What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4868300 about?

The tribunal order states: Seru Kavekini is liable to pay [The landlord/s] $2,369.08, as set out in the table

How much money was awarded in case 4868300?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $967.15 awarded to landlord; Rent: $964.29 awarded to landlord; Water Charges To End Of Tenancy: $417.20 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4868300?

The primary dispute was Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4868300?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10741652-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4868300 about?

The tribunal order states: Seru Kavekini is liable to pay [The landlord/s] $2,369.08, as set out in the table

How much money was awarded in case 4868300?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $967.15 awarded to landlord; Rent: $964.29 awarded to landlord; Water Charges To End Of Tenancy: $417.20 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4868300?

The primary dispute was Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4868300?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10741652-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4868300 — Property damage

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4868300 — net $2,369.08 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent to 30 March 2024	$964.29	Rent to 30 March 2024
Water charges to end of tenancy	$417.20	Water charges to end of tenancy
Repairs to front door, replacement locks, gardens	$967.15	Repairs to front door, replacement locks, gardens
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,369.08
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,369.08

Order

Seru Kavekini is liable to pay [The landlord/s] $2,369.08, as set out in the table below.
The tenant must pay the debt in order 2 at the rate of $30.00 per week.
The first payment must be made on Thursday 29 August 2024 and payments must continue every Thursday until the debt is paid in full.
If the tenant fails to make any payment within 2 working days of the due date, the balance of the debt owing will be payable immediately and can be enforced through the District Court.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing on 20 August 2024.
On 27 May 2024 the landlord applied for rent arrears, outgoings, compensation, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

How much is owed for rent and water?

The landlord claimed rent to 30 March 2024 in the sum of $4,714.29 less the amount previously ordered by the Tribunal on 19 March 2024 (application 4783305). The Tribunal’s previous order awarded rent arrears to 21 March 2024 in the sum of $3,750.00.
The landlord also claimed water charges to the end of the tenancy in the sum of $958.86 less the amount previously ordered by the Tribunal. On 19 March 2024 the Tribunal awarded water charges of $391.66.
The additional rent and water charges claimed for the period 22 March 2024 to 30 March 2024 are therefore $964.29 for rent and $567.20 for water. The tenant accepted the rent arrears but disputed the water charges.
The tenant said there had been several water leaks from pipes at the property. He showed a short video of a leaking pipe behind the lounge wall. The video was dated 12 November 2023. The tenant said he asked the landlord to fix the leak which he did, but the next day it started again. The tenant said there was significant flooding.
The landlord said he was unaware of significant flooding, but he had arranged a plumber to fix the pipes. He had been notified of the recurrence of the leak and again arranged for a plumber to attend.
The landlord’s water summary sets out the following information (in part): Water usage periodAmount charged
6.23-21.7.23$159.69
7.23-17.08.23$132.34
8.23-21.9.23$174.87
9.23-16.10.23$122.90
10.23-15.11.23$335.61
11.23-13.12.23$165.45
12.23-17.1.24$193.78
1.24-15.2.24$316.71
2.24-15.3.24$37.81
3.24-30.3.24$529.39
According to the water invoices, a family of 5 will consume between 621 and 775 litres of water per day. Over a 30-day period, this equates to between 18,630 litres (18.63kL) and 23,250 litres (23.25kL).
Assuming consumption of 30,000 litres per month, the charges based on the pricing in the invoices would be: • Water 30kL at $1.998/kL = $59.94 • Wastewater 23.55kL at $3.476/kL = $81.86
On these figures, the monthly water charge would be $141.80.
Looking at the table, the water charges were consistently at about $160.00 per month over the period from 16 June 2023 to 17 January 2024 (excluding the period between 16 October 2023 and 15 November 2023). This is roughly consistent with consumption of about 30kL per month. There does appear to be a spike in November 2023 around the time when the leak happened. There was also a spike in water charges between January and February 2024, but that may be due to the warmer weather. The final water bill is also much higher, but that is likely because the previous invoice was based on an underestimate of water use.
Pursuant to section 39 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (the Act), tenants are liable to pay for the water they use. Tenants are not “using” water lost during a leak that is no fault of either party. Approaching the matter conservatively, I deduct $150.00 for the water leak. This reduces the award for water charges to $417.20.

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, remove all rubbish, return all keys and security devices, and leave all chattels provided for their benefit.
The tenant did not return the front door keys. The locks had to be changed to make the premises secure. I award the locksmith costs claimed.
The lawns needed mowing at the end of the tenancy. The tenant said the landlord had not allowed him to come back afterwards to mow the lawn. The tenant’s obligation is to leave the premises in a reasonably tidy condition. The landlord is not required to give a tenant a further opportunity to meet that standard. I award the gardening costs claimed.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

A landlord must 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. Tenants are liable for the actions of people at the premises with their permission.
The front door glass was damaged during the tenancy. The tenant’s son was hurt. However, the tenant accepted liability for the cost of repair, which I therefore award. Filing Fee and Name Suppression
The landlord’s application has been largely successful. I award the filing fee.
The landlord is granted suppression as requested. Procedural Note
The tenant provided photographs at the hearing, said to show maintenance and other issues at the premises.
The purpose of the hearing was to hear the landlord’s application. There was no application from the tenant seeking compensation for any breach of the tenancy agreement or the Act. The other issues raised by the tenant cannot be considered as part of this application.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4868300 — net $2,369.08 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Rent to 30 March 2024	$964.29	Rent to 30 March 2024
Water charges to end of tenancy	$417.20	Water charges to end of tenancy
Repairs to front door, replacement locks, gardens	$967.15	Repairs to front door, replacement locks, gardens
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,369.08
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$2,369.08

Order

Seru Kavekini is liable to pay [The landlord/s] $2,369.08, as set out in the table below.
The tenant must pay the debt in order 2 at the rate of $30.00 per week.
The first payment must be made on Thursday 29 August 2024 and payments must continue every Thursday until the debt is paid in full.
If the tenant fails to make any payment within 2 working days of the due date, the balance of the debt owing will be payable immediately and can be enforced through the District Court.

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing on 20 August 2024.
On 27 May 2024 the landlord applied for rent arrears, outgoings, compensation, and reimbursement of the filing fee following the end of the tenancy.

How much is owed for rent and water?

The landlord claimed rent to 30 March 2024 in the sum of $4,714.29 less the amount previously ordered by the Tribunal on 19 March 2024 (application 4783305). The Tribunal’s previous order awarded rent arrears to 21 March 2024 in the sum of $3,750.00.
The landlord also claimed water charges to the end of the tenancy in the sum of $958.86 less the amount previously ordered by the Tribunal. On 19 March 2024 the Tribunal awarded water charges of $391.66.
The additional rent and water charges claimed for the period 22 March 2024 to 30 March 2024 are therefore $964.29 for rent and $567.20 for water. The tenant accepted the rent arrears but disputed the water charges.
The tenant said there had been several water leaks from pipes at the property. He showed a short video of a leaking pipe behind the lounge wall. The video was dated 12 November 2023. The tenant said he asked the landlord to fix the leak which he did, but the next day it started again. The tenant said there was significant flooding.
The landlord said he was unaware of significant flooding, but he had arranged a plumber to fix the pipes. He had been notified of the recurrence of the leak and again arranged for a plumber to attend.
The landlord’s water summary sets out the following information (in part): Water usage periodAmount charged
6.23-21.7.23$159.69
7.23-17.08.23$132.34
8.23-21.9.23$174.87
9.23-16.10.23$122.90
10.23-15.11.23$335.61
11.23-13.12.23$165.45
12.23-17.1.24$193.78
1.24-15.2.24$316.71
2.24-15.3.24$37.81
3.24-30.3.24$529.39
According to the water invoices, a family of 5 will consume between 621 and 775 litres of water per day. Over a 30-day period, this equates to between 18,630 litres (18.63kL) and 23,250 litres (23.25kL).
Assuming consumption of 30,000 litres per month, the charges based on the pricing in the invoices would be: • Water 30kL at $1.998/kL = $59.94 • Wastewater 23.55kL at $3.476/kL = $81.86
On these figures, the monthly water charge would be $141.80.
Looking at the table, the water charges were consistently at about $160.00 per month over the period from 16 June 2023 to 17 January 2024 (excluding the period between 16 October 2023 and 15 November 2023). This is roughly consistent with consumption of about 30kL per month. There does appear to be a spike in November 2023 around the time when the leak happened. There was also a spike in water charges between January and February 2024, but that may be due to the warmer weather. The final water bill is also much higher, but that is likely because the previous invoice was based on an underestimate of water use.
Pursuant to section 39 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (the Act), tenants are liable to pay for the water they use. Tenants are not “using” water lost during a leak that is no fault of either party. Approaching the matter conservatively, I deduct $150.00 for the water leak. This reduces the award for water charges to $417.20.

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, remove all rubbish, return all keys and security devices, and leave all chattels provided for their benefit.
The tenant did not return the front door keys. The locks had to be changed to make the premises secure. I award the locksmith costs claimed.
The lawns needed mowing at the end of the tenancy. The tenant said the landlord had not allowed him to come back afterwards to mow the lawn. The tenant’s obligation is to leave the premises in a reasonably tidy condition. The landlord is not required to give a tenant a further opportunity to meet that standard. I award the gardening costs claimed.

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

A landlord must 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. Tenants are liable for the actions of people at the premises with their permission.
The front door glass was damaged during the tenancy. The tenant’s son was hurt. However, the tenant accepted liability for the cost of repair, which I therefore award. Filing Fee and Name Suppression
The landlord’s application has been largely successful. I award the filing fee.
The landlord is granted suppression as requested. Procedural Note
The tenant provided photographs at the hearing, said to show maintenance and other issues at the premises.
The purpose of the hearing was to hear the landlord’s application. There was no application from the tenant seeking compensation for any breach of the tenancy agreement or the Act. The other issues raised by the tenant cannot be considered as part of this application.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4868300 — Property damage

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4868300 — Property damage

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

How much is owed for rent and water?

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

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

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?

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

Is the tenant responsible for the damage to the premises?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions