What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4883260 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] to pay Quality Rental Management Limited As Agent For Radha

How much money was awarded in case 4883260?

Cleaning: $517.50 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $300.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4883260?

The primary dispute was Cleanliness. Related themes: Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4883260?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10679775-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4883260 about?

The tribunal order states: [The tenant/s] to pay Quality Rental Management Limited As Agent For Radha

How much money was awarded in case 4883260?

Cleaning: $517.50 awarded to landlord; Property Damage: $300.00 awarded to landlord

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4883260?

The primary dispute was Cleanliness. Related themes: Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4883260?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/10679775-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal Case 4883260 — Cleanliness

Tenantcheck Insights

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4883260 — net $817.50 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Cleaning: and carpet cleaning	$517.50	Cleaning: and carpet cleaning
Lock/key replacement	$300.00	Lock/key replacement
Net award	$817.50
Bond	$2,120.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$817.50

[The tenant/s] to pay Quality Rental Management Limited As Agent For Radha Krishna Investment Ltd $817.50 from the bond, calculated as shown in the table below.

The Bond Centre is to pay the bond of $2,120.00 ([Bond number suppressed]) immediately apportioned as follows: Quality Rental Management Limited As Agent For Radha Krishna Investment Ltd: $817.50 [The tenant/s]: $1,302.50

Reasons

The landlord’s representatives attended the hearing today. The tenants did not attend but have told the landlord that they are away and cannot do so. They are aware of 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.

This was a 9-year tenancy which ended on 11 March 2024 because the owner decided to put the property on the market for sale.

What is the law on tenant obligations and damage claims?

At the end of a tenancy, tenants must leave the premises reasonably clean and tidy, remove all rubbish, return all keys and security devices, and leave all landlord chattels. See section 40(1)(e)(ii)-(v) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA).

If making a claim for damage, a landlord must prove that any damage happened during this tenancy and is more than fair wear and tear. Fair wear and tear is anything that would happen as a normal and ordinary part of living in the property.

A tenant is liable for any intentional or careless damage. Tenants are liable for the actions of people at the premises with their permission. Sections 40(2)(a), 41 and 49B RTA.

Everything is subject to wear and tear and will need to be replaced in time. If an item has to be replaced earlier because of tenant damage, and is replaced with a newer or better item, then the compensation needs to be adjusted to reflect that. A landlord should not be in a better position after a claim in the Tribunal, then the landlord would have been if the damage had not occurred.

The Tribunal often considers the age and condition of the items at the start of the tenancy and their likely useful lifespan. The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has published general depreciation rates for residential rental property chattels. 1 This gives a guide to the expected useful life of various items including carpet (8 years), curtains (8 years), fridges and freezers (8 years), domestic vacuum cleaners (3 years), heat pumps (10 years).

The Tribunal will sometimes accept quotes for any claimed loss instead of invoices and receipts, but it is relevant to ask whether the cost will actually be incurred.

An example of the above principles is that if a fridge is brand new at the start of a tenancy and is missing when the tenancy ends 3 years later, then the landlord has lost a 3-year-old fridge. The replacement cost for a new fridge (say this is $900.00) might be reduced by about a third ($300.00) to reflect that the landlord could have 1 IR265 published October 2023. expected to have to replace the fridge after about 8 or 9 years (the IRD estimate of useful life being 8 years). The Tribunal may then award the landlord $600.00 towards the cost of the replacement fridge. Decisions on the claims

I have considered all available evidence. My decisions are:- a. Cleaning and carpet cleaning: the premises were not left reasonably clean, and the carpets were stained and needed shampooing after a tenancy of this length. The owner has supplied invoices for $747.50 and $437.00 for this work which he arranged himself. However, the evidence includes a quote for the same work done by the same cleaning company for $517.50. A landlord has a duty to take reasonable steps to reduce their loss (section 49 RTA) and I consider that this includes accepting a lower quote for a substantially similar product or service when one is available. I award the amount of the quote for cleaning and carpet cleaning of a 4-bedroom house with 2 living areas and 2 bathrooms. b. Lock and key replacement: the tenants lost the keys, so I award the invoiced cost to rekey and replace these. c. Damage or missing toilet roll holder and towel rail: Replacing a toilet roll holder is normal maintenance to be expected at least once every 9 years so is normal wear and tear. My assessment is that the towel rail brackets broke due to normal use (the photos indicate the brackets are of average strength and quality) so this is also normal wear and tear. Claim dismissed. d. Missing hose and vacuum cleaner wand and head for built-in vacuum system: this vacuum system is of unknown age and condition. The landlord’s representatives could not say whether the missing parts had been replaced by the owner. There is no evidence of an actual cost, so I do not award compensation. e. Missing fridge/freezer: the owner has supplied a quote for a new fridge freezer. There is no chattels list from the start of the tenancy however the tenants apparently told the agent that the existing fridge stopped working during the tenancy, so they disposed of it. Without more evidence of age, condition, or loss, I do not award compensation. f. Sliding door has fallen off the outside shed: the owner has supplied a quote for a new shed. There is no evidence that the shed is permanently damaged. The door could be rehung. This claim is dismissed. g. Replacement of two showers, including tile surrounds and linings: there is no evidence to show that the two showers were damaged. These claims are dismissed. Filing fee, bond and suppression of names

The landlord has not been substantially successful, so I do not award the filing fee or suppress its name.

I do suppress the tenants’ names as they have been substantially successful and, in my view, this claim need not have gone this far.

The bond will be refunded in accordance with the orders.

Order

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4883260 — net $817.50 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Landlord	Reason
Cleaning: and carpet cleaning	$517.50	Cleaning: and carpet cleaning
Lock/key replacement	$300.00	Lock/key replacement
Net award	$817.50
Bond	$2,120.00
Total payable by Tenant to Landlord	$817.50

[The tenant/s] to pay Quality Rental Management Limited As Agent For Radha Krishna Investment Ltd $817.50 from the bond, calculated as shown in the table below.

Reasons

The landlord’s representatives attended the hearing today. The tenants did not attend but have told the landlord that they are away and cannot do so. They are aware of 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.

This was a 9-year tenancy which ended on 11 March 2024 because the owner decided to put the property on the market for sale.

What is the law on tenant obligations and damage claims?

A tenant is liable for any intentional or careless damage. Tenants are liable for the actions of people at the premises with their permission. Sections 40(2)(a), 41 and 49B RTA.

The Tribunal will sometimes accept quotes for any claimed loss instead of invoices and receipts, but it is relevant to ask whether the cost will actually be incurred.

The landlord has not been substantially successful, so I do not award the filing fee or suppress its name.

I do suppress the tenants’ names as they have been substantially successful and, in my view, this claim need not have gone this far.

The bond will be refunded in accordance with the orders.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4883260 — Cleanliness

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4883260 — Cleanliness

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

What is the law on tenant obligations and damage claims?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

What is the law on tenant obligations and damage claims?

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions