 th November 2024.
The tenant had paid 4 weeks’ rent as bond and 2 weeks’ rent in advance. The total paid for the move in was $2,280.00.
While moving in on 26 th February 2024, the tenant noticed that the neighbour was someone that she had previously seen and heard about while living in another unit in the same building. The neighbour was a man wearing an electronically monitored bracelet. He was shirtless at the time.
The tenant and her parents were worried about the tenant having to live next door to this man.
The tenant did not stay even the first night and vacated the premises. The tenant went to the landlord and explained the situation straight away.
The landlord explained that the tenant would still be liable to pay rent until a new tenant was found and that the tenant would be liable for a break-lease fee.
A new tenant was found after 3 weeks.
From the $2,280.00 received, the landlord deducted a total of $2,010.00 being 3 weeks of rent and the break lease fee of $870.00. The landlord refunded the tenant the remaining balance of $170.00.
The tenant claimed that the landlord had breached their duty to disclose important information about the tenant’s potential safety concerns such as the criminal history of a neighbouring tenant. The tenant said that the tenant would never have signed up to the tenancy if she had known about the neighbour.
The tenant’s father claimed $192.35 for half-day’s leave to attend viewings to find another rental, $58.71 for petrol, $20.50 for parking and $58.50 for the bus in addition to the $2,010.00 that was deducted by the landlord.
The tenant also contended that $870.00 was excessive for the break lease fee as it included full 4 hours of “tenancy finalisation costs” at $60.00 + GST per hour. The tenancy finalisation costs included: a. Conducting an exit inspection; and b. Finalising end of tenancy matters and bond (e.g. obtaining quotes for cleaning, damage repair etc; preparing and filing bond refund form).
Under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, there is no duty or responsibility imposed on the landlord to disclose any neighbour-related safety concerns to prospective tenants. The landlord would be breaching privacy laws if the landlord was to disclose criminal history of neighbouring tenants even if they somehow knew. It is the tenant’s responsibility to do the due diligence about the neighbours or the neighbourhood.
However, I do accept that full 4 hours of tenancy finalisation costs was too much. Given that the tenant did not even stay a single night, a reasonable deduction would be 1 hours’ worth instead of 4. The bond had been lodged with the Bond Centre previously so there would have been some work involved in finalising the tenancy.
The landlord had no issues with the tenancy finalisation cost being reduced.
Accordingly, I order the landlord to refund the tenant $207.00 being $180.00 plus GST.
All other claims by the tenant are dismissed.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4854729 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4854729 — Tenancy dispute

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Key findings

Frequently asked questions